Patagonia NZ

One of the globe’s most vibrant and isolated standalone coral systems, Scott Reef is home to many threatened species, including the endangered pygmy blue whale. Huge canyons lead up to the southern end of the reef, and its edges descend down into deep waters. This attracts larger pelagic species that are rare to see inshore.

Wendy decided that she needed to get back up to the tropics to see it for herself. But getting out there was not going to be an easy task.

Sitting almost three hundred kilometres off the Australian mainland, and right on the border of the Australian maritime zone, hardly anyone goes to Scott Reef. The only regular boats that visit are boutique surf charters, who take advantage of the remote reef breaks; and fishers from Indonesia whose connection to Pulau dato, as it is known in Bahasa Indonesia, goes back generations. Under an understanding between the Australian and Indonesian governments, fishers are entitled to harvest from the reefs in traditional sailing boats.

Remoteness, alongside the very real possibility of cyclones, of big tides and blue water seafaring, meant that the trip took months of careful planning.

Finally, Sasha set off into the big blue.

“It took us four days of sailing 24 hours a day to finally arrive,” Wendy recalled. “The first thing you see when approaching from the south is the breaking waves on the southern hook reef, which are visible from some distance away. You feel like you have found a sanctuary in the blue watery desert that surrounds the reef in every direction. There are so many things I love about that area. The water is electric blue... and it’s warm!”

The first time Wendy stepped from the catamaran into the depths was something that will stay with her forever.

“I remember jumping in, just me and one other person in the water, with no one else in sight for as far as we could see.”

Spending three weeks out on the reef, each day consisted of exploring beneath the surface, filming new areas and discovering pockets of wildlife. And each day brought new surprises.

“When we first landed on the Sandy Islet, a little sand spit between the two sides of Scott Reef, it was incredible,” Wendy said. “Every square metre of the island was covered in green turtle nests. Looking out into the ocean, the lagoons were full of these turtles, which are endangered. I even saw a pair attempting to mate.”

“Then, one day, I was freediving out of the passage at Seringapatam, just north of Scott Reef, and the water was moving incredibly fast on the falling tide. There were huge schools of jackfish and midnight snapper crowding the exit. Eagle rays hovered effortlessly in the current. Sharks were zipping around, and large stingrays patrolled the coral and rocky substrate. It was buzzing with life. The change of the tide brought together all this life several times a day.”

But despite the isolation of the reef, Wendy came to understand that something was amiss in this inaccessible corner of the ocean.

Scott Reef sits upon the Browse Basin, one of the largest concentrations of natural gas in the world. Ten years after the fossil fuel giant Woodside failed in its aim to build a gas processing plant on the Kimberley coast, the company has now proposed an alternative. This will be a pipeline, almost a thousand kilometres long, to move the gas south to the Pilbara.

Before this takes place, however, Woodside will need to extract the gas – and this will involve drilling into the seabed just two kilometres from the edge of Scott Reef. The company plans to put 50 gas wells in around the area.

“When we were there, there was no visible development; it was truly a pristine place from the surface,” Wendy said. “To complete that sailing journey again and to be greeted by oil and gas infrastructure would be devastating.”

“It would be yet another loss to our natural wild places – and when you look around, they are disappearing quicker than ever.”

Fresh from seeing the underwater wonders of Scott Reef, Wendy was so energised that she is now drawing attention to Woodside’s mining plans. Over the course of 2024, she has headed across the vast expanse of WA to share her photography and recount her experiences.

And the communities which live along the shores of the Indian Ocean are responding. Crowds have turned out in towns from Fremantle to Broome to see footage of the reef. In August, concerned community members in the northwest formed a flotilla and paddled out into the Exmouth Gulf to raise awareness of the project.

In August, the West Australian EPA deemed Woodside’s plans for drilling at Scott Reef to be “unacceptable” citing concerns for the area’s whales and turtles, and for the reef itself. It was only the second oil and gas project the EPA had rejected from 100 applications over four decades. The decision isn’t final however, and Woodside was asked to provide more information before WA’s Environment Minister makes a final decision.

Considering the industrialisation around Scott Reef can be overwhelming, Wendy said. However, if ever she gets down, she thinks back to those days on the boat and is inspired once more.

“One afternoon, in the distance, we saw splashing out the back of the reef. We got the binoculars out and realised it was a large pod of pilot whales passing by. We rushed over to witness it,” Wendy said.

“There was a large bull leading the way, followed by countless individuals. These whales forage for squid around the reef and canyon walls. Being able to document pilot whales so close to the reef was an incredible feeling. But, like all cetaceans, pilots are incredibly sensitive to noise pollution. If Woodside's proposed plans were to go ahead, it would have a significant impact on these populations. What will become of them?”

Take action to protect Scott Reef.

Read "The Burrup Hub: Big Gas in a Big Land" and "The Nyinggulu Nursery" - the first two stories in this three-part series on Western Australia's threatened marine ecosystems.