Southern Egypt

Not so long ago, the Egyptian Red Sea south of Marsa Alam was regarded as a remote and inaccessible dive location

Southern Egypt and beyond
Not so long ago, the Egyptian Red Sea south of Marsa Alam was regarded as a remote and inaccessible dive location. If you wanted to go there, you either had to make the interminable bus journey south from Hurghada (three and a half hours-plus) or take an even slower boat and lose valuable diving time. Recent years, however, have seen the taming of the region known to Egypt aficionados as ‘the deep south’. On what was once a remote desert shore, luxury resorts have sprung up and a bijou new airport has opened at Marsa Alam itself, the gateway to the south. Direct flights from the UK and other European destinations have meant that southern Red Sea diving has opened up to the majority of divers. As well as minimising transfer times to shore-based dive centres, the Marsa Alam airport has meant that liveaboards have much shorter journeys to get to southern Red Sea’s best sites, which means less time travelling and more time diving. All this is being watched with great interest from across the border in Sudan, where until recently only a trickle of British divers made it past the red tape. Now, several British operators are sending divers to Sudan, and they are returning with stories of world-class diving.

Airport and port
The new airport at Marsa Alam will surely turn this small fishing port into a large centre for diving in the south. It’s only 30 years ago that Sharm El Sheikh was of a similar size, and Marsa Alam is set to go the same way. The airport allows visitors to access the southern Red Sea without having to endure the three-hour bus ride from the north (except in winter when the airport is closed). The new port is also having an impact on tourism, with an increasing number of liveaboards based here.

Landbased accommodation
While Marsa Alam might seem like a remote outpost surrounded by desert, the new airport has meant that a number of hotels have sprung up which specifically cater for divers
Not far from Marsa Alam, and an alternative to the luxury hotels in the area, is the camp at Wadi Lahami. Sitting on its own in an outlet towards the sea, all the accommodation is in tents. However, don’t let that put you off – they are very comfortable and have beds with decent mattresses.

When to go
The Red Sea offers good diving all year round, but the hottest months, May to September, are the period for greater fish numbers, when you will see shoals numbering thousands. However, warmer surface water in summer means that sharks tend to move to deeper water. An annual plankton bloom around the April and May period may cause visibility to drop dramatically for a week or two, but otherwise summer visibility is usually in excess of 20m, and in winter it’s often more than 30m. You should be able to observe breeding behaviour in some fish at the height of the summer – for example, the usually solitary masked pufferfish gathers in large groups – and whale sharks visit during late spring and early summer. There is a stiff breeze all year round, which increases during the summer. It can make the surface choppy and access to more exposed sites is not always guaranteed.

Liveaboards versus land
While land-based holidays in the area offer good facilities and access to a wide variety of diving via RIBs, they can’t compete with liveaboards in reaching those sites further away from land. It may look nearby on the map, but it takes an hour by RIB to reach Elphinstone Reef from Marsa Alam, and roughly the same to reach the reefs at Fury Shoal from Wadi Lahami. With air temperatures of up to 40ºC-plus, you wouldn’t want to spend any longer than an hour bouncing around in a RIB. Liveaboards, however, can comfortably cruise to some of the Red Sea’s best and most remote dive sites, including such treats as Daedalus and Zabargad Islands and the reefs of St John’s. For the more adventurous, the waters of Sudan offer some superb diving. Liveaboard itineraries involve a stop-over in Cairo before flying to Port Sudan, where airport officials can be somewhat over–zealous in their checks. While the US$200 tourist tax is expensive, most visitors feel it is worth it to enjoy diving on pristine reefs.

Water and air temperatures
Red Sea weather is almost always dry and sunny; rare, isolated rainstorms do occur during the winter. January is the coolest month, and August the hottest. Air temperatures in southern Egypt and Sudan are similar, peaking in August at 42°C and falling to 24°C in January. At its coolest, in January to March, the sea never drops below 24°C and in summer can get up to 30°C in Sudanese waters – and just a couple of degrees cooler in southern Egypt. At night, temperatures drop sharply in the winter, so you’ll need long trousers and a fleece.

Types of dive
Pelagic: usually conducted in areas with stronger currents, divers will ‘hide’ in an area protected from the current, or drift with the current, watching the action. In the current there’s usually not much chance of looking closely at the reef, but you’re there for sightings of large pelagics and shoals of fish often numbering hundreds.

CORAL GARDENS: in the relatively undived southern Red Sea, coral formations and reef life in protected shallower areas are pristine. Shore dives and parts of sites such as St John’s Reefs or the southern side of Zabargad Island can allow for a leisurely look at little critters.

