One of the most magical experiences you can have in Western Australia is taking the opportunity to swim with the whale sharks along the Ningaloo Coast. You’ll find whale sharks in Western Australia swimming along the coast from Coral Bay all the way up to Exmouth. This is a World Heritage Site which offers enviable, easy access to Ningaloo Reef, as well as incredibly unique marine life, including 300-500 whale sharks that migrate through this area annually from March through to August, with the best time to try and see them being in May, which is the peak of their migration through these waters. 

These massive creatures are the world’s biggest fish and you can swim alongside whale sharks in the waters of the Ningaloo Coast in Western Australia. Whale sharks can be found in tropical waters around Australia, but Western Australia is home to the largest group of whale sharks and offers the highest possibility of seeing and interacting with whale sharks. But don’t just fly into Perth — there is more to this story, read on below. 

Whale, shark or fish? What are whale sharks? 

Whale sharks are not whales, they’re actually a type of shark, which makes it a type of fish! Luckily for us, they only eat tiny things like fish, shrimp and plankton, so these are the type of shark that almost anyone would want to swim with. 

So what’s the difference between whale sharks and whales?

Being a fish, whale sharks are cold blooded, they rely on the environment around them to keep warm, so they prefer to live in warm, tropical waters, like those found around the northern end of Australia. In comparison, whales are warm blooded, which is why you’ll notice they migrate to and from colder waters such as the southern regions of Australia. 

Unlike whales, whale sharks breathe through gills, just like fish, while whales have lungs and need to surface for oxygen in order to survive.  

Unlike whales, whale sharks are covered in teeth-like scales (like a fish!), they move their tails side to side to swim instead of up and down like a whale, also instead of baleen, whale sharks have over 300 rows of tiny teeth as well as filter pads. 

Another key difference is that with whales being mammals, they give birth to only one calf every few years, and they nurse that calf with their milk . Whale sharks on the other hand, produce around 300 eggs a year, which develop and hatch at different times, and once a whale shark is born, it’s out in the big wild world, ready to fend for itself.

Key differences between whale sharks and whales

CHARACTERISITIC	WHALE SHARKS	WHALES
Fish or mammal	Fish	Mammal
Cold or warm blooded	Cold (exothermic)	Warm (endothermic)
Water temperature	Warm tropical	Cold or warm?
Blubber	No	Yes
Maximum length	12 metres	29.9 metres
Maximum weight	15 tonnes	199 tonnes
Skeleton	Cartilage	Bones
Scales	Yes	No
Gills or lungs	Gills	Lungs
Needs to surface for oxygen	No	Yes
Teeth or baleen	Over 300 rows of teeth!	Baleen
Eggs or live young	Eggs (300/year)	Live young, one calf every few years
Lifespan	70-100 years	100-200 years
Moves tail to swim	Side to side	Up and down

Swim with whale sharks at the Ningaloo Coast

As mentioned, whale sharks are found around the northern part of Australia in tropical waters, but the largest concentration of whale sharks can be found at the Ningaloo Coast. 

Where is the Ningaloo Coast?

The Ningaloo Coast is at the north western end of Western Australia. It’s an extremely isolated region, with the state’s capital city located about 1200 kilometres away. Perth to Exmouth is a 13 hour drive, which doesn’t sound like a big deal, but keep in mind that Western Australia is very different to the east coast of Australia. 

Beyond the Perth metro area, there are some great pit stops along the way, including Jurien Bay, Cervantes, Geraldton and Carnarvon, but beyond that it is extremely dry, extremely hot, extremely flat and empty. You’ll see the odd wild goat or emu, a fair few road trains and lots and lots of sand. It’s not like the green east coast of Australia where there are countless towns along the way, so make sure you’re prepared. If you’re into road tripping, it’s highly recommended that you get your car serviced before leaving, take plenty of water, keep your fuel topped up and don’t drive alone. Alternatively, you can fly up to the Ningaloo Coast. 

What’s so special about the Ningaloo Coast and Ningaloo Reef?

The Ningaloo Coast is a World Heritage Site, which means it’s protected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, also known as UNESCO. The Ningaloo Coast has been identified as a location of high value, due to its expansive and diverse landscapes and seascapes. 

The heritage listing covers both land and sea. UNESCO states that “The majority of subterranean species on land, including aquatic species in the flooded caves are rare, taxonomically diverse and not found elsewhere in the southern hemisphere.” 

