Mr & Mrs Smith

It's also not all about the water at Sal Salis. Two kilometres behind the camp, a walk up Mandu Mandu Gorge makes for an inspiring three-kilometre return ramble. When you’re not cooing over ancient limestone formations and fossils, you’ll be sneaking peeks at the too-blue coastline. A guided cruise or one-and-a-half-kilometre round-trip walk to Yardie Creek, a red limestone-lined, water- and mangrove-filled gorge that draws birds, marine animals and thirsty black-footed rock wallabies, is also a treat. Find it at the end of the sealed Yardie Creek Road or contact Exmouth’s DEC–Yardie Creek Tours (+61 (0)8 9947 8000) or Ningaloo Safari Tours (www.ningaloosafari.com) for cruises. When all's said and done, of course, Ningaloo is swimming and snorkelling heaven, with pristine beaches and reefs at your flipper-tips. Expect to spy anemones, clownfish, rays, staghorn coral and sponge gardens below the waves. To snorkel with whale sharks you’ll need to join a boat trip from Exmouth or Coral Bay. Try Ningaloo Blue Charters (+61 (0)8 9949 1119), which also offers fishing, or Ningaloo Reef Dreaming (+61 (0)8 9949 4777), which uses a spotter plane to locate whale sharks, and can also take you scuba diving. To view the eye-popping coral, we suggest a glass-bottom boat trip: Ningaloo Ecology Cruises (+61 (0)8 9949 2255) leaves from Tantabiddi Beach near Exmouth. Outside the waters of the marine park, you’ll find Australia’s best bonefishing: see what you can catch with Blue Horizon Fishing and Dive Charters (+61 (0)8 9949 1620). Scuba is also rated round here, with the Navy Pier dive a favourite: Ningaloo Whaleshark ’n’ Dive (+61 (0)8 9949 1116) offers dives, plus swimming with manta rays and humpback whale spotting. If kayaking’s more your speed, contact Capricorn Sea Kayaking (www.capricornseakayaking.com.au) for one-day or longer reef trips where you can encounter turtles, dugongs and dolphins.

It’s seriously remote here, so unless you plan to start hunting and gathering your own bush tucker, your only option is to eat in. The nearest town, Exmouth, is an hour’s drive to the north. In Exmouth, fine-dining enthusiasts should head to Mantaray’s Restaurant (Novotel Ningaloo Reef, Madaffari Drive, +61 (0)8 9949 0000) for Modern Australian fare, including just-landed Exmouth barramundi with kipfler potatoes, and Shark Bay Scallops with cauliflower puree. Ningaloo Heath Foods (3A Kennedy Street, +61 (0)8 9949 1400) is home to wholesome breakfasts, healthy lunch options and luscious fresh-squeezed juices. Grace’s Tavern (829 Murat Road, +61 (0)8 9949 1000), the town’s local watering hole, offers pub meals with international flair, such as Asian curries and wood-fired pizzas. Experience relaxed alfresco dining at Whaler’s Restaurant (5 Kennedy Street, +61 (0)8 9949 2416), where regional produce is given the global treatment thanks to Mediterranean, Mexican and New Orleans influences. If authentic Italian flavours are what you’re craving, hightail it to Pinocchio Restaurant (1112 Murat Road, +61 (0)8 9949 4905), where Milan-born chef Salvatore Rampi turns out homemade pasta and pizzas.

March–April Snorkel or dive in to catch the incredible mass coral spawning, about 10 to 12 days after the full moon in both months. Late March/April–July Swim with whale sharks as they visit Ningaloo’s waters. May-November Don flippers and hang out with mesmerising manta rays. July–November Humpback whales can be spotted offshore as they migrate first north, then back south again. November–February Four species of turtle, including hawksbill, loggerhead, flatback and green, lay their eggs on the beach at night, with hatchlings popping out about 40 days later.