Safari in Western Australia

The World Heritage Area of the Ningaloo Coast provides one of Australia’s great marine experiences, whilst the limestone backdrop of the Cape Range hides deep gorges of spectacular beauty. A good understanding of the wildlife and our spectacular location are revealed to you as our expert and passionate guides provide interpretation. This understanding, and our soft touches in camp, add up to a magical bush experience.

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In 2016 Sal Salis will open its season with a new and very exciting addition – an ocean going, luxury launch. This will enable us to extend the welcoming hospitality you feel in Camp to our own whale shark & humpback whale swim experiences.

‘Wave Rider’ is a Black Watch 40 and was custom built in Queensland, for Australian conditions. She combines safety and reliability with sea-going ability, comfortable interiors and a spacious back deck.

‘Wave Rider’s’ interiors include two private cabins, a complete bathroom with hot & cold shower and a beautiful galley from which we will serve delicious snacks and lunches. She also has a spacious saloon so that if conditions are rough – you’ll be sipping your beverage in style and comfort.

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Each year between April and July these slow-moving, gentle, filter-feeding giants migrate past Ningaloo Reef. The world’s biggest fish can grow to lengths of 12 metres or more and has a healthy appetite in order to sustain its immense size. Fortunately for most sea-dwellers (and for us) they feed primarily on plankton and krill, taking in huge gulps of water and filtering out their microscopic meal.

Whale sharks are found in tropical and warm oceans world-wide and can live to almost 70 years. Snorkelling alongside their huge 1.5 metre-diameter mouths is a once in a lifetime experience! Scientists know little about these creatures but you can identify individuals by looking at their unique spots, similar to fingerprints in humans. Ningaloo is one of the only places in the world whale sharks appear regularly in large numbers, with over 235 individuals recorded. Each year scientists photograph the whale sharks as they pass through our area and some have been identified as having visited Ningaloo for 17 years and counting

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In 2016, for the first time ever, the West Australian government has awarded travellers to Sal Salis the opportunity to swim with Humpback whales from 01 August to 31 October each year. For Swim with Humpback Whale packages

Humpback whales (Metaptera novaeangliae) are one of the larger baleen whale species and adults range in length from 12 to 16 mtrs (39 to 52 ft). The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is well known for breaching and other surface behaviours. Males produce a complex song lasting 10 to 20 minutes, which they repeat for hours at a time; parts of this song are audible to human ears in the water.

From June to November an estimated 30,000 humpback whales migrate along the Ningaloo Coast on their way to and from their breeding and birthing grounds in Exmouth Gulf and sheltered waters north as far as the Kimberley.

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Mandu Mandu Gorge is located 2km behind camp and is a step back in geological history with fossil bearing limestone formations and spectacular views back to the coast and over the Ningaloo Reef. The history of 30,000 years of human habitation in this area is slowly unfolding from studies of artefacts, middens and rock shelters found among the Acacia trees, spinifex, kurrajong and rock fig.

Records have been found of two, possibly three Aboriginal groups occupying the Ningaloo Coast, with the Jinigudira people thought to have inhabited the areas along and adjacent to the northern end of Cape. Evidence of the historical Aboriginal occupation is found throughout the Cape Range, with over 100 sites being identified and the Baiyungu people still have a strong presence in the area today.

Walking through the gorge provides an to spot the black-footed rock wallaby – these timid creatures tend to seek shelter on ledges along the gorge walls resting during daylight hours and coming out to feed later, in the cool of the night.

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Guided forays across the Reef reveal an array of colourful reef residents – fish, sea turtles, reef sharks, rays and corals. Kayaks are the perfect vessel for exploring the reef and you will be shown how to do so without interference to the ecosystem.

Our guided kayak-snorkels on the reef take you further off shore where we drop an anchor in the sand to snorkel some of the deeper lagoons. The lagoons in the Reef are some of the best snorkelling spots, they showcase the life-cycle of the reef as well as marine life interaction. Look out for soft corals, sponges, wobbegong sharks and hundreds of marine fish. Between August and October, you’ll see humpback whales migrating along the coast, just metres beyond the Reef.

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Ningaloo Reef is recognised as the premier game fishing destination in Western Australia. Few places in the world offer the ability to hook famous species such as Black, Blue and Stripped Marlin, Spanish Mackerel, Giant Trevally, Mahi Mahi, Wahoo and Sailfish regularly.

Ningaloo Reef is also one of the few places worldwide where one can catch such a variety and abundance of billfish species throughout all 12 months of the year.

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Ningaloo Reef is a fisherman’s playground with some of the most sought after reef fishing species on offer. Wrestle with Coral Trout, Red Emperor, North West Snapper, Groper and much more. The coral reef is located only 100 metres off shore at its nearest point and less than seven kilometres at its furthest. Anglers on the Ningaloo Reef catch an abundance of reef fish year round.

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A short distance from the camp and outside the National park, the coastal shallows provide the best conditions for Australia’s only bone-fish fishery. The reef forms a giant lagoon with extensive shallow sand flats and crystal clear water.

As the water warms up from late September through the summer and autumn, the Permit turn up on the Bone-fish flats in bigger numbers. There are no other flats in Australia where you can cast at Bone-fish and Permit, expecting to catch either!

We will be happy to book full and half day fishing charters from Sal Salis; to ensure we have a boat & guide available please arrange fishing at the time of booking your accommodation. Please note if you would like to fly fish you will need to either bring your own gear with you or have us book a local bone-fishing expert.

We are committed to the sustainable fishing practice of catch and release.

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