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 12 November

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 5:11 · sunrise 5:35 · solar noon 12:08 · sunset 18:42 · dusk 19:06
Breeze➤➤➤➤calmreef➤➤➤➤calmbreezytip➤➤➤➤calmtownreef calm · tip W breeze ~18:00 · town W breeze ~18:00 · up to 21 km/h
Tide▽▲▽low 6:36 (0.3 m) · high 13:05 (2.0 m) · low 18:17 (1.0 m) — Exmouth gauge, above LAT
Mandu Mandu Gorge loop5:00–6:55 · sunrise 5:35 · dawn for rock-wallabies — and no shade laterMandu Mandu rock-wallabies5:00–6:55 · sunrise 5:35 · most active in the soft early lightCharles Knife sunrise drive5:00–6:55 · sunrise 5:35 · low light throws the canyons into reliefVlamingh Head sunrise5:00–6:55 · sunrise 5:35Yardie Creek rim walkcooler ends of the dayTurquoise 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 snorkelW sea breeze ~18:00 · a good fallback when the west coast blows outBundegi SUPW sea breeze ~18:00Wobiri SUPW sea breeze ~18:00Tantabiddi lagoon snorkelW sea breeze ~18:00Exmouth scenic flightbook a morning flight — calmest air and best lightOsprey Bay drift snorkelrising to high 13:05 · 2.0 m · calm all day (≤18 km/h)Oyster Stacks coral snorkelaround high 13:05 · 2.0 m · needs ~1.2 m of water over the coralBundegi kayak trailaround high 13:05 · 2.0 m · W sea breeze ~18:00 · snorkel the moorings with water over the reefVlamingh Head sunset17:57–19:02 · sunset 18:42Jurabi dune sunset17:57–19:02 · sunset 18:42Jurabi turtle watchingafter dark — dusk 19:06 · nesting season — follow the turtle codeMilyering dark-sky stargazingdark sky from 20:03 · 10% 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.