Dive Review of Dive Ningaloo/N/A in
Australia/Exmouth Navy Pier, Western Aus

Other Australia reports
Subscriber Content Preview
Active subscribers go here

Dive Ningaloo/N/A: "Excellent pier dive (when conditions are good)", Aug, 2023, by Phil Johnston, Bayswater, AU ( Top Contributor 30 reports with 29 Helpful votes). Report 12581 has 1 Helpful vote.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations	N/A	Food	N/A
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I had long wanted to dive the Navy Base pier at Exmouth. I did an initial shore dive, then a double dive two days later, entering at the end of the pier. Exmouth Pier is rated as one of the world's best pier dive, I would agree that in good conditions it is an amazing site. First dive was done as a shore dive due to work being done on the pier - it is still a working pier used to deliver fuel to the Naval communications base at Northwest Cape. A small degree of surge was experienced on entry - dives can only be done at slack water due to high currents in what is a quite unprotected site. Visibility was not good - perhaps 5 meters / 20 feet. I got only glimpses of the extensive fish life under the pier, but there was extensive macro life - nudis, flatworms etc - on the pylons & supports. I dived the pier 2 days later - after 2 days of calm weather conditions & visibility were vastly improved - the dive guides said it was as good as it gets at the pier. I saw it all - wobbegong sharks, stingrays, trevallies, sweetlips, coral trout, grouper, angelfish, catfish, butterfly fish, olive sea snakes octopus & most impressively, 2 full grown, very approachable grey nurse sharks (aka sand tiger sharks). The dive guide told us these are generally present over the (southern) winter months. He advised that white tip sharks also inhabit the pier but I did not see any. The 2 dives on my second visit were from the platform at the end of the pier, unlike my first dive 2 days previous. Both dives were slack water ebb - it was the longest stride entry I have ever done because of the low tide - around 3 meters / 10 feet. Between dives basic snacks - instant soup & crusty bread, & basic tea / coffee were provided from the trailer towed by Dive Ningaloo's van. Those wishing to dive the Navy Pier should be aware that there are reasonably strict security procedures in place on account of it being a working Australian navy base - photo ID is needed to enter the Navy base & photography whilst inside the base is prohibited. Divers are ferried from Dive Ningaloo's office in Exmouth town, approximately 30 minutes away by van. Gear is set up in the trailer towed by the van at the office, & extensive video briefings are shown during the drive to the pier. I dived the pier in late (southern) winter, I generally don't feel the cold but these were not warm dives, despite Exmouth's semi-desert location. At most water temperature was 22 degrees Celsius. Overall I was delighted with my last 2 dives on the pier. I would recommend that those visiting Exmouth to dive the Navy pier should try & arrange dives on separate days if time & finances permit, as conditions are obviously highly variable. I would finally add that Exmouth Gulf is an absolute haven for humpback whales - an estimated 12-13,000 pass Ningaloo over winter. I saw whales from the pier, from the beach, during diving day trips to the Muiron Islands & during the 3 day liveaboard I did with Dive Ningaloo. Exmouth / Northwest Cape / Ningaloo is likely the world's premier location for whale watching.
Websites	Dive Ningaloo
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Australia, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Indonesia (Bali, Komodo, Rajah Ampat, Lembeh, Manado, Ambon) Cocos Islands, Mexico (Cozumel & Soccorros) Tonga, Galapagos, Tahiti, Maldives, Mozambique, Bahamas, Red Sea, Roatan, Philippines, Hawaii (Kona, Maui)
Closest Airport	Learmonth	Getting There	I flew direct Melbourne to Learmonth. This is seasonal Autumn-Spring, probably to co-incide with whaleshark / humpback season
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	20-22°C / 68-72°F	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	5-20 M / 16-66 Ft
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	The usual, maximum depth is around 18 metres / 50 feet
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	no
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	No facilities for rinsing cameras at the site. The pier is accessed by road in a van, no fresh water was carries in the van for gear rinsing. Guests are returned to Dive Ningaloo's shop / office in Exmouth, which had very basic tub for gear rinsing.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here

Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 191 dive reviews of Australia and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

All Australia Dive Reviews and Reports
Diving Guide to Australia
Diving Reviews for All Dive Destinations

Want to assemble your own collection of Australia reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

Undercurrent Home

Page computed and displayed in 0.43 seconds

Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email. And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent
Get a free monthly email and a sample issue!

Dive Review of Dive Ningaloo/N/A in Australia/Exmouth Navy Pier, Western Aus

Dive Ningaloo/N/A: "Excellent pier dive (when conditions are good)", Aug, 2023,

Photos Submitted with this Report

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Dive Ningaloo/N/A in
Australia/Exmouth Navy Pier, Western Aus