Diving with Wobbegongs
The Most Ornate Looking Sharks
One of the rarest sharks to encounter, the wobbegong is found only in a small number of dive destinations around the world. Distributed in the shallow temperate and tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean and eastern Indian Ocean, this unique looking shark is most commonly found around Australia and Indonesia. Wobbegong is the common name actually given to 12 different species of this shark, also known as “carpet sharks” because of the shaggy looking beards that grow around their mouths and the fact that they spend most of their lives laying still on the ocean’s floor.
He is far from the powerful, fear-inspiring, torpedo shaped image we have of most sharks. This ornate shark has a flat body that is well camouflaged with wide splotches of coloration to match the reef around it. Because they have the ability to pump water over their gills, they lack the need to swim continuously and, therefore, spend the majority of their lives laying still on the reef’s bottom. This sedentary lifestyle combined with their superbly camouflaged skin makes spotting them difficult, so when diving in these areas keep your eyes peeled! To find the best locations in the world to scuba dive with wobbegong sharks explore the map below.
Dive Sites with this Animal View more on map
★★★★☆ Fly Point
With undulating soft coral topography and two easy to navigate ledges, Fly Point Marine Park is known as the best shore-access dive on the Eastern sea-board of Australia. Max Depth: 28m. Best dived on high slack tide.
★★★★☆ Broughton Island The Looking Glass
Part of the Great Lakes Marine Park, is a sanctuary for endangered grey nurse sharks. Dive between the “crack“ in the island for incredible topography in an unforgettable dive site.
★★★★★ Manta Point, Nusa Penida
Located in the south of Nusa Penida Island and facing the Indian Ocean, Manta Point can often have big waves. This dive site has large rock mounds which are often visited by manta rays for self cleaning, giving this site it’s name.
★★★★★ Ransiwor
5 minutes away from the closest dive center, coral garden with slope, schools of fishes, good for pygmy seahorse and wobbegong sharks, mild current, easy for beginners
★★★★☆ Little Beach - NSW
Sandy beach slopes & ribbon weed, along to the Little Beach Boathouse jetty (3-5m) is always bursting with fish life & provides fabulous wide-angle photo opportunities. A short swim ~100m from the jetty in approx 10-12m lies the sunken wreckage of a barge creating an artificial reef.
★★★★☆ Crystal Bay, Nusa Penida
Located on the west-side of Nusa Penida Island, Crystal Bay has two coral reef formations separated by sand slopes. The combination of slopes and walls that form the topography at this dive site goes down to more than 50 meters and meets with large rock which is an ideal place for a cleaning station for sunfish.