Ayers Rock is a single large coral bommie — about 5 m tall and 10 m wide — on the western side of Bill's Bay, named for its resemblance to Uluru. A snorkel guide to the Paradise Beach drift places it about 50 m south-west of the kayak buoy and describes it as surviving the 2022 ecological event that damaged much of the coral in the bay, making it a concentrated habitat for fish.

The bommie is covered in hard coral and riddled with overhangs where harlequin sweetlips, floral Maori wrasse, yellowbar parrotfish, butterflyfish and schools of striped barracuda gather. Turtles and small reef sharks visit. Because it is shallow, snorkellers see it well, and it can be included in a Paradise Beach drift or reached by kayak or small boat.

Strong swimmers only should make the swim out; weaker swimmers should not attempt it alone.

About Coral Bay: the town is a small resort settlement on Bill's Bay at the southern end of the Ningaloo Coast, about 150 km south of Exmouth. The outer reef lies close to shore, so both lagoon snorkels and outer-reef dives are short boat rides away, and Coral Bay is home to Western Australia's largest resident population of reef manta rays, seen year-round. Much of the water around town lies within the Maud Sanctuary Zone, where fishing and collecting are prohibited. Advanced divers favour the 'cuts', where open-ocean water funnels through gaps in the reef and brings in sharks, mantas and pelagics, while the calm lagoon suits training and beginners. The 2025 marine heatwave affected northern and central Ningaloo most; southern areas including Coral Bay sustained less damage, according to AIMS.

Coral Bay is 150 km south of Exmouth (about 1 hr 45 min) and 1,145 km north of Perth via the North West Coastal Highway and Minilya–Exmouth Road; Learmonth airport (Exmouth) is the nearest airport. Dive and snorkel tours meet in town (Ningaloo Reef Dive meets at 8:00 am) and transfer by minibus to the Coral Bay boat ramp, about 2 km south of town via Banksia Avenue, or load from the beach. Most dive sites are within a few kilometres — 10–30 minutes by boat — either inside the lagoon, at the passages ('cuts') through the reef, or on the outer reef north of town towards Point Maud and Bateman Bay.

Coral Bay's lagoon is protected by the outer reef and faces north-west, so it stays calm in the prevailing south to south-westerly winds that close exposed coasts; the outer-reef and passage sites, however, need low swell and light winds. The afternoon south-westerly sea breeze (often 15–25 knots in spring and summer) chops up the outer sites, so dives run in the morning. Tidal flow through the passages can be strong on springs.

Visibility is usually 10–20 m, lower after the March coral spawn (in March 2022 a spawn-related low-oxygen event killed fish and coral in Bill's Bay). Cyclone season November–April; stingers possible in warm months.

Snorkel or shallow scuba: reach the kayak buoy off Paradise Beach, swim about 50 m south-west to the bommie and circle it slowly at 3–5 m, checking the undercuts for sweetlips and wrasse. Return towards the beach or drift north with the Paradise Beach current.

Ningaloo Reef Dive & Snorkel – two dives daily on the 'Bay Escape' (up to 16 divers), plus full- and half-day Adventure and Manta Ray tours combining divers and snorkellers; Coral Bay Eco Tours and Ningaloo Marine Interactions/Coral Bay Eco Safaris – snorkel, manta and whale shark tours.