Diving safaris in Egypt & Sudan
Written by our Portugal partner tour organiser:
“Clients LOVED IT!!
”
Andromeda Boat (check the boat!)
Crew
Location: Egypt / Marsa Alam / Fury Shoals
Description: Reef / Coral garden / Caves
Depths: 12 – 24 meters
Sha’ab Claudia (sometimes known as Sha’ab Claude) is a small reef with lots of disturbed water at the surface and can have quite large swells in the top 5m of water. The west side of the reef has lovely hard coral formations, with stony and boulder corals cascading down to 20m like an underwater waterfall. Current will normally run from north to south and boats usually moor on the more sheltered south side, although surface conditions can still be rocky on the boat.
There are some reef fragments to the west which also have great hard coral, and yet more reef pieces to the south. Although the southern pieces are sparser in terms of coral growth there is some nice small marine life and in the top 5 metres the reef is densely populated with antheas.
Award winning photo journalist Andre Crone started diving when he was 24 years old. He bought his first underwater camera as soon as he got his first diving license. He started his production company Elysia Productions four years ago together with his wife Eveline. This combination proved to be successful. Andre creates the images and Eveline writes the articles that are published in many of the big diving magazines all over the world. Andre’s images have been published in Fathoms Magazine, Unterwasser and BBC Wildlife Magazine just to name a few.
He has a slight preference for cold water diving. Just because he believes pictures made in cold waters are more special and more bizarre. You can see this in his productions about Antarctica, Svalbard and Tasmania. But, as most photo journalists he will not hesitate to travel to the tropics to produce his articles.
Andre won Celebrate the Sea in the wide angle prints category and was second in the prints portfolio category in the same contest. He has also won prices on other contests in many countries.
Andre has currently started a new online wildlife magazine called www.earthillustrated.com. You can find more about Andre Crone and his photography here on this website or on his personal home page at www.elysia.nl.
Andre’s photos:
 |
||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Yet more sharks in the Southern Red Sea… but this time the plankton eating kind! Whale Sharks have been spotted off the Brothers more than 3 times in October and November. There is no guarantee when they show up but we have been to the Brothers in the last three weeks and they were all three times. This is definitely one of the most amazing experiences in every scuba diver’s life!
The whale sharks were seen every time at Small Brother and some of the divers got completely brilliant pics of them. Deeper down, at about 30 meters, a big school of hammerheads was cruising.
DEMA (Diving Equipment and Marketing Association), the biggest diving exhibition, attracting the most number of visitors, has taken place once again in the US. The location of the venue changes between Las Vegas and Orlando and this year it was Orlando’s turn. The grounds of the exhibition were just as expansive and impressive as in 2007, when we had visited the show last but the effects of the economic hardships could be felt here as well. Compared to previous years, all the best known manufacturers were present but with smaller stands and less equipment.
From the diving gear manufacturers, Aqualung’s representation was the most low-key with its 5m2 stand and a small selection of BCDs and dive suits. The re-breathers have been visibly gaining serious grounds as various types were exhibited at numerous stands. More and more manufacturers are introducing colourful dive computers. They have also started the installation of various GPS-based accessories into underwater navigation systems, though no actual working samples had been exhibited at the show. Several well-known manufacturers, including some Europeans, had chosen to stay away from the show this year. such as Halcyon and DUI, among others.
The travel part of the show was very colourful. Besides the usually favoured American destinations like Florida and Los Angeles, new destinations have also appeared, among them Micronesia, the Philippines and the Pacific. The biggest area was occupied by exhibitors promoting Indonesia, almost all destinations being represented, including most of the diving liveaboards and dive centres from Lembeh and Raja Ampat. Year after year the South-East Asian destinations have been gaining grounds, becoming one of the most popular and most visited destinations for the world’s divers.
Egypt was still under-represented, with only two small stands and one liveaboard operator. It seems more time is needed for people in the US to forget about 9/11.
The expansion of underwater photography companies and manufacturers deserve a special mention. This time they had their own separate section at the show where they could introduce this year’s latest gadgets. Seminars on underwater photography and video were held daily by such well-known guests as Stephen Frink and Eric Cheng. Virtually all known manufacturers were represented except maybe for Amphibicio, the Canadian manufacturer of video casings. More and more divers are buying some kind of underwater recording device, may it be underwater camera or video. According to some researchers, these purchases are going to reach 50% among divers within the next few years.
It was interesting to see that among the exhibitors were also in big numbers companies that specialise in testing and cleaning of dive tanks. This is something new as they have not been among the exhibitors in the past.
written by: Daniel Selmeczi
translated by: Anita Riberdy
Location: Egypt / Hurghada
Description: Reef with coral garden
Depths: 18 meters
Abu Hashish is the island at the centre of a wide bay, 90 minutes South of Hurghada. The island was once used as a drop-off point for smugglers bringing hash into the country. A tongue of reef extends about 1 kilometre South of the island. The dive site is at its Southernmost tip. There is a shelf between 15 and 22 metres outside and beyond that a steep but fairly bare drop-off, usually with superb visibility. Inside the tongue of reef is a scattering of long ergs.
Rough seas often make this site inaccessible from Hurghada, although the site itself is well protected. Current is mainly North to South and strongest along the drop-off.
