The Entrance

The passage into Holmes Reef lagoon funnels tidal flow in and out through a gap in the atoll rim, creating a natural feeding aggregation every tidal cycle. Hammerhead sharks — predominantly scalloped hammerheads — are seen here with far greater regularity than almost anywhere else in Australian waters, often in schools at dawn before dispersing into deeper water. Grey reef sharks and whitetip reef sharks hang in the current at the channel edges. A reef hook is useful during the peak flow but conditions allow passive drift on a gentler exchange.