When the Gondwana supercontinent split up in the early Jurassic, some 185 million years ago, it set the stage for some uncanny biodiversity down the line. The rupture of Antarctica from Australia in the late Cretaceous cemented the deal. This set-up is a slightly dramatic, roundabout way to illustrate why we hurl so much hyperbole at Oz. Australia’s relative isolation from the other continents, the result of epic plate tectonic shifts, is the country’s inexpungible asset.

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Consider the stellar and eclectic lineup of natural UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Australia: The Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu National Park, Willandra Lakes Region, Gondwana Rainforests, Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa, Wet Tropics of Queensland, Fossil Mammal Sites of Queensland and South Australia, Greater Blue Mountains, Shark Bay and Purnululu National Park. But wait, there’s more. To this we add the Tasmanian Wilderness, Fraser Island, Lord Howe Island Group, Heard and McDonald Islands and Macquarie Island.

It hardly seems fair to the rest of the world. Australia has more natural UNESCO sites than the U.S., Canada, Russia, China, India and Brazil. And then suddenly, in late June, news of the induction of yet another incomparable, pristine swath of the country: the Ningaloo Coast.

Western Australia already had Shark Bay and Purnululu National Park on the list. The inclusion of Ningaloo Coast completes the hat-trick for the state and helps protect a peerless part of the coast north of the auspices of Shark Bay. UNESCO World Heritage status induces a modicum of fame and celebrity – hopefully in a positive sense. Now that the Ningaloo Coast is part of the club, more scrutiny will befall it in the realm of conservation and best environmental practices. This is all good, of course. The key is to balance this with a surefire rise in tourism. In 2002 there was a major flap over the development of a resort on the coast, which, in the end, did not come to pass.

The Ningaloo Coast covers the remote upper North West corner of Western Australia, some 1,200 km from Perth. The coast is special because it supports a truly singular coral reef and otherworldly underground caves and rock formations that go on for miles. To wit, the UNESCO inscription covers a total of 705,015 hectares. Far off from Great Barrier Reef’s stupendous 34,870,000 hectares but nonetheless impressive.

The coast is rightfully pristine and gorgeous to behold but the premier attraction is the marine life. Ningaloo is home to a variety of stars, such as dolphins, dugongs, humpbacks, manta rays, sea turtles and whale sharks. And that is just the tip of the coral.

While the hope for the new UNESCO World Heritage Site is that it stays as hermetic as possible from human activity (innumerable, ominous oil rigs and gas plants lurk in the vicinity of the reef), Western Australia’s Coral Coast, which envelops Ningaloo from Cervantes to Exmouth, is already a big draw. It deserves a visit. The primeval, immaculate Ningaloo Marine Park is what Australia is all about.

Ningaloo Coast Hotels:

Novotel Ningaloo Resort Exmouth

Ningaloo Reef Resort Coral Bay

Exmouth City Guide

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