Explore Ningaloo, the world’s longest fringing reef and one of the best places on Earth to swim with whale sharks, manta rays and humpbacks.
Dates
Thurs 23 – Fri 31 May 2024
Embarkation: Tues 21 / Wed 22 May depart for International flights. Thurs 23 – Internal flight from Perth to Learmonth Airport, then settle into Ningaloo / Accommodation
Disembarkation: Friday 31 May depart from Ningaloo (Learmonth Airport) to Perth. Followed by International flights home.
Duration:
9 days / 8 nights
Package Cost:
$4,160.00 AUD – Villa Suite – Loft Room: Twin Room Package (pp/shared) (approx. $2700 USD)
$4,395.00 AUD – Villa Suite – Loft Room: Twin Bedroom – Solo Room Package (approx. $2850 USD)
$4,665.00 AUD – Villa Suite – One Bedroom: Queen Bed (pp/shared) (approx. $3000 USD)
$5,880.00 AUD – Villa Suite – One Bedroom: Queen Bed (Solo Room Package) (approx. 3800 USD)
Note: All costs are in Australian Dollars (AUD) for this trip. USD approx. only
Price Includes:
- 6 dives at Ningaloo Reef and Muiron Reefs (snorkeling is also an option)
- 3 whale shark swims – bonus!
- 1 day touring Cape Range National Park includes fees
- Snorkel with the manta rays between dives (opportunistic)
- All scuba diving gear is included for the scuba dive days
- High quality snorkel equipment and wetsuits (3mm & 5mm options) available for the whale shark swims
- Dive (Instructors and Divemasters) and Snorkel guides
- Complementary transfers from accommodation to the dive shop Exmouth
- 8 nights accommodation at Exmouth Escape Resort
- 6 Dinners at the delicious Whalers Restaurant
- Fresh buffet lunch, drinks and snacks on vessel days
- Morning and afternoon tea
- Presentations on marine wildlife – manta rays and whale sharks
- Travel and explore with a marine biologist and educational expert
- Photography and editing advice provided
- Friendly and fun atmosphere
Exclusions:
- International and domestic flights
- 2 dinners (the nights we go to explore the local area, i.e. Whalebone Brewery and Adrift Cafe)
- The rooms are self-contained apartments. See notes below
- Alcoholic drinks
- Dive Insurance & Travel Insurance
- Nitrox
- Gratuities
How to Secure Your Spot:
Please note that this trip has limited spots, so you will need to get in quick to secure your booking.
- Deposit (non-refundable): $700.00 AUD
You will be sent an email from the booking system and an email will follow with the details and FAQs. To check on available spaces to secure your spot, email: amanda@amandadelaforce.com
Group Size
This will be limited to 10 pax (includes group expedition leaders) for photographers/divers. Photography assistance will be available to help you get the most out of your trip.
Getting there:
Perth (PER) in Western Australia
For most travelers, Perth will be your international gateway arrival/departure city. Most airlines will have flights to/from Perth.
Arrival: Arrive into Perth by 23 May. Internal flight the morning of the 23 May with Qantas from Perth to Learmonth Airport (LEA). QF 1602 departs at 7:00am from Perth.
Departure: Friday 31 May depart from Ningaloo (Learmonth Airport (LEA) to Perth. Followed by International flights home. QF 1601 departs at 12:50pm from Learmonth.
The airport is 30 mins. from town so please confirm your flight times with us so that you can get picked up from the airport.
Airlines that fly to Perth:
Qantas, Virgin Australia, Jetstar, Air New Zealand, Bonza, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines and Air North all fly to Perth.
Melbourne (MEL) in Victoria
Qantas offers a nonstop flight QF 1052 MEL-LEA departing at 9:35am arriving at 12:30pm in Exmouth on certain days of the week. We’ll update their schedule as it becomes available. You may have to connect in Perth on the return.
Most international airlines fly into Melbourne.
Meals
Dinner: Whalers Restaurant prides itself on fresh, honest flavors and sources the finest local seafood, steaks and produce available. Live music is a regular feature with acoustic acts performing on the deck while you enjoy your meal.
Breakfast: The units are self-contained apartments so you can buy supplies from the local supermarket. We leave for the diving/swims at 7am, morning tea will be provided on the boat.
Lunch: it will be supplied the days we are out on the boat for whale swims and diving.
Accommodation Options
One Bedroom Apartment: includes one queen bed, one bathroom apartment fully equipped with cooking, dining and lounging facilities, along with laundry and WIFI.
Two Bedroom Apartment: includes one queen, two king single bed apartments. With an en-suite for each bedroom. Full indoor and outdoor cooking and washing facilities.
Three Bedroom Villa: includes open plan with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a gourmet kitchen and alfresco dining. WIFI is included.
