Exmouth · Western Australia
Exmouth: Ningaloo from the shore
Exmouth sits near the tip of the North West Cape, a small town strung along the road to the point. It is remote, and honest about why anyone comes: the reef starts at the beach here.
The range behind it is the other half — a limestone plateau with gorges cut into it and bays on the ocean side. Both need a vehicle, and neither rewards hurrying.
Where this depot puts you
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Cape Range National Park
The park takes up the cape west of town: a low range with gorges cut through it, snorkelling bays on the ocean side, and camp sites behind the dunes. Charles Knife Road runs along the top for the view into the canyons, and the gorges themselves are walked rather than driven.
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Turquoise Bay and the reef
Turquoise Bay is the beach people picture — white sand, a shallow entry, coral a short swim out, and a drift along the reef when the current runs. Oyster Stacks and Lakeside are the other shore entries, and all of them put you over coral without a boat.
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The road south to Coral Bay
South of the cape the road runs down the coast to Coral Bay, a small settlement where the reef reaches the sand and diving is the main event. It is a through-road with very little on it, so it is a leg to plan rather than wander.
Worth knowing before you book
- The town is small and everything worth doing is a drive, so treat fuel as a daily errand.
- The wind picks up through the day and mornings are calmer on the water: snorkel early, walk the gorges later.
- Fill up and buy supplies before heading into the park; inside it there are camp sites and nothing else.
- Camping in the park is booked ahead, not decided on arrival.
What you can drive
Every depot is stocked from the same national fleet — campervans, 4WD campers and a five-seat car. What is actually available on your dates is confirmed by the search, not assumed from a list.
The full fleet, with specifications · All pickup locations
Exmouth is the network's outpost on this coast, and the fleet pages are where a 4WD and a campervan get weighed against each other.
Keep planning
The rest of this site is about the Fraser Coast — the drive up from Brisbane, getting onto K'gari and when the whales are in the bay. There are 11 guides.