Illustrated day on the reef, dawn to night — a smiling rising sun, a snorkeller over a manta ray and turtle at midday, and a crescent moon over the sunset

A day on the reef

Daily guide

What's good around Exmouth, hour by hour — each in-season experience placed in its best window by the real sun, moon, tide and sea breeze for the day. Step through dates to scout a trip.

Thursday 24 September

Solid bars are pinned to the real sun, moon, tide and sea breeze for this date; faded bars are a looser part of the day.

6am81012pm246810
Sundawn 5:50 · sunrise 6:12 · solar noon 12:16 · sunset 18:21 · dusk 18:43
Breezebreezyreefbreezytipbreezytownreef S breeze ~7:00 · tip S breeze ~7:00 · town S breeze ~7:00 · up to 28 km/h
Tidehigh 9:50 (1.9 m) · low 16:19 (0.8 m) · high 22:35 (1.9 m) — Exmouth gauge, above LAT
Mandu Mandu Gorge loop5:32–7:32 · sunrise 6:12 · dawn for rock-wallabies — and no shade laterMandu Mandu rock-wallabies5:32–7:32 · sunrise 6:12 · most active in the soft early lightCharles Knife sunrise drive5:32–7:32 · sunrise 6:12 · low light throws the canyons into reliefBadjirrajirra Loop walk5:32–7:32 · sunrise 6:12 · start at first light — fully exposedVlamingh Head sunrise5:32–7:32 · sunrise 6:12Turquoise Bay drift snorkel6:12–7:00 · S sea breeze ~7:00Lakeside reef snorkel6:12–7:00 · S sea breeze ~7:00Yardie Creek paddle6:12–7:00 · S sea breeze ~7:00 · the gorge funnels windSandy Bay swim6:12–7:00 · S sea breeze ~7:00Sandy Bay SUP & flat water6:12–7:00 · S sea breeze ~7:00 · the wind crowd takes over once the breeze buildsBundegi reef snorkel6:12–7:00 · S sea breeze ~7:00 · a good fallback when the west coast blows outBundegi SUP6:12–7:00 · S sea breeze ~7:00Wobiri reef break6:12–7:00 · S sea breeze ~7:00 · light easterly mornings, before the sea breezeTantabiddi lagoon snorkel6:12–7:00 · S sea breeze ~7:00Yardie Creek rim walk6:12–8:00 · cooler ends of the dayExmouth scenic flightbook a morning flight — calmest air and best lightOsprey Bay drift snorkelrising to high 9:50 · 1.9 m · breezy from 7:00 todayOyster Stacks coral snorkelaround high 9:50 · 1.9 m · needs ~1.2 m of water over the coralBundegi kayak trailaround high 9:50 · 1.9 m · breezy from 8:00 today · snorkel the moorings with water over the reefDunes surf breakmid tide ~13:05 · breezy from 12:00 today · mid tide — the left gets shallow on the dropVlamingh Head sunset17:36–18:41 · sunset 18:21Jurabi dune sunset17:36–18:41 · sunset 18:21Milyering dark-sky stargazingpoor tonight — 95% moon up through the evening · let your eyes adjust ~20 min

Sun and moon are computed for Exmouth; times are AWST. Tides are computed from the Exmouth gauge (20.3 km away; TICON-4 constituents, CC BY 4.0, DGFI-TUM) — astronomical tide above LAT, no weather surge. Not for navigation. Wind is an Open-Meteo forecast at 3 points across the cape (reef, tip, town): hours shade darker as the wind builds (hatched = 20+ km/h sea breeze), arrows show where it blows toward, and hovering an hour gives the number.