In addition, UNESCO states that the Ningaloo Coast is home to 300-500 whale sharks, the largest documented group of whale sharks in the world and that there are over 300 species of coral, 700 species of reef fish, 650 mollusc species, 600 crustacean species and over 1000 marine algae species. On top of that, the Ningaloo Coast is home to about 10,000 turtle nests each year. 

The Ningaloo Reef

The Ningaloo Reef runs along the west coast of Australia, from Coral Bay up to Exmouth. When you visit the Ningaloo Reef, you’ll be amazed to find such a diverse coral reef located close to shore. Often with large systems of coral reefs, you’ll need to catch a boat to the reef before you can snorkel, but the Ningaloo Reef is accessible from the shore. You can walk out to some of the reefs, while others you can swim out to from shore. 

Keep in mind that these beaches are quite isolated and not patrolled by lifeguards. Depending on the wind, some beaches are very calm and flat, but keep in mind that the ocean can be unpredictable and that dangerous rips can occur. Some of our favourite beaches were the famous Turquoise Bay as well as Lakeside Sanctuary. 

When you’re planning your trip, be sure to check out the Ningaloo Centre and also the National Park’s website, as a large part of the Ningaloo Coast is part of Cape Range National Park. This means dogs can’t be taken into the National Park, not even in your car or if you’re passing through. 

When is the best time to visit the Ningaloo Coast?

The Ningaloo Coast experiences hot, tropical weather. In summer, expect high humidity, high temperatures and rain. Winter is dry and warm, it’s their peak season, but late autumn and early spring are great also. I visited the Ningaloo Coast in the middle of autumn and it was amazing. My kids had experiences they will never forget like swimming with a friendly turtle that approached us and swam around us for around half an hour. 

Swim with the whale sharks with Ningaloo Discovery

You can swim with the whale sharks along the Ningaloo Coast with a few different tourism companies. I went with Ningaloo Discovery on a one-day tour. 

Watch my video below:

Snorkelling with Ningaloo Discovery

Although Ningaloo Reef is accessible from shore, to swim with the whale sharks, you’ll head out to sea. Ningaloo Discovery took us out on a 60 foot catamaran called the Wind Cheetah.  The local charters often have the assistance of a small plane, to help them locate the nearest whale sharks. On the trip out to the sharks we were fitted with full body swimsuits to protect us from jellyfish stings. 

We each had three snorkelling sessions, one before seeing the whale sharks, one with the whale sharks and one after. 

The crew split us into two groups for the whale shark snorkelling session, with each group taking turns in the water. The boat dropped us in the water ahead of the shark, the whale shark swam towards us and we were able to swim alongside it. Eventually the whale shark passed and the boat picked us up again, took us ahead of the whale shark again and dropped us in the water. Having two groups was a good thing, as it gave us a short rest on board before hopping back in.

The shark that we saw looked ginormous and was easily the largest animal I had swam with. However the on-board marine biologist informed us that this first whale shark was a juvenile, about five metres long which shocked me because it looked so much bigger, I also thought it was insane because it gave my a real sense of the size of a white shark, knowing that some of them can grow up to 5 metres. I also found it interesting to learn that the spots on whale sharks are actually unique to each individual shark, kind of like a fingerprint is unique to a human. Marine biologists use the same technology that astronomers use to map stars to identify individual whale sharks.

Ningaloo Discovery had a photographer on board who took some great shots.When it came to my turn I was the last in my group to be photographed with the shark so it was just me, the photographer and this incredible whale shark in the water.  Suddenly as my photo was about to be taken the shark dived about 20 metres below us. The photographer asked me to stay with her to monitor the shark to see if it would resurface. After about 5 min it did, watching this whale shark rise from the depths of the sea  was magic! 

Huge shout-out to the crew of the Wind Cheetah, they were knowledgeable, professional and lunch was fantastic. Ningaloo Discovery really went out of their way to make the day special. Click here to find out more about swimming with the whale sharks with Ningaloo Discovery.  

Well that’s it from me! Enjoy life! Have a great time and I’ll see you all on the next adventure!

> If you’re into snorkelling, you might want to check out my article and video about snorkelling at Rottnest Island and snorkelling at Yanchep Lagoon, both in Western Australia.

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