While the Great Barrier lies far offshore, accessible only by boat, the Ningaloo is yards away.

FORBES: Life

How much all this effort will help the tour-operators at Ningaloo remains to be seen.

ECONOMIST: Whale sharks

Although the shark-watching industry at Ningaloo is small, and less than a decade old, it is profitable.

ECONOMIST: Whale sharks

From what I've seen of both reefs, Iwould guess that the 150-mile-long Ningaloo has a greater variety of sea life.

FORBES: Life

Seldom mentioned in guidebooks and closer to Jakarta than to Sydney, the coast stretches 750 miles north to the tip of the Ningaloo Reef.

FORBES: Where the Outback Meets the Sea

The Great Barrier Reef, 1, 400 miles of coral off the coast of Queensland, is far better known, but the Ningaloo in many ways trumps it.

FORBES: Magazine Article

The number of international visitors has increased 40% since 1995, and the number of visitors to Ningaloo has increased tenfold to an estimated 104, 000 a year.

FORBES: Magazine Article

We pressed on, our next stop the Ningaloo Reef.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Our plan had been to round the end of the Ningaloo peninsula (Cape Range National Park), do a little snorkeling at such stunning beaches as Oyster Stacks, then double back to Coral Bay.

FORBES: Life