Wall: in the Red Sea, which usually boasts good visibility, these dives have the best of both worlds, offering the chance to scan the blue while staying close to the reef. Many divers find viewing the vertical drop beneath them one of the most thrilling experiences in diving. Look off into the blue for large shoals and cruising sharks, or get a close look at reef life at eye level.

Marine life
Since 1999, after the reopening of many of the dive sites off the southern Egyptian coast that had been closed as a conservation measure, the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency has made significant efforts to protect its underwater territories. Liveaboards must obtain permission for every trip, and are inspected frequently to make sure they conform to safety standards. Most dive guides ask visiting divers to conform to a ‘Look and don’t touch’ policy, and some skippers have received environmental awareness training from the non-governmental organisation HEPCA (Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association, www.hepca.org), which helps protect reefs and monitor activities in the Red Sea.

Bigger stuff: Southern Egypt is famous for shark sightings, and you will certainly see white-tip and grey reef sharks. The shark everybody here wants to see is the scalloped hammerhead, which can be seen in summer months on the deeper sites, such as Elphinstone or Daedalus. If you’re diving the offshore sites, watch out for oceanic wanderers such as the silky shark, or even the formidable oceanic white-tip, which has been known to check out divers at close quarters.

Bottlenose and spinner dolphins are relatively common in the Red Sea: you are most likely to see them riding the bow wave of your liveaboard, but you may also get a chance to snorkel with them at key sites. Look out for bumphead parrotfish, which are rarely seen further north, spotted eagle rays, and green and hawksbill turtles. In mangrove areas such as the one near Wadi Lahami, you may see the Indian cownose ray, which congregates in hundreds to mate. Lemon sharks have also been seen here. On rare occasions dugongs have been sighted near Marsa Alam and Port Sudan.
Small stuff: The Red Sea is not a noted macro destination, but night dives sometimes yield Spanish dancers, octopus and a host of crustaceans. Scorpionfish and crocodilefish abound, but it takes a keen eye to pick them out. In deep water, long-nosed hawkfish live in black coral.

Top dives
Elphinstone Reef is to the north of Marsa Alam, and about 12km off the coast. It’s a long, thin reef with an underwater arch rising from the bottom at 70m to 50m. Underneath the arch is a rock reputed to hold a pharoah’s sarcophagus. The east and west sides have steep walls, and the east is especially good for its hard and soft corals – a great site for pelagics, including a resident great hammerhead.

Daedalus is an isolated reef marked by a lighthouse about halfway between the Saudi Arabian and Egyptian coasts, rising from depths of 500m. An excellent site for both hard and soft corals, and for sightings of large schools of fish and larger pelagics, such as schooling scalloped hammerheads.
Rocky Island is south of Marsa Alam, and southeast of the larger island Zabargad, also an excellent dive site. On its northeast side is a small, shallow wreck, its southern side has a shallow shelf particularly noted for gorgonia and soft corals, while the waters to its east coast drop to 1,000m, meaning it’s a great site for large pelagics. It is one of the few places with regular sightings of oceanic white-tips.

St John’s Reefs are further south than Rocky and Zabargad islands, and are a collection of small reefs and atolls famous particularly for the quality of the corals and the diversity of the reef life there. The area features walls, caverns and coral gardens. As well as engrossing reef life, a good variety of sharks are regularly spotted here. The atoll of Sanganeb in Sudan offers a number of great dives. A drift dive on the eastern face follows a sheer wall, where you are likely to see large pelagic fish as well as turtles, mantas and dolphins, and an abundance of reef fish.

The wreck of the Umbria, sheltered by Wingate Reef near Port Sudan, rises from 36m and breaks the surface. It was scuttled by its Italian crew in 1940, under threat from the British, and its cargo, including batteries and Kilner jars, lies scattered about. For years marked as ‘dangerous’ on maritime charts, due to the munitions that the wreck still holds, it was first dived in 1949 by Hans Hass. Apart from excellent coral encrustation and tame fish – which have been hand-fed in the past – sharks can often be seen circling the wreck during dives.

Equipment
Suit: We recommend 5mm shortie or 3mm full-length lycra suits from June to September, then switch to full-length 5mm suit for the rest of the year. In Sudan, use a 5mm in January and February

Torch and backup: both essential to get the best out of any wreck dive, whether you are penetrating the wreck or not. Also handy for afternoon dives where you find yourself on the eastern side of the reef, shaded from sun.

Inflatable sausage & whistle: these are useful on any open-water dive, but are of particular use in areas subject to currents and surface winds. While the Red Sea has no tidal movement, currents on offlying reefs can be strong, and all areas are subject to a noticeable surface wind that can get very strong.

