Sometimes you need to leave a place, separate yourself from it for a little while. So that from a distance you can truly value what it is you have. After returning home from a four month trip abroad, all that time spent away from home made me deeply appreciate the wonders right on our doorstep. I was itching to get back to the coast of Western Australia. Our home on the Ningaloo Reef / Nyinggulu is in close proximity to some of the most unique marine wildlife and endless expanses of untouched beaches. Just pure, wild nature.

I’ve always felt deeply drawn to water and wild places. Breathing in the humid sea air, immersing myself in the ocean, I’m enthralled by it. If I’m sitting idly, it feels oddly wrong. I get anxious like I’m missing something. And there is always something exciting happening out there on the Ningaloo / Nyinggulu. There is a constant transition of inhabitants on the reef, seasonal visitors arrive like clockwork. Each bringing with them a new kind of adventure. Being an ocean photographer in Western Australia, you never have a shortage of subjects. From elusive leafy sea dragons to playful sea lions and whale sharks, every section of coast is bustling with underwater life, and there are over 12,000 kilometres of it. Every time I’m on the reef, whether it is for work or play, I often catch myself asking “how is this real life, to have all this beauty so close?”.

Let me tell you about two of my most favourite encounters in the region. One of them was in March when it felt like peak summer; the air was hot, the sun baked the red earth, and I knew that the ocean nearby was humming with plenty of activity. We got up early to beat the heat, and packed the boat with our gear to look for one of the ocean’s most gentle giants. Starting as early as February each year, whale sharks begin arriving on the coast in huge numbers to feed. One hand on the tiller I followed the coastline south along the outer edge of the Ningaloo Reef / Nyinggulu. We scanned the water ahead for a sign of something. The currents had finally brought in some neon blue water off the continental shelf, and the water was glowing. We received a tip-off from one of the spotter pilots in the air above that there was a whale shark nearby for us to swim with. Camera in hand, I slid into the water. The first thing I saw was the white of its mouth and dazzling spots that reflected the bright sun above. The young whale shark, still 8 metres long, moved gently through the water sucking up plankton.

I started to swim alongside the giant animal, looking into a tiny eye protruding from his head. Small pilot fish, remora and juvenile golden trevally followed along. The shark reminded me of its own swimming ecosystem. I’ve photographed hundreds of whale sharks, but their beauty never ceases to amaze me. For a small moment in time, I forgot everything else. l became part of the shark’s ecosystem.

Another favourite encounter happened in July. The earth had come alive with new growth after some rain and the warm, clear waters had now cooled. The wind and winter swells had transformed the reef into a playground for the arriving humpback whales that migrate north. To see them, we travelled to the Exmouth Gulf on the eastern side of the cape. In winter we get blissful evenings where the water of the gulf becomes calm and serene, while humpback whales rest and play in its sheltered waters. Everywhere I looked there were dark shapes breaking the surface to breathe.

The air was so silent that you were able to hear the humpbacks breaching many kilometres away. Suddenly, one individual surfaced right next to us, so that I could see the glow of white from its belly. I shuffled in my seat feeling like a sitting duck in our small boat next to this giant whale. As it moved further away, I almost breathed a sigh of relief, but then it hurled its entire body out of the water. A heartstopping moment that left me feeling full, happy and in awe.

The Ningaloo Reef / Nyinggulu is a popular hub for marine megafauna interactions and whale watching. This place leaves a mark on everyone who gets to experience its wonders. Some, like me, come for a short while but end up never leaving the region. This land, where the red earth of the desert meets the blue of the Ningaloo / Nyinggulu, is a true hidden gem of the Australian continent.