Divers leave the lagoon through an obvious channel filled with table corals, cross the shelf to the drop-off and follow it North. There are some beautiful caves in the 30-metre region. They return along the inside of the shelf and finish the dive back on the lagoon amongst the ergs.
Along the drop-off pelagics, such as jackfish, barracuda, Spanish mackerel, whitetip sharks and now and then, hammerhead sharks and feathertail rays may be seen. On the shelf turtles, bluespotted rays, Spanish dancers, morays, lunartail and leopard groupers live while in the lagoon schools of squid and baby barracuda play.
Picking up photography as a hobby as a teenager, Csaba took the long transition period turning into a professional underwater photographer.
It was only in the mid of 2006 when he bought his first underwater setup (an ikelite housing and strobes) for his Nikon D200.
However, international acknowledgement did not take long to follow.
His current setup includes Nikon D200 and D300s bodies in Subal housing with Ikelite DS-125 strobes.
Over/under shots are on the top of his diet but macro subjects are also cherished.
Working as an art director at an advertising agency, balancing his photography between fine-art, applied art and sometimes reportage is a daily task.
Nowadays Csaba is expanding his horizon by starting up (land based) wildlife photography.
Follow him at www.flickr.com/csabatokolyi or www.csabatokolyi.com
Csaba’s photos:
 |
||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
We have been setting up our divers onboard Cassiopeia with this equipment which provides them with additional safety since 2008. This safety device saves the lives of drift-away divers worldwide.
The way the device works is that the diver, after reaching the water surface and noticing that he/she is dangerously far from the diving boat, activates the device that is attached to the diver’s tank or BCD. The receiver, located on the bridge of the diving vessel, registers the diver’s signal through an outer antenna and alerts the crew onboard. The location and strength of the signal is displayed on the receiver, providing information on the distance and location of the diver from the vessel.
Image from http://www.sarsat.noaa.gov
It can be a life-saving solution in bad visibility, in heavy surfs, at night or in choppy waters.
The Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons send radio signals at 406 Mhz on a specified frequency which can be received by satellites, airplanes and rescue units. The advantage of a digital signal is that the position of the emergency can be detected virtually anywhere in the world.
This receiver is designed mainly for vessels, so due to its size, it is not possible for divers to take it with them. But there is a practical solution to this – a 121.5Mhz personal position indicator. It operates within a smaller range but the 2-5.5km distance is suitable for drift-away divers.
Egypt is rightly famous for its pharaohs, pyramids and last but not least, for its marine life, thanks to spectacular dive sites, great weather and warm waters. The most memorable experiences come from diving safaris onboard diving liveaboards when we travel for a week in luxury and visit untouched sites far from civilisation, the city noise and the office.
A Liveaboard holiday will ensure that divers reach some of the best wrecks and reefs in the world, including world famous dive sites such as the Brothers Island, Deadalus, Elphinstone and St. John’s, as well as historical wrecks, including Rosalie Müller, Salem Express and Thistlegorm.
The Red Sea lies between the continents of Asia and Africa. The Sinai Peninsula sits at its most northerly point and stretches over 1000 miles south to join the Indian Ocean, between Ethiopia and Yemen. The southern opening is only a narrow passage that connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, making the Red Sea an almost isolated body of water with a high temperature and salinity.
The Red Sea is home to over 1,000 invertebrate species, many of which can only be found here. More than 1100 species of fish have been identified as well as 200 soft and hard corals.
Whatever choice you make, you will not be disappointed. The Egypt’s Red Sea has so much to offer that you will feel you cannot get enough!
Away from the office. Signal occasionally. No e-mails, no phones. Yesterday you was still sitting in the office in your uncomfortably tight blouse and desperately struggled all day with colleagues. So drastic change! As far as the eye can see, sky-blue sea. White, sandy beach of the uninhabited islands. The much-talked-about coral reefs, and of course the fishes…they are amazing! The life is not much…eat, sleep, dive!
The liveaboard experience certainly spoils divers. The simplicity of life on the waves coupled with first rate diving and superior service make liveaboards a deservedly popular option. And no where will you find more choice than in the Egyptian Red Sea. From learner divers to hardened tekkies there is a route to suit in the Egyptian Red Sea.
Long gone are the days when divers had to make do. Today’s liveaboards are designed to make your every dream come true. Generous sized cabins, en suite bathrooms, nitrox, water maker, air con – these are just some of the standards you can expect on each and every one of our boats. Have a waterpipe after dive sunsets and your week is certain to be a success, no mater which criteria you judge it by.
Liveaboards depart from Hurghada or Marsa Alam, depending on the itinerary. The Northern Red Sea itineraries are ideal if you are new to this way of dive travel or if you want to visit the many world class wrecks the region is so famed for. The Deep South is a mixture of elegant pinnacles and delicious hard coral gardens. Sail out to any of the Marine Parks for adrenalin fueled drift diving and big fish a plenty. The last night and day of the trip can be spent ashore for a meal or a few drinks.
Your trip can also be tailored to either include a few days or extra week at a beach resort or we can construct an itinerary to take in some of the historical sites for which Egypt is so famous. We have extensive knowledge of the interiors of the fascinating country and use only the very best hotels and tours personally checked by our staff.