Southern Egypt diver survival guide
•Inevitably, your flight to Egypt will be on a charter aeroplane. Most place a 30kg weight limit on hold luggage, with another 5kg for carry-on luggage. Our advice is not to stray too far beyond these limits if you want to avoid an excess luggage payment, as flights are often full and check-in staff have been told to be strict with the limits.

•Take a reasonable amount of local currency with you (you can buy it at Gatwick or Manchester airport at most of the exchange counters). You may not need it, but there are sometimes circumstances (taxis, shops etc) when only local cash will do. Also, take a good stash of dollars or sterling, as cards are not universally accepted.

•Ask your operator about hidden costs: in most cases, marine park fees should be incorporated into your overall payment. Most liveaboards offer free soft drinks, but expect to pay for beer. If you want wine, it’s usually best to bring your own.

•It can get very rough in the Egyptian Red sea, with its violent chop. If you think you may get seasick, start taking the pills an hour before your plane lands. After a day or two, you’ll know if you’re going to need to keep taking them.

•Some dive centres run long RIB trips. Buy a hat that will cover your neck as well as your head, but which won’t be blown off your head (we recommend the Tilley style).

• A few divers always suffer stomach complaints in Egypt, ranging from the trivial to the downright unpleasant. This is less common on liveaboards. A mild complaint is often just a reaction to the change of climate and food.

•The major health risk is dehydration – drink water even when you’re not thirsty. We recommend glugging down two litres a day.

•Visitors to both Egypt and Sudan require a visa, and your passport must be valid for a minimum of six months beyond the end date of your holiday. Visas are available from embassies, but most UK nationals buy their Egyptian visas on arrival for £15 (make sure you have this ready in UK currency). In London, contact the Egyptian Embassy on 020 7235 9777 or the Sudanese Embassy on 020 7839 8080 or download application forms from http://www.sudanembassy.co.uk. Tourist visas for Sudan cost £53.

Getting there
Since May 2003 there have been direct flights between Gatwick and Marsa Alam on the charter airline Astraeus Airlines. Direct flights only operate from April to October: at other times of year a land transfer from Hurghada (taking between three and five hours) to Marsa Alam is necessary. For Port Sudan fly to Cairo and then take an internal flight with Sudan Airways.

Flights
Alitalia (for Cairo), tel: 0870 544 8259
website: http://www.alitalia.com

Astraeus Airlines (for Marsa Alam) tel: 01293 819800
website: http://www.flyastraeus.com

British Airways (for Cairo)
tel: 08457 733377
website: http://www.british-airways.com

Egyptair (for Cairo)
tel: 020 7734 2395
website: http://www.egyptair.com

Sudan Airways (for Port Sudan)
tel: 00 24911 243710
website: http://www. sudanair.com

‘There’s no comparison between the north and the south of the Red Sea when it comes to coral and fish – the south is infinitely better,’ says experienced diver David Pemberton who has been on several liveaboard trips out of Marsa Alam and one out of Port Sudan. ‘If you want wrecks, go north, for marine life go south. If I don’t see a shark on a dive in the south I’m disappointed. Although Elphinstone is my favourite site, Daedalus, Rocky Island, Zabargad and St John’s are all very good.

At Daedalus I’ve had both very good and disappointing dives, but there’s always something different at Elphinstone – I’ve seen hammerheads, thresher sharks and oceanic white-tips there. In 2002 I spent two weeks on Ishtar liveaboard in Sudanese waters. You never encounter divers from other boats, so the solitude is fantastic and the reefs are fairly untouched. The fish are oblivious to divers: they don’t know what a diver is. You can swim through a spiralling chimney-stack of 200 barracuda and they ignore you. Grey reef sharks come up to you like pet dogs, and 50 hammerheads will appear out of the blue. The wreck of the Umbria is fabulous, although we were told it still has 360,000 live mines inside and is marked ‘dangerous’ on shipping charts!’


Elphinstone and Dolphin Reef - Simon Jobson

‘Diving Elphinstone was mad, as we were caught in downcurrents that took us from 30 to 50m in five seconds,’ says experienced diver Simon Jobson, who stayed at Shams Alam, a small resort near Marsa Alam in August 2003. ‘I couldn’t really look at anything, as it was more about self-preservation. We also went to Dolphin Reef, where diving isn’t permitted, and I was really grumpy about getting up at 3am to get there, but it was worth the early start. It takes nearly four hours to get there, and we wanted to arrive before all the other boats. We snorkelled with 70–80 dolphins: they’d buzz you, come at you and veer away, virtually laughing. On a semi-drift dive at Sha’ab Sharm I saw two oceanic white-tips, and was so excited I cut my hand open using my knife to bang the tank and bring them to the other divers’ attention. Everyone was blown away by the diving – we also never saw another boat, except at Dolphin Reef. I’ve dived all over the world and I’d go to Shams Alam again like a shot.