Tim Winton on waiting for the wonder of coral spawn: ‘Honestly, come night number six, I’m over it’

Tim Winton amid a coral spawn at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. ‘I finally got to experience that marvel. But bugger me, did I have to work for it.’ Photograph: Naomi Roche/Artemis Media

I’ve spent many thousands of hours in the water at Ningaloo Reef. And I’ve seen wonders. Swum with tiger sharks. Stopped a whale shark in its tracks (under strict scientific supervision). I’ve been eye-to-eye with a humpback whale. And I’ve held a 400kg dugong in my arms (again, as part of a scientific study). So I count myself very lucky.

But until recently, there was one thing I’d never witnessed at Ningaloo, and that’s the annual spawning of the coral. In the process of making our documentary series Ningaloo Nyinggulu, I finally got to experience that marvel. But bugger me, did I have to work for it.