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.

Tuesday 18 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 6:23 · sunrise 6:46 · solar noon 12:28 · sunset 18:10 · dusk 18:33
Breeze➤➤➤calmreef➤➤➤➤➤calmbreezytip➤➤➤➤calmbreezytownreef calm · tip NW breeze ~13:00 · town NW breeze ~13:00 · up to 24 km/h
Tide▽▲▽low 8:28 (0.5 m) · high 14:31 (2.0 m) · low 20:11 (0.6 m) — Exmouth gauge, above LAT
Mandu Mandu Gorge loop6:06–8:06 · sunrise 6:46 · dawn for rock-wallabies — and no shade laterMandu Mandu rock-wallabies6:06–8:06 · sunrise 6:46 · most active in the soft early lightCharles Knife sunrise drive6:06–8:06 · sunrise 6:46 · low light throws the canyons into reliefBadjirrajirra Loop walk6:06–8:06 · sunrise 6:46 · start at first light — fully exposedVlamingh Head sunrise6:06–8:06 · sunrise 6:46Yardie Creek rim walk6:46–8:00 · cooler ends of the dayWobiri reef break6:46–8:00 · NW sea breeze ~13:00 · light easterly mornings, before the sea breezeTurquoise Bay drift snorkelcalm all day (≤14 km/h)Lakeside reef snorkelcalm all day (≤14 km/h)Yardie Creek paddlecalm all day (≤14 km/h) · the gorge funnels windSandy Bay swimcalm all day (≤14 km/h)Sandy Bay SUP & flat watercalm all day (≤14 km/h) · the wind crowd takes over once the breeze buildsBundegi reef snorkelNW sea breeze ~13:00 · a good fallback when the west coast blows outBundegi SUPNW sea breeze ~13:00Tantabiddi lagoon snorkelNW sea breeze ~13:00Exmouth scenic flightbook a morning flight — calmest air and best lightDunes surf breakmid tide ~11:30 · NW sea breeze ~13:00 · mid tide — the left gets shallow on the dropOsprey Bay drift snorkelrising to high 14:31 · 2.0 m · calm all day (≤14 km/h)Bundegi kayak trail12:01–13:00 · around high 14:31 · 2.0 m · NW sea breeze ~13:00 · snorkel the moorings with water over the reefOyster Stacks coral snorkelaround high 14:31 · 2.0 m · needs ~1.2 m of water over the coralVlamingh Head sunset17:25–18:30 · sunset 18:10Jurabi dune sunset17:25–18:30 · sunset 18:10Milyering dark-sky stargazingpoor tonight — 35% 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.