Coral Bay

Jurien Bay

We waited in Jurien Bay for Tropical Cyclone Mitchell to pass. It had not done as much damage as predicted at Coral Bay and North West Cape, and the area was open for business within a few days of it passing. A few trees down and some flash flooding, but not too much other damage. As soon as the roads opened we headed north to Coral bay.

The road was dry but it was like driving through an inland sea at times. The only water we had to actually drive through was at the Overland Roadhouse to get around the back to the camp area.

Driving south to Jurien Bay, it was raining and 43°C

Coral Bay

The Coral Bay settlement has never been gazetted as a townsite, and residential land has not been available for freehold purchase since 1973 when Bill and Alison Brogan purchased the land. The settlement is largely operated and developed by the Brogan family, who have owned and managed key infrastructure and businesses there since 1973.

We stayed at Ningaloo Coral Bay, Bayview Caravan Park. As this is not peak tourist season, several of the businesses are closed, with everything back in full swing in March.

Coral Bay’s water supply comes from bores into the Carnarvon Artesian Basin. There are limited taps with drinking water which is cooled and treated. All other taps have water directly from the bore, untreated 15% salinity and which comes out of the tap at 60°C – too hot to put your hand into. This water is very corrosive and not suitable to fill the van with. However we did fill buckets and use it for washing dishes. We showered at the amenities blocks which also used the bore water. The park was looking very lush and green as the sprinklers were on every day, presumably in preparation for the peak season.

Snorkelling

Ningaloo reef is close to the shoreline, so you don’t need a boat to get to it. Thus, lots of places to go snorkelling straight off the beach.

Bills Bay

Bills Bay is the heart of Coral Bay. It’s a wonderful bay for swimming as well as snorkelling. The reef in the bay had a catastrophic event during the 2022 coral spawning, killing all the corals, fish, clams and other underwater life in Bills Bay. You can read about it here. What was once a vibrant and busy underwater world, become a ghost town. The beach was temporarily closed due to the vast amount of dead and decaying fish. In 2023 when we visited there were very few fish, this year we are happy to report that life is slowly returning to the bay, we saw many fish, a turtle and an eel. In 1989 a similar disaster occurred due to coral spawning in Bills Bay, the reef took 10 years to recover fully, which is how long a reef takes to recover after a bleaching event (as long as no further bleaching events occur).

When looking out at Bills Bay, we walk around the corner to the left, about 500 metres, then about 100 metres out into the water to a ‘shallow water marker’. We get in there and the current slowly drifts around back into Bills Bay. Sadly the water clarity was poor both times we snorkelled there.

Five Fingers Reef

The best snorkelling we found near Coral Bay was at Five Fingers Reef, a 5km drive to the south. A 4WD with reduced tyre pressures is essential as much of the 5km is sand dune.

Getting there.

Snorkelling: we came back several times, so much sea life. Healthy corals, clams, turtles, sea urchins, eels, crabs and lots of fish.

We were lucky enough to stumble across a shark cleaning station, with four Tawny Nurse Sharks piled up together on the sand between the coral outcrops while some obliging fish picked parasites etc. from their skins. Apparently, lounging around in groups during the day is common behaviour for this nocturnal species.

Oyster Bridge and The Lagoon

Oyster Bridge (not to be confused with Oyster Stacks) is about 4km out from Coral Bay, along a sand track. Last time we were at Oyster Bridge we saw lots of sea hares, but the tide was quite high this time, and the water clarity was poor, with lots of churned up sand and seaweed. Tim found an enormous Wobbegong Shark hiding under a ledge, the biggest we have ever seen.

The Lagoon is not far from Oyster Bridge, but as with the first time we visited in 2019, there was lots of seaweed, very poor visibility and not much life.