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.

Sunday 2 August

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 6:33 · sunrise 6:57 · solar noon 12:31 · sunset 18:05 · dusk 18:28
Breeze➤➤➤➤➤➤calmreef➤➤➤➤➤➤calmtip➤➤➤➤➤➤calmtowncalm all day — under 20 km/h (max 20)
Tide▽▲▽low 7:06 (0.8 m) · high 13:14 (2.3 m) · low 19:28 (0.4 m) — Exmouth gauge, above LAT
Mandu Mandu Gorge loop6:17–8:17 · sunrise 6:57 · dawn for rock-wallabies — and no shade laterMandu Mandu rock-wallabies6:17–8:17 · sunrise 6:57 · most active in the soft early lightCharles Knife sunrise drive6:17–8:17 · sunrise 6:57 · low light throws the canyons into reliefBadjirrajirra Loop walk6:17–8:17 · sunrise 6:57 · start at first light — fully exposedVlamingh Head sunrise6:17–8:17 · sunrise 6:57Yardie Creek rim walk6:57–8:00 · cooler ends of the dayWobiri reef break6:57–8:00 · calm all day (≤20 km/h) · light easterly mornings, before the sea breezeTurquoise Bay drift snorkelcalm all day (≤18 km/h)Lakeside reef snorkelcalm all day (≤18 km/h)Yardie Creek paddlecalm all day (≤18 km/h) · the gorge funnels windSandy Bay swimcalm all day (≤18 km/h)Sandy Bay SUP & flat watercalm all day (≤18 km/h) · the wind crowd takes over once the breeze buildsBundegi reef snorkelcalm all day (≤20 km/h) · a good fallback when the west coast blows outBundegi SUPcalm all day (≤20 km/h)Tantabiddi lagoon snorkelcalm all day (≤20 km/h)Exmouth scenic flightbook a morning flight — calmest air and best lightDunes surf breakmid tide ~10:10 · calm all day (≤20 km/h) · mid tide — the left gets shallow on the dropOsprey Bay drift snorkelrising to high 13:14 · 2.3 m · calm all day (≤18 km/h)Oyster Stacks coral snorkelaround high 13:14 · 2.3 m · needs ~1.2 m of water over the coralBundegi kayak trailaround high 13:14 · 2.3 m · calm all day (≤20 km/h) · snorkel the moorings with water over the reefVlamingh Head sunset17:20–18:25 · sunset 18:05Jurabi dune sunset17:20–18:25 · sunset 18:05Milyering dark-sky stargazingdark until the 85% moon rises ~21:32 · 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.