Scanning the impossibly blue three-sixty-degree view aboard her luxury sailing catamaran, skipper Sarah Ellis scouts for cameos for the filming of Western Australia’s Walking On a Dream campaign. Whale sharks. Humpback whales. Manta rays. Turtles. Dolphins. Depending on the season, it could be all of the above on a tour aboard the Ningaloo Discovery. Every day is different on the drift of the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef (Nyinggulu) – the largest fringing reef on Earth.
Feature by: Jo Baker
Led by Sarah and her partner Matt Oakley, the Ningaloo Discovery team of eco-certified guides are expert choreographers of the iconic scene featured in the campaign - swimming with whale sharks off the Coral Coast.
“Every day is pretty special on the water. One day, we're out here swimming with the gentlest giants of the sea, the whale sharks, and we might be lucky enough to have orcas come along. We've had blue whales come through. No two days are ever the same.”
With the cast still audibly buzzing from snorkelling the coral gardens of Turquoise Bay, spotting a kaleidoscope of tropical sea life, Sarah gives the signal to look to the stern where a juvenile green turtle surfaces silently.
Ningaloo Discovery on set with Western Australia
Heading out just beyond the outer reef, a pod of common dolphins rides the bow. Closer to the breakers, off the reef, the giant white bellies of manta rays loom up from the blue as they barrel playfully, and humpbacks off the port side, break the surface with puffs of salty breath.
Although ordinary sights to Sarah, she’s as euphoric as the film crew. For her, the greatest thrill is seeing how these once-in-a-lifetime encounters become transformative moments for people.
“You can feel quite small amongst them. It makes you realise there’s a whole wide ocean out there, and some pretty amazing animals in it. It's quite a moving experience, and often a life-changing event for people. They come back to shore with huge smiles on their faces and tears of happiness.”
Charles Knife Gorge, Cape Range National Park
On the set of Walking On A Dream, the grins grew with every take. In fact, the crew hadn’t stopped smiling from the moment the arid, apricot plains and canyonlands of Cape Range National Park opened out to Ningaloo’s electric turquoise lagoons.
And for Sarah, that sensation never wears or wanes, working in this dreamscape of eye-popping contrasts, with otherworldly adventure beckoning on the deep cobalt-blue horizon.
“It’s quite hard for anywhere to measure up to what we have here. Our ideal holiday is taking a camping trip down the coast on the Ningaloo Reef,” says Sarah.
Walking On A Dream, Ningaloo Reef
“Getting out on the water in one of our boats. Surfing and snorkelling. A bit of fishing. Maybe cooking a fish on the campfire, if we're lucky enough to catch one. With a nice glass of West Australian red in hand and toes in the sand. Going to bed in a swag with that amazing, clear night sky above us.
“Everything's wide and open. It’s a huge and raw region where you can expect to be dwarfed by nature. There's not really anywhere like it.”
Published in February 2026.