Sea turtles can be encountered on Western Australia's Coral Coast all year round and hatchlings may be sighted during turtle nesting season. You can snorkel with them through the beautiful coral gardens of the Ningaloo Marine Park. You can see them pop their heads up out of the water on a wildlife cruise in the Shark Bay Marine Park. Or you can watch them nesting and hatching on a night tour in Cape Range National Park.
The loggerhead turtle is the most endangered species of sea turtle in the world, and Western Australia’s Coral Coast is home to the two major breeding sites during turtle nesting season. These locations are the Turtle Bay area of northern Dirk Hartog Island, in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area, along the coastline at Gnaraloo accessible from Carnarvon and the Muiron Islands as part of the Ningaloo Marine Park, accessed via Exmouth.
The Ningaloo Reef region also supports large populations of green, hawksbill and flatback turtles, and Shark Bay is an important turtle nesting site, with up to 6,000 sea turtles living in its waters. Parks and Environment Marine Turtle Project is researching valuable information into the life history, behaviour and conservation of turtles in Shark Bay.
Read the turtle watcher's code of conduct before heading to the beaches to interact with marine turtles.
