Location: Egypt / St. John’s
Description: Reef / Coral Garden
Depths: 60+ metres

Small Gota is a small circular shaped reef. Deep walls drop away vertically on all sides into the abyss and the upper reef is absolutely covered in colourful soft coral. Long pink and red whip corals stretch out into the blue and there are some magnificent gorgonian fan corals between 20 and 30m. The upper 20 metres of this reef is teeming with small marine life of all descriptions and tuna and trevallie cruise past, looking for any opportunity of a meal.

Large shoals of blue lunar fusiliers venture cautiously away from the reef only to dart back in tight formation at the first sign of danger. A whole family of humphead napoleon wrasse swim majestically around the reef perimeter. Current normally runs from north to south so if your dive boat is equipped with a zodiac or RIB the best option by far is to get dropped at the northern most tip of the reef and then spend up to an hour cruising with any current or gently swimming back to your boat mooring on the south side.

Finishing the dive in the top few meters of water, there are small fissures in the reef which are well worth exploring during your safety stops.

A long chain of reefs, about 6 km long, with a diversity of bays, wonderful canyons and labyrinth of underwater reefs. Marvelous big and undamaged corals with fantastic colors.

Heading further south to the Sudanese border is an unexplored region which has a few surprises in store for divers. This is the true deep south and this is virgin territory. The charts are fairly inaccurate and many non-marked reefs suddenly appear out of nowhere, making navigation particularly hazardous.

The first immediately noticeable fish are the huge humphead parrotfish.

Among the hard corals are a profusion of brightly coloured chromis and damselfish. Every now and then a huge expanse of hard coral is broken by clumps of red-footed anemones and the attendant clownfish. In deeper water there is the usual Red Sea life, with nothing particularly different. A noticeable exception, however, is the sea bed, where cone shells appear to be thriving.

The main dive sites are about a day’s steam away from St John’s Reef with the season virtually all year round, but the challenge lies in persuading a like-minded group to join you on a trip with so few certainties.

The presence of sharks in this region is unique with encounters of some species not usually seen in the Red Sea such as the Mako. It shows that this unexplored region still has a few surprises in store for divers.

UMBRIA, an old italian freighter that provided war material for the italian troops in Eritrea in 1940. When the British entered the vessel, the Captain decided to sink his own ship. Now it´s a terrific place for diving.

The wreck “Umbria” was built in Hamburg 1912 and started life as a freighter. Umbria has a cargo of 360.000 bombs that makes the exploring of the wreck still more exciting. The “Umbria” is one of the most famous sunken ships in the world. Lying in the shelter of Wingate Reef, just outside Port Sudan and largely unaffected by currents and tides, it is within easy reach of Port Sudan harbour.

The wreck lies at an angle on her port side with her starboard davits breaking the surface. At a maximum depth of 36m, the Umbria is shallow by most wreck divers’ standards. With plenty of light and good visibility, entering most of the ship is easy. The hull itself is completely intact, if heavily encrusted with marine life, and can be explored internally and externally along its entire length.

Location: Egypt / South
Description: Reef / Coral garden / Wreck
Depths: 30 meters

This horseshoe-shaped reef lies in open water to the northeast of Ras Banas. The eastern side of the reef has a steeply sloping wall profile, giving way to a sandy slope scattered with coral heads and pinnacles toward the reef’s southeast corner. The southern pinnacles are especially rich, with a wide variety of coral types throughout. The varied hard coral composition of the heads and pinnacles acts as a base for some extremely nice soft coral growth, particularly dendronephthia.

Fish life here is excellent. Schooling fish of all types are seen in large numbers, while reef-dwellers, such as angelfish and butterflies, provide flashes of color. Cuttlefish and shrimps put in an appearance for the invertebrates, and bluespotted and blackspotted stingrays are common. Sharks of several types can also frequently be spotted here, and there are regular reports of dolphins along the reef or inside the lagoon.

Location: Egypt / South
Description: Reef / Coral garden / Wreck
Depths: 18 meters

Abu Galawa Shiwayya is a crescent shaped reef with a turquoise blue lagoon or pool enclosed within the reef towards its leeward side. Galawa is the name which refers to this turquoise colour of the blue pool. Abu in Arabic means ‘Father’ and Shiwayya means ‘Small’. Therefore a rough translation of this site name would be – Small Father of Turquoise Blue Water.

To the western end of the main crescent shaped reef is a smaller reef piece with gullies and swim-throughs in it. On the southwest side of this is the wreck of small sailboat at the base of the reef, which lies on its starboard side in 18m of water on a sandy sea floor.