Itinerary
Day 1 – Thurs 23 May – Internal flights / Arrive and settle into Ningaloo / Accommodation
Day 2 – Friday 24 May – Whale Shark Swim
Day 3 – Sat 25 May – Muiron / Outer Reef: Diving (2 dives)
Day 4 – Sun 26 May – Whale Shark Swim
Day 5 – Mon 27 May – Cape Range National Park Tour (land-based day)
Day 6 – Tues 28 May – Ningaloo Reef: Diving / Manta Rays (2 dives)
Day 7 – Wed 29 May – Muiron / Outer Reef: Diving (2 dives)
Day 8 – Thurs 30 May – Whale Shark Swim
Day 9 – Fri 31 May – Depart for internal flights
Trip Details
Whale Shark Swims: are a full day tour, departing at 7am. Return around 3-4pm depending on the behavior of the wildlife on the day. There are three whale shark swims included in the trip. Refer to further information below.
Scuba Diving and Snorkeling:
The Ningaloo Reef is a must for anyone interested in scuba diving. It is the perfect reef for everyone. There are incredible dive sites from both Coral Bay and Exmouth including cleaning stations where reef sharks and turtles come to be cleaned by small fish.
Muiron Islands: Surrounded by an abundance of coral gardens, rocky ledges and intriguing dive sites, the Muiron Islands are located about 10nm north east of Exmouth. Keep your eyes open during the trip across to the Islands for ospreys, shearwaters, turtles, manta rays, dolphins and sea snakes. Depth of around 12m and usually only gentle currents, the dive sites around the Muiron Islands are suitable for all levels of snorkelers and divers. Swim-throughs and ledges provide plenty of places to search for shrimps, nudibranchs, eels, juvenile angelfish and other timid creatures. In mid-water and against the reefs look for friendly potato cod, large rankin cod, turtles, nurse sharks, soft coral gardens, anemones, clams and colorful reef fish.
The manta rays are roaming, so when we locate them we will swim with them. They are not found in any one specific location – sometimes they will be on the dive site; sometimes in transit to the dive site – where we would then get in & snorkel with them.
About Ningaloo – Western Australia
- The Ningaloo Coast is a World Heritage Site located in the north west coastal region of Western Australia. From Perth it is 1200km north.
- Stretching almost 300km from Red Bluff to the Muiron Islands, Ningaloo is Australia’s second-longest coral reef and one of its most biodiverse marine environments.
- Ningaloo Reef is one of the largest coral reefs in the world, measuring 260km (162 miles) long. The Ningaloo Reef Marine Park covers a total area of around 5000 square kilometers.
- Ningaloo Reef is home to over 450 different species of marine life, including whale sharks, large pelagic fish such as tuna and billfish, humpback whales, dolphins, manta rays, dugong, and turtles (including green, loggerhead, and hawksbill turtles).
- The Reef is also home to 250 different species of coral, representing over 50% of the Indian Ocean’s entire coral life.
- The name ‘Ningaloo’ comes from the Aboriginal Wajarri language word meaning promontory, deep water, or high land jutting into the sea. The Yamatji peoples of the Baying and Yinigudura clans have inhabited the area for over 30,000 years.
- Ningaloo Reef is one of only two coral reefs in the world that have formed on the western side of a continent!
- The water temperature at Ningaloo Reef is a balmy 22°C – 26 °C (71-78 degrees F) depending on the season, meaning you can enjoy swimming, snorkeling and scuba adventures in temperate conditions all year round!
- Currency: Australian Dollars (AUD)
- Exmouth is a quiet coastal town with a small selection of restaurants and shops. The allure lays in the rich, natural resources of the region, which are currently under consideration for World Heritage Listing, most significantly Ningaloo Reef!
Encounters Overview
Whale Shark Swims
- Light aircrafts will be spotting the whale sharks prior to our arrival and take us straight to them.
- The vessel includes a full range of refreshments, beverages, and a tasty lunch as well as morning and afternoon tea.
- Tour leaders are fully qualified Dive Masters, with years of experience in marine safety, scuba, and snorkeling. They’re passionate about sharing their knowledge of whale sharks, Ningaloo, and the Exmouth region.
- Safety and wellbeing of our guests and the whale sharks is taken very seriously. Divemasters are fully trained in in-water rescue operations.
- Each swim guest receives a premium video and photos of their whale shark encounter recorded by a professional videographer to keep as a memento of their amazing day.
- Everything you need for the day is fully provided. You’ll be using quality gear and equipment that fully complies with safety standards and industry regulations.
Whale Sharks
Every year, whale sharks, the world’s largest known fish, make their way to the peaceful waters off the coast of Exmouth in their quest for food.
Ningaloo Reef’s remarkable eco-system attracts hundreds of whale sharks with its abundance of naturally-occurring food that starts with the annual spawning of coral in March, and continues with the upwelling of nutrient-rich waters from the continental shelf that lies beneath Ningaloo. With plankton drifting closer to the surface, whale sharks gather en masse at Ningaloo to take advantage of easy, abundant feeding.
