Oyster Stacks

Meet the site

Oyster Stacks is a compact, fish-packed snorkel site where four or five large rock formations, encrusted with oysters and coral, rise from the sand just off a rocky shore in Cape Range National Park. It is one of the most popular spots on the Ningaloo coast because the life is concentrated in a small area within a short swim of the car park.

The stacks and the coral between them shelter a dense community of reef fish — damsels, butterflyfish, wrasse, parrotfish and angelfish — with reef sharks, stingrays, turtles, starfish and sea urchins regularly seen. Plate corals grow around the bases. Because everything is within a few metres of the surface, it is ideal for photographers and families with confident swimmers.

The site is entirely tide-dependent. It should only be snorkelled on a tide higher than about 1.2 m, within roughly two hours of high water; at lower tides the tops of the stacks are exposed, snorkellers scrape over coral and oysters, and the reef suffers. Entry is over rocks, so reef shoes are strongly recommended. It can be crowded in the permitted windows, and the water can be bumpy when the wind is up.

Outside the stacks, currents can pick up, but around the formations the water is generally calm. It suits beginners and anyone wanting a shallow, fish-dense snorkel.

Planning a Cape Range day: the national park's lagoon sites stretch about 50 km along Yardie Creek Road from Tantabiddi to Osprey and Sandy Bay, all within the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Coast. The reef crest sits a few hundred metres to a couple of kilometres offshore, enclosing a lagoon of sand, seagrass and coral bommies, and a series of sanctuary zones (look but don't take) protect the best-known snorkel areas. There are no shops, fuel or air fills in the park, so bring water, food, sun protection and reef shoes from Exmouth. The Milyering Discovery Centre has current information on conditions and zones. Mornings are usually calmer, clearer and cooler than afternoons, and checking the tide chart is essential for the shallower sites.

What you might see

Dense reef fish (damsels, butterflyfish, wrasse, parrotfish, angelfish), reef sharks, stingrays, turtles, starfish, sea urchins, oysters, plate corals

Location

Oyster-encrusted rock stacks rising from sand just off a rocky shore in Cape Range National Park, north of Osprey Bay; snorkel only on tides above about 1.2 m.

Facilities nearby

Cape Range National Park entry fee applies (pay station on Yardie Creek Road). Toilets and car parks at most beach sites; Milyering Discovery Centre (drinking water, information). No fuel, shops or air in the park – air fills, hire and supplies in Exmouth.