If I had to name just one underwater dive route that would alone be worth the travel to Sudan, it certainly would be Shaab Rumi! Without a doubt it is one of the most picturesque dive sites in the Red Sea. This reef lies 48km from Port Sudan and encircles a beautiful lagoon which we can cross through a man-made strait (actually blown up by Cousteau). The outer reef, surrounding Shaab Rumi’s various dive sites, contains a place that makes this area unique. Outside of the lagoon, about 100m from the entrance, Cousteau built his futuristic world, the Precontinent II, in 1963. During the experiment he researched whether a group of divers could survive for several weeks underwater in a village specially designed for this purpose. Still, Rumi’s Southernmost end is its most exciting dive site. Like a balcony, a plateau stretches towards the open sea. Its three sides are surrounded by steep walls plunging into the deep. What also makes this place so unique is the always present barracuda, tuna, batfish, and reef, grey and hammerhead sharks.

We formed into 6-diver groups and jumped into the zodiacs right away. After 20 minutes we were already at Shaab Rumi’s Northern point. On a count of three we backflipped into the water and began our descent. When I looked below, right away I saw the silhouette of a large grey shark! The liveaboard operators almost guarantee shark sightings at this part of Shaab Rumi because here is the coral-encrusted Cousteau shark feeder, left behind to this day. The sharks have long gotten used to this place, waiting for their old friend, Cousteau, to return and to make their regular feedings again.

Swimming above the plateau, the greys were already swarming around us. I counted about 15 around me but I never knew how many more could have been behind me. The sight was amazing! What was up close and real now, I only saw in documentaries. Though my battle plans primarily included the stalking of hammerheads, at that moment the greys had my complete attention. For 20 minutes I was just looking all around, never knowing from which direction they were coming towards me only to change direction with a quick whip of the tail less than half a metre from me. Meanwhile giant bass were irritating the big fish, bravely facing them. After a long watch, we left the greys behind us and continued for the North point of the plateau, closely swimming over the plateau. We barely made a few fin kicks when we ran into a giant barracuda school counting 80-90 of them. Some of them were as long as a metre and a half. By the time we reached the drop-off, our air supply was dwindling, so after the safety stop, we met on the surface to share our latest experiences. Between the two dives, familiar fins appeared about 200m from the boat, heading straight for us. Right away we knew that a group of dolphins arrived in the lagoon, right beside us. That was it and half the boat jumped into the water, people flying over the railings. I tried to make room through the crowd on the diving platform. With my mask and fins in place, I jumped into the water, right among the dolphins. It could not have been directed better! The beauty of their figures and moves is something no other animal can come close to. As if they were being moved by the sea, they swam in front of us with great precision. They always fascinate me and again I swam an hour with them.

A narrow plateau starting at 20 Metres stretches out for 50-75 m then drops off at 40 m. It drops to 600 m on all sides. The best option on this dive is to head along the edge of the plateau keeping a vague eye out in the blue, but mostly looking at the plateau itself.

This is the best dive place on earth and the best place for hammerheads in the Red Sea. During one dive there is a big chance to see 40-50 in front of you. Best season for hammerheads is from November till April. on the plateau also sits Jacques Cousteau’s shark observation cage. You can lie in the sand and watch the Grey Reef Shark’s cleaning Station. If you want to be surrounded with at least 3 species of shark this is the place! Also big shoals of jacks and barracuda’s waiting for you on the plateau on every dive.

Location: Egypt / Safaga
Description: Reef / Coral garden / Caves
Depths: 3-78 meters

Panorama is also known as Abu Alama, meaning “Father of the Mast”. This is a reference to the concrete pillar which once marked its northern shores but has now been replaced by a high-tech automated beacon. It lies 60-90 minutes (weather dependent) outside of Safaga. It is an elliptical-shaped reef on a North-West-South-East axis. On the North end is a dramatic plateau (15-25 metres) and drop-off. Down the East and West sides runs a narrow, sloping ledge at the same depth.

The journey across can get very rough, especially since your boat will be taking it on the beam and therefore will roll a lot. Once you get there however, the reef gives ample protection for several boats. The current comes almost always from the North. It can get very strong, howling across the North plateau (beware of up-currents and down-currents) and ripping down either side of the reef. The South plateau is usually calm.

A drift dive on the North plateau offers some of the best diving. However to get there, you will need very calm weather or alternatively, a zodiac. After investigating the plateau, you can head down either wall to your boat, now moored in the lee of the reef (South). This is a long swim if unaided by current. The Western wall of the reef is best and the South-East corner boasts many gorgonians.

The North plateau swarms with lots of big fish, like surgeonfish, unicornfish, barracuda, giant trevallies, whitetip sharks (especially on the West side), grey reef sharks (especially in the afternoon), eagle rays, dolphins, silvertips and even longimanus, the oceanic whitetip shark. Everywhere are turtles. On the South plateau lives a family of three Napoleonfish alongside morays, crocodilefish, scorpionfish and a turtle with a deformed shell. Also, there is a large colony (50-60) of anemones.

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.

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.