Ningaloo Reef, the area around Lighthouse Bay

Ningaloo Reef · Australia · Reef

Lighthouse Bay

Rocky ledges and cracks at 12-14 m inside a no-anchor sanctuary zone

Area photo: Sylke Rohrlach · CC BY-SA 2.0

Lighthouse Bay sits at the northern tip of the peninsula, where the coastline forms a bay above the lighthouse. Underwater it is rocky outcrops, coral ledges and deep cracks in the ground rather than continuous coral, dived at 12-14 m on a two-site boat charter out of Exmouth. The whole bay is a sanctuary zone.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Lighthouse Bay: typical dive 12–14 m (40–46 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit12 m14 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

21.8050° S, 114.1104° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The trip is a two-dive charter, with each tank on a different site inside the bay. Depths across those sites run 12-14 m, so the profile stays flat and there is no deep stage to plan around. What you are diving is not a continuous coral reef: the ground is broken into outcrops, ledges and deep fissures, and those fissures are what you follow from one feature to the next.

Named sites within the bay include Blizzard Ridge, Labyrinth and Gullivers, which have become favourites for the odd creatures that live in the ledges and cracks. Large schools of fish are a common sight, along with turtles, sea snakes and reef sharks. Visibility swings with the weather, from about 5 m after a blow to 20 m on a settled day, so conditions rather than depth decide how much of the terrain you take in at once.

Marine life and season

  • Reef fish swarms
  • Sea turtles
  • Reef sharks
  • Sea snakes
Month-by-month season rating for Lighthouse Bay
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
FairFairGoodPrimePrimePrimePrimePrimePrimeGoodGoodFair

Season follows Ningaloo Reef: Whale sharks aggregate mid-Mar–Jul after coral spawning; humpback whales pass close to the reef Jul–Oct; manta rays are present year-round.

Know before you go

  • Visibility can drop to around 5 m in poor weather; stay close to the guide and your buddy when the bay is stirred up, because the broken ground makes it easy to lose sight of each other.

Questions divers ask

How deep is the diving at Lighthouse Bay?+

The sites dived inside the bay have a depth range of 12-14 m, so the profiles are shallow and flat rather than deep.

Do I need to be a certified diver?+

No. The tour is suitable for all dive certification levels, and the operator can also run Discover Scuba Diving for new and uncertified divers.

Sources

  1. Ningaloo Reef - Lighthouse Bay — Dive Ningaloo
  2. Vlamingh Head Lighthouse — OpenStreetMap

More dive sites in Ningaloo Reef

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Coral Bay

Shore-entry reef with a spring nursery of young tiger sharks

to 10 mbeginner

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Muiron Islands

Ledge swimthroughs to 18 m, with grey nurse sharks and mantas

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Artificial reef

Navy Pier

Wobbegongs, grey nurse and whitetips under a working navy jetty

0–10 m · max 15 madvanced

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Osprey Bay

Shore-entry reef in 3 to 7 m with a campground on the dune behind

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Similar dives elsewhere

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Lighthouse Bay

Exmouth Navy Pier · Australia

Ledges and ground cracks in a no-take sanctuary zone

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Second Reef

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Bait Reef

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A tennis-court-sized reef with resident green turtles

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