While whale sharks can grow to an impressive 15 meters in length, and have a mouth almost 1.5 meters wide, they pose no danger to humans. They are calm, slow moving, naturally curious fish that are undisturbed by snorkellers swimming in close proximity.
Whale sharks prefer warm and temperate seas, there is no place quite like Ningaloo Reef to meet naturally-feeding whale sharks in such a large congregation. You’ll be awestruck by their size and beauty.
Photographers are often chasing top-down shots of whale sharks to capture that gorgeous pattern. But swimming with the sharks on the Ningaloo is strictly regulated, and we aim for there to be as little disturbance as possible to the animals.
Whale shark photography is always done while snorkeling. Some of the rules to be aware of include that you must always maintain a distance of at least three meters from the animal (four meters from the tail) and that photographers can’t use any artificial lights.
Manta Rays
Manta rays are another one of the main attractions of the Ningaloo, which is one of the few places where you can encounter both reef and oceanic mantas in the same location.
To meet the mantas, you’ll need to head to Coral Bay, about one and a half hours south of Exmouth, where a year-round manta population resides in the bay.
Again, the best way to see them is with a guided tour, which departs daily from Coral Bay and also uses an aircraft to find the best mantas to swim with.
I would recommend a fisheye lens for shooting in Coral Bay, as the mantas are often feeding in the bay, which can be shallow and full of plankton.
Group Leaders
Kim Randall and Amanda Delaforce. Both with a wealth of travel and underwater experience. Kim is located in the US and Amanda is located in Australia. They met on a trip in the Maldives and have been passionate about diving, marine encounters and photography ever since. This is a new trip and they look forward to sharing this unforgettable experience with you.
Amanda is a marine biologist and wildlife ecologist having worked across both NSW and QLD Marine Parks (Australia) over the last 20 years. Amanda has previously been involved in various humpback whale research projects along the East Australian Coast including Eden, Port Stephens, Sunshine Coast and Hervey Bay.
Amanda has been taking guests diving and swimming with marine species including humpback whales, manta rays, whale sharks, dolphins and reef and oceanic sharks while also viewing amazing coral communities and fish in stunning and remote locations. Amanda can provide a wealth of information on the humpback and blue whales while out on the zodiac day expeditions. She holds her coxswains certificate and has been a divemaster for over 23 years.
She works closely with marine conservation and citizen science groups such as Manta Project Australia, Project Manta Maldives, Grey Nurse Shark Watch Australia and Whale Shark Researchers in the Maldives.
Amanda is a passionate underwater marine and wildlife photographer; countless dives and ocean encounters means she knows where to look for inspiration. She has a genuine love and admiration for animals she encounters which are reflected in the experiences she shares with others.
This is her first trip to this amazing location and has been a dream trip for many years. I hope you are as excited as she is to take you on this unforgettable journey. Follow her on Instagram, check out her photography and shop page on her website.
Kim Randall, a native Californian and an avid traveler, discovered her love of the ocean and marine life at an early age, by pleading with her parents to send her to a sailing and diving summer camp. It was here she became certified to scuba dive. While she was always active and into playing sports as a child and young adult, she developed knee issues which prevented her full involvement in them. Scuba diving and water related non weight bearing activities changed all of that!
Kim went on to pursue a career in education, and became a global educational technology consultant. She works with professional learning organizations including Designed for Learning, Discovery Education, Nearpod, and the Krause Center for Innovation, providing relevant and engaging training centered around effective use and pedagogy of educational technologies in the classroom.
When she wasn’t consulting and working with educators, she was (and still is) found planning dive trips around the world. In 2009 she joined the team producing the tv series “Into the Drink”, a diving and travel show filming on location in incredible diving destinations around the world. Kim traveled with the crew and guests on many of the trips, supporting with underwater photography and guest relations. Her love of diving, marine life, underwater photography, and traveling across the globe continued to flourish with this incredible experience. It was through mutual friends filming on one of the boats, that Kim and Amanda became friends, dive buddies, and shared a passion for photography.
With her love of travel, trip planning and diving, she organically loved Google Earth & Maps when they launched in 2005 and became an avid user of both tools. Fast forward to 2018, She co-authored a book geared towards educators called Bring the World to Your Classroom: Using Google Geo Tools. Kim has been an elementary and middle school teacher as well as a technology integration specialist and holds a California Multiple Subject teaching credential. She is based in the San Francisco Bay Area but often found in her spare time traveling to new places near and far, scuba diving, and dabbling with topside and underwater photography. This is her first trip to Antarctica and the only remaining continent she hasn’t visited yet. Kim is so excited for this adventure. Follow her on Twitter, Instagram, check out her photography www.kimrandall.photography or contact her at designedfordiving@gmail.com.
