Lakeside Sanctuary Zone Snorkel
LOCATION Cape Range, Exmouth Peninsula, Western Australia
DEPTH 1-5 Meters
WATER TEMP 22-28 Degrees
DIFFICULTY Easy
Snorkel straight from the beach
FEATURE
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Lakeside Sanctuary Zone
LOCATION Cape Range, Exmouth Peninsula, Western Australia
DEPTH 1-5 Meters
WATER TEMP 22-28 Degrees
DIFFICULTY Easy
Snorkel straight from the beach
FEATURE
Lakeside Sanctuary Zone
With four markers defining the sanctuary zone, Lakeside Sanctuary offers a quieter alternative to other nearby popular spots. You can relax and enjoy swimming between the bommies spotting turtles, rays, reef sharks, the resident dugong along with lots of colourful reef fish. Lakeside is a great option where you don’t have to worry about the tide like you do at Oyster Stacks or the current which you have to watch out for at Turquoise Bay.
What Can I See?
- Turtles, Dolphins, Reef Sharks, Stingrays, Dugongs, Octopus, Reef Fish
There is a huge variety of marine life here. Our daughter has also spotted dolphins here along with dugongs. Further out you can see schools of bigger fish and the variety of fish around the coral is huge. We watched turtles munching on blobs of weed, rays resting at the base of coral bommies and several small reef sharks. It is an action packed snorkel.
Getting There
Exmouth is a remote town 1200 km north or Perth in Western Australia.
Lakeside Sanctuary is a 35 minute drive from Exmouth. Look for turn off to the Milyering Discovery Centre in Cape Range National Park. Follow the road past the Discovery Centre to the Lakeside carpark. From there you have a 10-15 minute walk along the beach to the sanctuary zone which is shown by 4 large yellow markers.
For our visit when the tide was in, we had to wade across a shallow creek mouth before we could walk down the beach which was a bit of fun. At low tide, you won’t have to worry about this.
Where & How do you get in?
Look for the 4 large yellow markers that show the boundary for the sanctuary zone. From there you can slip on your fins and be snorkelling on the reef right off the beach. That is why we love Ningaloo!
Best Season
Lakeside Sanctuary Zone can be snorkelled all year round.
During summer temperatures average around 37 degrees so it is likely to be very hot from November – February. Temperatures are much more pleasant during the winter months of May – Septemberwith an average temperature of 24 degrees.
- Turtles all year round but nesting from November to March
- Whale Sharks – March – August
- Manta Rays all year round but very active from April to November
- Humpback Whales – June – October
- Turtle Nesting – November – February
- Turtle Hatching – January – March
How Busy/Crowds
We like it here because it is a big area and the 15min walk seems to put off a lot of people from coming here so even in peak season you will have plenty of reef to yourself
Visibility
Visibility can range from 5-40 m along Ningaloo Reef but the average would be 10-15 meters.
Costs / Permits
A National Park pass is required for entry to Cape Range National Park
The information for each snorkel spot is provided by people who have snorkelled there. However, snorkelling conditions change daily. Please be aware that wind, swell, tides and cloud cover can all affect visibility and your experience in the water.
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Best Conditions
Tides and currents have little impact on your snorkel here. On windy days the visibility is not as good but generally this is a great spot to snorkel year round.
Windy Map Instructions – Click on the wind icon in the top right to see other conditions such as swell, temperature, rain. To clear the four day forecast click and close the wind icon.
Facilities near Lakeside
Toilets
Picnic Table
Food & Drinks
Gear Hire
Shade
There are no facilities at Lakeside itself but the excellent Milyerang Visitor Centre is 1.5km from the Lakeside carpark. The visitor centre has snorkelling gear to hire, picnic tables, refreshments, souvenirs, toilets and tour information
About the Snorkel
This is one of our favourite snorkels on the amazing Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia. The sanctuary zone is well signed with 4 large markers – 2 on the beach and 2 buoys in the water. It is a big area, so you won’t bump into other snorkellers and it is less busy than the more popular Turquoise Bay and Oyster Stacks nearby.
What we most like about Lakeside is you never know what you are going to see as you float between the many bommies. We spotted turtles, rays and reef sharks. There was a huge octopus hidden away in a hollow and we spotted an enormous grouper swimming between the coral too. And there are colourful tropical fish everywhere.
The area also has a resident dugong. It was spotted the morning we were there but had moved on by the time we made our way out to where it was seen. Our daughter spotted it too when she snorkelled here.
The dugong hangs around out by the right hand buoy at the edge of the sanctuary. It is 300-400m out and it is often seen munching on the seagrass there. If you like planning your snorkel, you could do a lap of the marked area starting at the southern corner and working around the zone. On this occasion we weren’t that formal and just floated between the many clumps of coral.
For us, we saw a bigger variety of fish here than on other Ningaloo snorkels. When we get back to Ningaloo, it will be one of the first places we return to.
Snorkel Spots Nearby
More Things To Do
- Swimming with Turtles in Australia - October 29, 2023
