Ningaloo Reef & Coral Coast Photography Adventure with Rob Embury

Welcome to Exmouth! If you picked a window seat for your flight, you probably will have already noticed just how incredible the landscape here is while coming in to land. Over the next week, we’ll be capturing it all in its best colours.

You’ll be picked up from the airport and have some time to settle in to our beautiful house by the beach before a welcome dinner at local favourite Whalebone Brewing, home of delicious beers and incredible woodfired pizzas.

If the conditions are good, we’ll get stuck into the photography straight away with an astro session inside the stunning Shothole Canyon.

Today we explore Cape Range National Park, the unique mountain range and national park area that straddles the Exmouth Peninsula.

We’ll start with a sunrise shoot at Vlamingh Head Lighthouse, or if the group has drones, we could alternatively go for a fly at the nearby Mildura Shipwreck – an historic shipwreck sitting in a picturesque spot amidst the reef and vibrant blue waters.

From there we’ll head down to Yardie Creek Gorge, where we’ll take the scenic boat ride into the gorge and learn about its history, with amazing photo opportunities along the way. We’ll also take a walk to the top of the gorge, where we’ll likely see plenty of wildlife including wallabies and Ospreys, as well as fossils in the rocks. There are some great viewpoints from the top as well.

We’ll visit Turquoise Bay for some snorkelling as we work our way back along the coast, which is a great spot for the chance of swimming with turtles. By dusk we will be back at the lighthouse to watch the sun set over the ocean from up on the bluff, and then we can shoot some twilight astro.

Today we embark on an unforgettable adventure with Kings Reef, setting out into the crystal-clear waters of Ningaloo Reef, one of the most pristine and biodiverse marine environments on the planet. As we cruise along the coastline, excitement builds with the possibility of encountering one of the ocean’s most beautiful gentle giants. Whale Sharks are the largest fish in the world, and can reach lengths of up to 40 feet, yet they glide gracefully through the water with a peaceful presence.

June is peak Whale Shark season, so we have the best possible chance of encountering them. Kings Reef run an awesome day – you’ll learn a lot about the reef and its inhabitants, as we wait for our spotter plane to hopefully guide us towards what we came to see.

When the moment comes to enter the water, we slip beneath the surface, and there they are, looming large yet calm in the turquoise depths. Swimming alongside these awe-inspiring creatures is both humbling and exhilarating. The water clarity is usually excellent, allowing you to capture extraordinary photos and videos of their unique patterns and sheer scale, as they glide effortlessly through the water. It’s an experience that will be imprinted in your memory forever!

Kings serve up a delicious lunch for their guests, and to cap off the day you will get the chance to snorkel the inner reef and see a LOT of other sea-life including turtles, dolphins, reef sharks, rays and more. It’s also fairly likely that there will be Humpback Whales around us during the day!

We’ll be back by mid-afternoon, so you will have the rest of the day to relax – and in the evening we can have an editing/post-processing session at the house.

Today we’ll explore one of Exmouth’s most stunning natural features, Charles Knife Canyon. We’ll go for sunrise, and watch as the light slowly reveals its beauty (and its size).

Once the sun is up, the dramatic red cliffs are bathed in a beautiful golden light, providing endless epic photo angles and perspectives. If you have a drone, you are also allowed to fly here!

We’ll go back into town for some breaky, a refresh and some chill time before heading further into the canyon for a proper explore. While we are exploring, we’ll find our spots for sunset and an astrophotography session later on!

For many, swimming with Whale Sharks is a once in a lifetime experience. So, we’re going to do it twice just to make sure!

We will have thoroughly checked out all of our photos and videos from the first trip, and so today is a great chance to really hone in on getting the epic shots and content you want. It’s also just simply too amazing an experience to not do twice if you have the chance.

It’s highly likely that the reef snorkel will have you seeing a whole bunch of different creatures to what you saw on the first day, such is the diversity of the Ningaloo Reef. Kings will have their own onboard photographer, so make sure you get in a few of their shots as well!

Today for our final full day, we have an excursion down to another one of the jewels of the Ningaloo Reef, Coral Bay – known for its crystal clear turquoise waters, abundant marine life and of course, a kaleidoscope of coral.

We’ll jump on board with Coral Bay Ecotours for a full day tour, where you’ll have the chance to snorkel at some of the most breathtaking spots on the Ningaloo Reef. As you explore the underwater world, keep an eye out for reef sharks, graceful turtles, giant clams, and the elusive octopus, all thriving within this stunning coral ecosystem.

The highlight of this ecotour is the chance to swim with the majestic manta ray, one of the largest ray species in the ocean. Their wide, triangular pectoral fins act as wings, allowing them to glide gracefully through the water. In Coral Bay, manta rays can reach up to 4 meters in wingspan. Unlike stingrays, manta rays are harmless to humans, making swimming with them a safe and awe-inspiring experience.

In the evening, we’ll enjoy a delicious farewell dinner at the renowned Bullara Station – a dining experience that encapsulates both the history of this working cattle station, and the ethos behind ingredients sourced from the region and expertly crafted into modern dishes.

After dinner, if the group is keen and the conditions are good – we will head out for a final astrophotography session at either Bullara Station, or a secret land-based shipwreck location (if possible)!

We won’t be wasting our final morning – we’ll head into Shothole Canyon for sunrise. Unlike Charles Knife where we were shooting from the top into canyon, here we will actually be inside the canyon, providing a different perspective as the sunlight filters in.

Depending on what time guests are flying out, we will likely have some time to do a bit more exploring here before heading back into town for a late breakfast/brunch and a fond farewell to what will have been an incredible week photographing one of Australia’s most spectacular regions both above and below the water.