Bookings, Payment, Cancellation Policy and Force Majeure in relation to the Tour
TERMS & CONDITIONS
1. Insurance
- Amanda Delaforce Photography and Travel Pty Ltd highly recommends you purchase personal travel and dive insurance as soon as possible after confirming your travel plans. We recommend Dive Assure or DAN for diving insurance. Dive Assure offers a Dive and Travel Insurance annual and short-term (per trip). You can purchase it here: https://app.diveassure.com/#/registration/main/process/0/int/0/18669/en-intl
- Evidence of adequate travel and dive insurance must be provided prior to departure.
- The affiliated and established companies such as ‘Exmouth Dive and Whalesharks’, hold the relevant insurances and maintain responsibility for the dive and snorkel insurance policies and procedures. As such when in the water diving, snorkeling, or swimming you are doing so under the affiliated company’s policies and procedures and must adhere to either the Captain, Dive Instructor or Divemaster’s instructions.
2. Bookings and payments
- Bookings made more than 100 days out from the start of a trip require a deposit of $700.00 USD per passenger
- All deposits are non-refundable.
- Bookings made less than 100 days out from tour commencement require payment in full to secure your booking.
- Payment in full is required 100 days out from the start of the trip. We will email you a final payment reminder prior to this date.
- Each guest will be required to complete a Dive Trip Questionnaire (which may require a Dive Medical) prior to receiving a final tour confirmation. This must be completed and returned to Amanda Delaforce Travel and Photography Pty Ltd prior to final payment being made. Disclosure of your medical history and known conditions is vital, as well as a review of any other conditions that could impact your trip. Amanda Delaforce Travel and Photography Pty Ltd reserves the right to refuse trip participation on medical grounds based on any falsification or exclusion of pertinent information which impacts the trip program.
3. Amendment and cancellation policy
- The trip cost is 100% non-refundable within 100 days of the departure date. This applies to deposits and/or further payments. No exceptions can be made.
- If you cancel your trip 100 days or more before the trip commencement date, and we/you are able to resell/fill your place, a trip credit for your remaining balance (minus a $300 USD service fee) will be issued for use on another Amanda Delaforce Photography and Travel Pty Ltd trip which departs within 2 years of the cancellation date.
- If you cancel your spot less than 99 days prior to the start of a trip, no refund or credit will be issued for deposits that have been paid.
4. Force Majeure
- If our In-Country Providers cancel or if a Force Majeure Event occurs, meaning any act of God, war, terrorism, fire, flood or any other extreme weather conditions, loss of power, epidemics or pandemics, industrial disputes, slow-downs or other strike activities, riots or civil disturbances, acts of government, semi government or other authorities, inability to obtain any necessary license or consent and delays caused by sub-contractors, suppliers or other third parties (including telecommunications carriers), material shortages or other disruption to the trip beyond our control, Amanda Delaforce Photography and Travel Pty Ltd shall not be held responsible for matters outside of our control or any failure to deliver the trip.
5. Liability and obligation
- Amanda Delaforce Photography and Travel Pty Ltd takes no responsibility for loss, damage or injury arising from any shortfall, error or omission in the information passed to the customer during the course of the booking process or subsequent delivery of the product. The company takes no responsibility nor can it be held liable for loss, damage, or injury that occurs on a supplier’s or service provider’s premises or transport, or between two such premises.
- Participation in any of the Activities involves certain risks which may result in injury or death. This warning does not purport to describe or disclose all risks associated with participation of the Activities. There are a wide range of inherent risks when engaging in sports and particularly underwater sports; for example, with diving there is the risk of decompression sickness, embolism or other hyperbaric injury can occur that requires treatment in a recompression chamber. Open water scuba diving trips may be conducted at sites that are remote, either by time or distance, from emergency services or recompression facilities. Scuba diving and snorkeling tours will involve uncontrolled encounters with wild animals which bear the risk of stings, bites, and at the extreme end, more serious injury and death.
- Participants should be responsible and aware of animal behaviors and their own interactions, and choose to engage in these activities entirely at their own risk.
- We will not be liable to you in respect of any personal injury (including without limitation serious injury or death) that you may suffer or sustain directly or indirectly as a result of participating in the trip or the Activities. Nor shall we be liable to you in respect of any other losses arising as a result of any such personal injury (including without limitation loss of profit or earnings or other consequential losses). We will not be liable to you in respect of any of your personal property that is lost, stolen or damaged before, during or after a trip.
- Please ensure you understand our cancellation policy and agree to the booking and trip conditions prior to providing any deposits. By placing a booking with Amanda Delaforce Photography and Travel Pty Ltd, this implies that you accept these booking terms and conditions and our cancellation policy.
Trading as “Amanda Delaforce Travel and Photography Pty Ltd”
