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.

Liveaboard only. Mike Ball's Spoilsport includes Holmes Reef on its 7-night Coral Sea exploratory (Cairns return), the 7-night Yongala & Coral Sea expedition (Townsville to Cairns) and the 10-night Coral Sea Odyssey; the overnight crossing from Cairns is about 240 km of open ocean. Holmes is normally allocated a day on these itineraries.

Leopard's Lair is dived from a mooring or anchorage near the pinnacle when the crew chooses it.

Holmes Reef is a pair of isolated Coral Sea atolls about 240–250 km east of Cairns with no land for shelter. Dive the World calls it a fair-weather destination: SE trades over about 20 knots (common June–August) make the crossing and surface conditions rough, although the lagoons and western sides offer some protection. Currents are normally gentle but can be strong in the channels and on the ridges, especially on a falling tide.

September–December usually has the calmest seas and 20–40 m visibility; December–April is cyclone season.

Descend to the sand at the base of the pinnacle, approach resting leopard sharks slowly and low without touching them, then circle the pinnacle and ascend along it to the top for a safety stop.

Coral Sea liveaboards visiting Holmes Reef – occasional.