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Far removed from the rest of Australia, the rest of the world in fact, Australia’s west coast is home to some of the country’s most extraordinary wonders – many are only accessible by sea. Explore Australia’s west coast on a small ship cruising in true expedition style to remote archipelagos, offshore coral reefs and remote coastlines that few have the opportunity to visit.
Our knowledgeable Expedition Team and Guest Lecturer program provides expert guidance and insightful presentations into these far-flung destinations, enhancing the expedition cruise experience while helping to create memories to last a lifetime.
Straddling the edge of the continental shelf, the three coral atolls and lagoons that make up the Rowley Shoals are effectively a wild, kaleidoscopic aquarium. Once the summit of mountains before slipping beneath the sea during the last Ice Age, abundant marine life and coral diversity make the Rowley Shoals a divers and snorkelers paradise. At Ningaloo too the treasures are concealed beneath the sea, particularly when the largest fish in the sea, whale sharks, appear on their annual migration.
The attractions of the Montebello Islands and Dampier Archipelago by contrast are mostly above sea level. The Montebello’s are a labyrinth of waterways that twist and wind through 170 islands which are important bird nesting habitat. On Australia’s Pilbara coast, Dampier Archipelago contains the largest concentration of rock art in the world with an estimated one million petroglyphs carved into ochre-hued rock.
Join this pioneering voyage down Western Australia’s Coral coast onboard Coral Discoverer. Departing Broome, we will visit the spectacular Rowley Shoals Marine Park, the Dampier Archipelago and the historic Montebello Islands. An exploration of renowned Ningaloo Reef completes our voyage. Our marine experts and guides lead our discovery of this pristine coastal habitat.
This is an Australian Geographic expedition.
> Departs 7 September 2020
Join this pioneering voyage down Western Australia’s Coral coast onboard Coral Discoverer. Departing Broome, we will visit the spectacular Rowley Shoals Marine Park, the Dampier Archipelago and the historic Montebello Islands. An exploration of renowned Ningaloo Reef completes our voyage. Our marine experts and guides lead our discovery of this pristine coastal habitat.
> Departs 17 May & 28 May 2021
Join Coral Expeditions’ new Coral Geographer for a pioneering 27-night voyage exploring the remote islands off Australia’s west coast. Set sail from Fremantle on a true expedition to the Abrolhos Islands, Shark Bay, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island and Ashmore Reef before returning to Darwin. See an Australia few have before.
> Departs 26 March 2021
> Australian Geographic Partner Expedition
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The Ningaloo Coast is recognized by UNESCO for its abundance of outstanding natural features. For starters, one of the world’s longest near-shore reefs runs along the length of its coastline. While Ningaloo Reef (260km) is much shorter in length than Australia’s other World Heritage Reef, the Great Barrier Reef, (2,300km), the biggest difference between the two is proximity to shore. Ningaloo Reef is close enough to shore in some places that it’s possible to step off the beach and be snorkeling over the reef within a couple of swim-strokes.
Another UNESCO criterion is the diversity of marine life that Ningaloo Reef. This extraordinary coastline attracts whale sharks, the largest fish in the sea, on their annual migration from March to August. This spectacular migration also coincides with mass coral spawning events on the reef. More than 700 reef fish, approx. 650 molluscs, 600 crustaceans and over 300 coral species have been documented on Ningaloo Reef. A significant site for breeding turtles, each year from around November to March, an estimated 10,000 active nests are dug on the beaches of the Ningaloo Coast by mature female green and loggerhead turtles. Tens of thousands of turtle hatchlings make their way from nest to the sea from January to March. From June to November an estimated 30,000 humpback whales are in Ningaloo waters on their annual migration north from Antarctica to breeding and calving grounds off the Kimberley coast.
Explore Australia’s Ningaloo Coast on an unforgettable small ship expedition cruise along a World Heritage-listed coastline where nature takes centre stage. Coral Expeditions is a member of Ecotourism Australia and is recognized with Green Travel Leader status after at least ten consecutive years of Advanced Ecotourism accreditation, prioritising the long-term conservation of the natural environment. Coral Expeditions has almost 35 years’ experience as Australia’s pioneering cruise line with a knowledgeable Expedition Team providing insightful interpretation.
