Ningaloo Reef · Australia · Reef · Lagoon
Osprey Bay
Shore-entry reef in 3 to 7 m with a campground on the dune behind
Photo: W. Bulach · CC BY-SA 4.0
A shore-entry stretch of Ningaloo reef on the Cape Range National Park coast, the continuation south of Sandy Bay, with a campground and day use area on the dune behind the beach. Two kayak moorings sit out on the reef in 3 to 7 m of water, and the whole bay lies inside the Osprey Sanctuary Zone, a no-take zone of the Ningaloo Marine Park.
Where it is and how deep
22.2422° S, 113.8291° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
A short walk from the campground and day use area brings you to a small sandy beach, and everything here starts from that sand. You can work the reef straight off the shore, or paddle out to one of two kayak moorings and tie off before you get in the water. The first, 'The Lagoon', is a 1.1 km paddle south-west across to the inside of the main reef, where the water runs 3 to 7 m deep.
The second mooring, 'The Bungle Bungles', is about 1.6 km out and shallower again at 3 to 4 m; it takes its name from the rock formations of Purnululu National Park, the North West's other World Heritage area. The whole bay sits inside the Osprey Sanctuary Zone, one of the no-take zones of the Ningaloo Marine Park, so nothing is taken from the water here. Depths like these make the bay snorkelling ground first and diving ground second, and the park guide notes that parts of this lagoon are too shallow for scuba at all.
No visibility figures, current measurements or species lists specific to Osprey Bay have been published, so treat anything beyond the mooring depths as the Ningaloo area picture rather than a measurement taken in this bay. A walk trail runs north from the beach to Sandy Bay if you want a second entry on the same morning.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair |
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
- The lagoon is shallow enough that low tide can leave parts of it too shallow even to snorkel — check the tide before you plan an entry.
Dive videos
Incredible Viz at Osprey Bay: A Diver's Paradise · Sean Elliott - Underwater Video on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is Osprey Bay?+
The kayak mooring known as 'The Lagoon', inside the main reef, sits in 3 to 7 m of water, and 'The Bungle Bungles' mooring is in 3 to 4 m. This is shallow reef, and the park guide describes parts of the Ningaloo lagoon along this coast as too shallow for scuba diving.
Can you dive Osprey Bay from shore?+
Yes. Osprey Bay is entered off a small sandy beach a short walk from the campground and day use area inside Cape Range National Park, and the two kayak moorings on the reef are 1.1 and 1.6 km out from that beach.
Sources
- Osprey Bay — Parks and Wildlife Service, Western Australia
- Cape Range National Park — Wikivoyage
- Ningaloo Reef — Wikipedia
Photo credits
- A tented dune camp under blue sky in Cape Range National Park. by W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- The best shore dives in the worldShore diving · 8 min read
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