Ningaloo: Australia's Other Great Reef: Full Dome Experience
Fringe shows can have such variety in performance, but most involve taking a seat and looking at a performing space in front of you. Not so with this experience at Adelaide Fringe, which returns after last year’s sell-out shows with new stories. This venue is a large tent-like structure, entered through a gap in the wall, to sit (or rather lie) on one of tens of bean bags, looking up to the dome above them. Projected to this dome are immersive stories, from undersea life in a reef to a video experience accompanying the music of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.
Ningaloo is the lesser-known great reef of Australia, found on the north west coast of Australia and much, much less visited by the more accessible Great Barrier Reef on the opposite coast of the country. Ironically, the reef itself is much easier to get to – once you’ve journeyed the 1,200 kilometres north from Perth.
This full dome experience shares the annual event of coral spawning – where the vast volume of coral polyps release eggs and sperm into the ocean to reproduce. Lying on the bean bag looking up at the sea is a strange experience, but is definitely immersive, eyes flitting to the reef shark stalking in the corner, or tracking the manta ray elegantly gliding through the water.
Coral spawning is an unusual event in that even after much study, scientists are unable to predict exactly when it will happen – other than for Ningaloo, it’s just past a Spring full moon – and every coral polyps releases their next generation at the same time, over the course of just a few nights.
The cameras attached to a submersible capture the spectacular event and it’s incredible to feel like we’re in the water surrounded by new coral life rising to the surface. It is a great way to feel underwater for thirty minutes without getting wet!
A visit to Ningaloo – even a virtual one like this – is not complete without seeing the whale shark: the largest fish species, it is a magnificent animal, its spotted and patterned markings unique to each individual. Beneath the dome, it’s a beautiful sight, and one which will later encourage personal research on how to get there in person.
Review by Mark Wickett
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