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.

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 5:10 · sunrise 5:34 · solar noon 12:09 · sunset 18:43 · dusk 19:07
Breeze➤➤➤➤➤breezyreef➤➤➤➤➤breezytip➤➤➤➤calmtownreef SW breeze ~12:00 · tip SW breeze ~14:00 · town calm · up to 25 km/h
Tide▽▲▽low 7:32 (0.4 m) · high 14:03 (1.9 m) · low 19:11 (1.1 m) — Exmouth gauge, above LAT
Mandu Mandu Gorge loop5:00–6:54 · sunrise 5:34 · dawn for rock-wallabies — and no shade laterMandu Mandu rock-wallabies5:00–6:54 · sunrise 5:34 · most active in the soft early lightCharles Knife sunrise drive5:00–6:54 · sunrise 5:34 · low light throws the canyons into reliefVlamingh Head sunrise5:00–6:54 · sunrise 5:34Yardie Creek rim walkcooler ends of the dayTurquoise Bay drift snorkelSW sea breeze ~12:00Lakeside reef snorkelSW sea breeze ~12:00Yardie Creek paddleSW sea breeze ~12:00 · the gorge funnels windSandy Bay swimSW sea breeze ~12:00Sandy Bay SUP & flat waterSW sea breeze ~12:00 · the wind crowd takes over once the breeze buildsBundegi reef snorkelSW sea breeze ~14:00 · a good fallback when the west coast blows outBundegi SUPSW sea breeze ~14:00Wobiri SUPSW sea breeze ~14:00Tantabiddi lagoon snorkelSW sea breeze ~14:00Exmouth scenic flightbook a morning flight — calmest air and best lightOsprey Bay drift snorkel10:33–12:00 · rising to high 14:03 · 1.9 m · SW sea breeze ~12:00Bundegi kayak trailaround high 14:03 · 1.9 m · SW sea breeze ~14:00 · snorkel the moorings with water over the reefOyster Stacks coral snorkelaround high 14:03 · 1.9 m · needs ~1.2 m of water over the coralVlamingh Head sunset17:58–19:03 · sunset 18:43Jurabi dune sunset17:58–19:03 · sunset 18:43Jurabi turtle watchingafter dark — dusk 19:07 · nesting season — follow the turtle codeMilyering dark-sky stargazing23:05–late · dark once the 23% moon sets ~23:05 · 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.