North Turquoise Bay
Ningaloo Reef
Getting There - North Turquoise Bay is located about 65km from Exmouth around the top of the Cape Range. To get there head north out of town on Murat Road and take a left onto Yardie Creek Road. Follow the signs for Cape Range National Park and keeping driving until you see the turnoff for Turquoise Bay on your right. Take the sealed road all the way to the end where you will find two car parks, one for the drift snorkel to the left and one for sheltered bay on the right. Take the right turn to snorkel at North Turquoise Bay.
The Snorkel - With conditions finally coming good on the final full day we had in Exmouth after some large swells earlier in the week, I had one more spot I wanted to visit on what was a long day in the water. Having already visited Pilgramunna and Osprey Bay, I wanted to get another few passes at the iconic Turquoise Bay Drift Snorkel before finally exploring the other side of the sand bar at North Turquoise Bay. Back on my first visit in 2021, all the Sea Tomato jellyfish were congregating in that part of the bay, so I didn't get the opportunity to snorkel there.
With warm and sunny conditions for the day, we headed to Turquoise Bay after seeing a million turtles at Osprey Bay, and this would be the last stop for the afternoon. Caris was done with snorkeling for the day, so I found a spot along the beach to dump my gear and slid on my wet rashie for another few passes along the drift snorkel. This was the second visit for the trip to this spot, as it's highly accessible and there is plenty to see in the water. Conditions a couple of days prior were a little murky and there was the strongest current I'd experienced here, so swimming back against the drift was much harder. I'm not going to go into much detail for the drift snorkel, as I wrote a whole post on it back in 2021, but with a lot of new photos, I wanted somewhere to store them. The above gallery represents some cool finds I had over the three trips we did here, including seeing my first octopus while out snorkeling, along with some other fun sightings like turtles, sharks and colourful fish varieties.
With a few passes over the drift snorkel, I decided that it was a good time to go check out the north side of Turquoise Bay. It's a short walk from the main part of the beach to round the sand bar to North Turquoise Bay. Both offer a different experience in the water, with the beach on this side of the sand bar providing a bit more shelter if there are south-westerly winds blowing. It was popular during my visit and the scene was quite idyllic with beachgoers in the foreground and the rolling hills of Cape Range in the background. My edition of Dive and Snorkel Sites in Western Australia by CALM only has this snorkel from Turquoise Bay, so I would be following their suggested route (also marked up on the map above). Entering the water on the beach running parallel to Cape Range, I was excited to see what I would find here given the variety of sea grass, coral and rocky ledges. While swimming over the white sands to reach the first of the sea grass and coral, I spotted a Spangled Emperor and Snubnose Dart camouflaging against the sea floor.
After the sensory overload that is the drift snorkel, this was a more muted affair with spots of coral mixed in among the sea grass and exposed sections of rock on the seabed. This wasn't such a bad thing as you knew where the fish were more likely to congregate, and it made waiting patiently for them to appear again more rewarding, as there weren't many places for them to hide. Around the first pieces of coral were plenty of Convict Surgeonfish and a Surf Parrotfish. Swimming out further into the bay, I found plenty along the stretches of sea grass before an empty void appeared that looked to be bare sand. A Stag Coral provided home to juvenile Bluestriped Snapper, there were a few Lagoon Triggerfish checking out the nearby surrounds before retreating to holes in the rocks and a Longfin Bannerfish lurking around some Brain Coral. Exploring the edge of the underwater desert, I found a small rock ledge with what looked like a stingray tail poking out.
I dived down and had a look, and with a great surprise there was a lobster trying to poke my camera back. I didn't get a good photo in a couple of tries but I would later find another one that stayed still a little longer. Being a fair way out and finding the edge of where all the action was, I picked a point along the rocky cliffs in the distance that looked like what was marked on the map. More fish started to appear, with a solo Bluebarred Parrotfish, Yellow Boxfish and a school of what I think were Grey Drummers making the swim there more enjoyable. Reaching what I believe are the bombies marked on the map in my book, I had a bit of a poke around (figuratively of course) before just following my eyes. This turned out to be a great decision as I ended up at a series of rocky ledges that were similar to Pilgramunna, and I had some good finds here. First up was another lobster and this time I got a half decent photo that I later identified as an Ornate Spiny Lobster.
The next sighting was a Bluespotted Fantail Ray, one of my favourites species after seeing one buried in the sand at the drift snorkel in 2021. After gliding around for a little bit, it eventually found a spot to hide under one of the ledges, so I moved on. Deciding to head back to the start, I kind of meandered around as I didn't really want to get out of the water. Buoyed on by my recent finds, I wanted to see what else I could stumble across. Spotting a Redspot Wrasse, a Smooth Flutemouth and a Blackvein Parrotfish, I then caught out of the corner of my eye a familiar sight. Under a piece of coral were a few delicate black frills that I knew belonged to a Sailfin Catfish, a native to Ningaloo. These typically shy creatures aren't known for venturing far from their little hidey-holes, and this one was no different. With my skin getting wrinkled even further, I decided it was best to make an exit, so started swimming back towards the sand bar. My farewell sightings included a Blackvein Parrotfish and a Lizardfish before I was sitting on the beach trying to extract the fins from my feet in a dignified manner and failing spectacularly. Walking back around the point, I found Caris reading her book on the beach and she listened to me rattle off all the things I had seen in the water.
Grabbing my DSLR, I had one last thing to do before we left, taking the exterior pictures for the galleries you see in this post. With it being late afternoon by the time I had dried off, packed up the car and sanded myself off, we decided it would be nice to do the traditional Exmouth experience and park up at Vlamingh Head Lighthouse for the sunset. It was something we never did on our last visit in 2021, so with the timing working out on our return to Exmouth, we would finally get to do it. There were a couple of treats along the way before we exited Cape Range National Park. The first I noticed early and pulled off onto the gravel so I didn't spook it. A Dingo was on the hunt, following three Kangaroos through the scrub. We excitedly got out of the car and watched it stalk the roos, popping in and out of sight as it traversed the nearby hills. It eventually disappeared over the hill and we kept going, only to stop soon after, when I spotted an Australian Bustard on the side of the road. I got a couple of shots in before it decided to fly away. Last on the agenda for the day was to settle in at Vlamingh Head Lighthouse and enjoy the sunset. With Cape Range stretching south, Exmouth Gulf behind us and the VLF towers in the distance, we watched the sun descend over the horizon to cap off what had been a highly memorable day of snorkeling and wildlife spotting.
Final Thoughts - With the Turquoise Bay Drift Snorkel being the big attraction in this area, it's nice to know there is a spot you can escape to if you just want to meander around a sheltered bay.
While not as big on the wow factor as the drift snorkel, North Turquoise Bay provides a different experience with the sea grasses offering up the chance of seeing more turtles and potentially a Dugong if you're lucky.
There is still a bit of reef around, and the rocky ledges closer to shore are good spots for cool finds if you're patient. It's quite easy to base yourself at Turquoise Bay for a morning or afternoon, and get to experience both sites to their fullest.
Not a bad way to end another visit to Ningaloo Reef.
Get out there and experience it!
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