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.

Monday 10 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 6:29 · sunrise 6:52 · solar noon 12:30 · sunset 18:08 · dusk 18:31
Breeze➤➤➤➤➤calmreef➤➤➤➤calmtip➤➤➤➤➤calmtownreef calm · tip S breeze ~8:00 · town calm · up to 21 km/h
Tide▲▽▲high 7:37 (2.0 m) · low 15:26 (0.7 m) · high 22:13 (1.6 m) — Exmouth gauge, above LAT
Mandu Mandu Gorge loop6:12–8:12 · sunrise 6:52 · dawn for rock-wallabies — and no shade laterMandu Mandu rock-wallabies6:12–8:12 · sunrise 6:52 · most active in the soft early lightCharles Knife sunrise drive6:12–8:12 · sunrise 6:52 · low light throws the canyons into reliefBadjirrajirra Loop walk6:12–8:12 · sunrise 6:52 · start at first light — fully exposedVlamingh Head sunrise6:12–8:12 · sunrise 6:52Bundegi kayak trail6:22–8:00 · around high 7:37 · 2.0 m · S sea breeze ~8:00 · snorkel the moorings with water over the reefOsprey Bay drift snorkel6:22–8:22 · rising to high 7:37 · 2.0 m · calm all day (≤18 km/h)Oyster Stacks coral snorkelaround high 7:37 · 2.0 m · needs ~1.2 m of water over the coralYardie Creek rim walk6:52–8:00 · cooler ends of the dayBundegi reef snorkel6:52–8:00 · S sea breeze ~8:00 · a good fallback when the west coast blows outBundegi SUP6:52–8:00 · S sea breeze ~8:00Wobiri reef break6:52–8:00 · S sea breeze ~8:00 · light easterly mornings, before the sea breezeTantabiddi lagoon snorkel6:52–8:00 · S sea breeze ~8:00Turquoise 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 buildsExmouth scenic flightbook a morning flight — calmest air and best lightDunes surf breakmid tide ~11:32 · calm all day (≤21 km/h) · mid tide — the left gets shallow on the dropVlamingh Head sunset17:23–18:28 · sunset 18:08Jurabi dune sunset17:23–18:28 · sunset 18:08Milyering dark-sky stargazingdark sky from 19:24 · 7% moon · 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.