Leopard's Lair (Holmes Reef)

Meet the site

Leopard's Lair is a pinnacle dive at Holmes Reef named for its leopard sharks. Marinelife.org.au describes a pinnacle where large numbers of leopard sharks rest on the bottom, with good coral and smaller marine life. Leopard sharks (Stegostoma tigrinum), also called zebra sharks, are docile bottom-dwellers that spend much of the day resting on sand, often facing into the current, which makes them easy to approach and photograph.

The pinnacle rises from a sandy floor, and the sharks lie on the sand around its base. The pinnacle itself has good hard and soft coral cover and a range of smaller reef life, including anthias, damselfish, anemonefish, nudibranchs and crustaceans.

Beyond the leopard sharks, expect the usual Holmes fauna: whitetip reef sharks, grey reef sharks, turtles, trevally and sweetlips. Visibility of 20–40 m is typical, so the sharks can be seen from some distance.

Marinelife.org.au describes them as separate sites with different characters, a pinnacle-and-gutter drift and a ridge drift, so they now have their own rows. The depth range here is an estimate, as is the location.

Leopard's Lair suits divers of intermediate experience. The key rule is to approach the resting sharks slowly and low, never touch or ride them, and give them space if they begin to move. Leopard sharks are listed as endangered globally, so a site where they gather in numbers is special, and worth protecting through careful, unhurried diver behaviour around the animals.

What you might see

Leopard (zebra) sharks resting on sand, whitetip and grey reef sharks, turtles, trevally, sweetlips, anthias, damselfish, anemonefish, nudibranchs

Location

A pinnacle dive on Holmes Reef where large numbers of leopard sharks rest on the sandy bottom.