Ranger's Bommies

Meet the site

Ranger's Bommies is a group of healthy Porites coral bommies inside the Ningaloo lagoon, opposite the Cape Range National Park ranger station and entry area. Scuba Diving magazine ranked it among the five best dives on Ningaloo, noting that its shallow depth — about 6–9 m — belies rich biodiversity.

The bommies are large, rounded coral heads on a sand floor. Stingrays wedge themselves under the overhanging edges, and the list of rays is long: cowtail, marbled, Jenkins whiprays and honeycomb whiprays. Leopard sharks, lemon sharks, shovelnose guitarfish and wedgefish rest on the sand, and green turtles, reef sharks, octopus, giant clams, clownfish, pufferfish and schools of bream and parrotfish round out a dense scene. Manta rays pass through, and larger sharks — tiger and hammerhead — are occasionally reported.

The northern side sits around 4 m and the southern drop-off around 8 m, so the site works well for snorkellers and scuba divers together. There are no moorings; anchor only on sand. Access requires a private or hire boat from Tantabiddi or an equipped sea kayak, and conditions need to be calm with little tidal movement.

It suits Open Water divers and competent snorkellers who want a quieter lagoon site with a strong chance of rays and sharks.

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

Cowtail, marbled, Jenkins and honeycomb whiprays, leopard sharks, lemon sharks, shovelnose guitarfish, wedgefish, reef sharks, green turtles, manta rays, octopus, giant clams, clownfish, pufferfish, bream and parrotfish schools; occasional tiger and hammerhead sharks

Location

Porites coral bommies in the Ningaloo lagoon about 1.5 km offshore from the Cape Range National Park entry station area, reached by boat or sea kayak.

Facilities nearby

Tantabiddi boat ramp: toilets, parking; Cape Range National Park entry fee.