Volunteer for a week on our Whaleshark or Humpback Whale Tours!

Your role is simple - to help our crew create one of the best tours our passengers have ever been on!

Ningaloo Whaleshark Swim takes tours daily to the Ningaloo Reef to swim with whalesharks, manta rays and humpback whales in season too! Backpackers, seniors, families, groups of friends, students and so many different people join us on a daily basis. Our onboard volunteers play an important role in helping our crew deliver world-class tour experiences.

In exchange for getting to experiencing working onboard a whale shark tour vessel on the Ningaloo Reef for a week, our volunteers help our crew out with their work before, during and after each tour. You'll be preparing food, cleaning and assisting in boat preparation and pack-down.

OPTION ONE : VOLUNTEER ONBOARD OUR TOUR BOAT FOR A WEEK FOR $240  

Your booking includes the following:

1. Experience working onboard our tour boat, as part of a committed team of friendly, passionate marine ecotourism professionals. You will learn the 'behind the scenes' work required to deliver our world-class whale shark and humpback whale tours.

2. A chance to swim with whalesharks (and humpbacks during season) for just $18 extra on any tour during your week where less than 20 swimming passengers enter the water for a megafauna swim. IMPORTANT - we CANNOT guarantee you that you will get the chance to swim with a whale shark or humpback whale during your week volunteering onboard with us. If swimming with a whale shark whilst you are in Exmouth is really important to you, please choose OPTION TWO below!

3. Snorkel the Ningaloo Reef daily, and swim with any manta rays we encounter too! 

4. All catering (daily morning, afternoon teas and lunch) and snorkelling equipment is supplied, free transport to and from Tantabiddi and Exmouth, and onboard training and supervision.

5. Insurance whilst you are onboard working as part of our team

6. Get your own Ningaloo Whaleshark Swim t-shirt to keep, and tour photos from all the tours during your volunteer week from our onboard professional photographer.

7. And, if we get the chance, join a group of guests for a Try SCUBA dive (DSD) or a SCUBA dive if you're already certified for just $20 extra!

You do need to pay a $500 deposit as well as the $240 to secure your booking. You will be refunded in full at the successful completion of your Volunteering week, unless:

a) you don't turn up on the agreed date to start your Volunteer position OR
b) you don't turn up to work each day during your Volunteering period looking clean, neat and professional, and with a great attitude ready to work, OR
c) we need to ask you to leave due to poor attitude or unsafe behaviours, after we have raised issues of concern with you on at least two previous occasions.
(If a Volunteer's deposit is not refunded (which is very rare) we donate this sum of money to Ecocean, one of the world's leading whaleshark research organisations.)

OPTION TWO : VOLUNTEER ONBOARD OUR TOUR BOAT FOR A WEEK FOR $700, INCLUDING A GUARANTEED WHALE SHARK SWIM!

You get all of the benefits of Option One PLUS a guaranteed swim with a whale shark by booking you onto a tour during your volunteering week. If swimming with a whale shark is really important to you whilst you are in Exmouth, we highly recommend this option to you. You do not need to pay the $500 deposit if you choose Option Two.

If you choose Option Two, we will book you onto a Whaleshark tour during you week volunteering with us and you will get the same opportunities, conditions and guarantees as the customers for our whaleshark swims for this tour.

Please consider the following carefully before booking on as a Volunteer:
- Accommodation is not included, you will need to organise this (best in advance as it can sell out quickly). YHA Backpackers is the closest to our office (you morning pick-up point).

- You must be over the age of 18 to Volunteer unless you have received our approval beforehand.

- Fluent English is essential to communicate easily with staff and guests. 

- You are required to wear our ‘Experience Wonder’ T-Shirt whenever there are no in water activities happening and to/from the boat each day. 

- They can be long days, as you will be leaving town around 6:20am and returning around 4-5pm each day, but with plenty of time during the day to take in the Reef too. 

Once your booking is confirmed, you will need to forward through a recent photo of yourself and brief summary of your work and life experience to date. This will give us a better idea of where you are coming from and how to make the Volunteer program work best for you. Please include any social media accounts you may have.

We reserve the right to end any volunteer period early if a volunteer is viewed by the skipper, senior staff or owner as a significant risk to the safety of the passengers and crew onboard, or the business's brand and reputation. We reserve the right to do this without any further explanation to the volunteer but do commit to NEVER doing this without a good reason to do so.

Email further questions to info@ningaloowhalesharks.com