On Western Australia's remote Coral Coast, Ningaloo does what the Barrier Reef can't: the coral starts a swim from the beach, and between March and July whale sharks — the biggest fish in the sea — cruise the reef edge in numbers found almost nowhere else. Licensed boats from Exmouth use spotter planes, so success rates are startlingly high. Humpbacks take over from August; turtles nest from November. Book whale-shark swims months ahead — they sell out fast.
Featured in Ten wild tropical trips for animal lovers · Tropical