Cousteau’s favourite dive sites (2019 appointments)

Many dive sites close to Cousteau’s own heart had since become world-renowned. But which were the great explorer’s top 10 favourites?

  1. Shaab Rumi, Sudan
  2. Sipadan, Malaysia
  3. Cocos Island, Costa Rica
  4. Poor Knights Islands, New Zealand
  5. Aliwal Shoal, South Africa
  6. Vancouver Island, Canada
  7. Blue Hole, Belize
  8. Cozumel, Mexico
  9. Heron Island, Australia
  10. Richelieu Rock, Thailand

It is no surprise that Sudan’s Shaab Rumi made the list, after all, great experiences, and exciting work and discoveries connect him to this site. Marvellous diving and an Academy Award. Jacques Cousteau, also known as the father of scuba diving, not only loved diving in this region of the Red Sea, but he had made several discoveries as well.

Jacques Cousteau, or Captain Cousteau to many, was a world-famous marine explorer who dedicated his entire life to marine discoveries. His main fields of interest bore not only great significance to science, but they also raised the curiosity of the general public. He garnered absolute fame with his underwater experiments he conducted in the beginning of the 1960s. Can man live underwater for a prolonged period of time? As part of his Precontinent II experiment, he spent a month living underwater, which they documented in a film. The film, titled “World Without Sun”, was awarded the Oscar in the category of Best Documentary Feature. It says a lot that of all the seas in the world, he chose the Sudanese Red Sea for his experiment. Though to those who had been to Sudan before, this is a no-brainer. One thing is for certain – Captain Cousteau had definitely managed to place Sudan into the psyche of divers.

Anybody who had dived in Egypt before knows that the Red Sea is an amazing and excellent place for scuba diving. Yet, one cannot simply think that if they had dived in Egypt, they saw everything the Red Sea has to offer. Far from the truth, since the Sudanese Red Sea is exceptional and incomparable. While you dive in the same Red Sea in both countries, the two experiences could not be any different. In Egypt hundreds of liveaboards sail the waters, but in Sudan this number barely reaches ten. The result of which may be that during a liveaboard trip, you see no other boat in sight. Sudan hides the most gorgeous and most pristine coral reefs in the Red Sea that shelter an feed its entire marine life.

This is where you will find the Red Sea’s marine life at its most abundant. Sudan’s warm and crystal clear waters support over 400 species of corals, and over 1,500 species of fish, turtles, and sharks. Large fish live here in large numbers, many of which are rare and even endangered. Here you will always see barracudas, spotted rays, morays, and giant parrotfish, to name a few. The coastal waters of Sudan are also ranked among the top sites for shark lovers. You will encounter grey reef, silky, hammerhead, white-tip, and whale sharks in this region.

If you had a diving bucket list, what would you include? If Sudan is up there, then…

… you should know that the most ideal time for diving in Sudan is between February and May. During these months water temperatures are around 25-28C, and this is when the marine life is at its best and richest. Dive with us on one of our trips:

And now would be a good time to mention that you can visit more of Cousteau’s favourite sites with us, like Mexico (Socorro and Guadalupe).

We are happy to send you further details. Send your inquiries to: info@cassiopeiasafari.com

Join our Christmas and Scuba Diving Safari in Egypt!

Join our Christmas and Scuba Diving Safari in Egypt!

  • Fabulous accommodation onboard M/Y Cassiopeia!
  • Festive 10-course X-mas dinner
  • Excellent diving in the Deep South of the Red Sea

Date: 22 – 28 December, 2013
Boat: M/Y Cassiopeia
Route: St. John’s / Deep South

Xmas Diving Safari on a LiveaboardConfirmed sailing with minimum 14 booked guests.

E-mail us for more information!

South Sudan – Black-Belt Diver Paradise!

Just like Christopher Columbus, we have also taken to seeing the world and our destination was the deep southern region of the Red Sea. We had heard lots of tales about this place and we wanted to see for ourselves if the amazing stories of the untouched water world were really true.

“Tales are true and truth is only a tale.” (Master Hoppan)

Due to a substantial sand storm, we started our discovery Deep South tour in the North at none other than Shaab Rumi which turned out to be a good thing as our curious hammerhead friends surrounded us once again. Leaving the hammerheads behind, we were able to leave for the South, hoping for the best. The winds subsided somewhat but not entirely but this did not hinder our proceedings toward our destination. And in the end, we were able to fulfill the entire planned itinerary!

sudan_diving_liveaboards_red_sea_cruise_dive_site

Our second (2-week) Deep South there went without a hitch. We found marine life and untouched coral reefs unparallel to anything we had seen before. We often stopped at turquoise spots, our curiosity was driving us and we just had to jump and see what was down there! There were times that we spotted a no-name place and we happened to find ourselves in the middle of a school of hammerheads, counting up to 30. It was a big surprise for both of us; they were swimming about half a metre from us and they have surely not seen divers before.

scuba_diving_south_sudan_liveaboard_trip_redsea

Dahrat Abid, Darraka, Miyum… wonderful untouched reefs, pulsing marine life and plenty to see! There were grey reef sharks, silky sharks, white-tip sharks, barracudas, hammerheads, dolphins, turtles… Every dive was an awesome experience! Our dive suits were left on the boat and we wore only our shorties in the 30-degree water. Aside from Andromeda, no other boats were to be seen during our second (2-week) tour.

andromeda, sudan, red sea, liveaboard, reef sharks, silky sharks, white-tip sharks, barracudas, hammerheads, dolphins, turtles
reef sharks, silky sharks, white-tip sharks, barracudas, hammerheads, dolphins, turtles

La Dolce Vita onboard Andromeda

The water temperatures that were once 25C in February, have now become 29C and the air temperatures have also increased by 10C. Due to the lack of any significant winds in Sudan in the past 3 weeks, the water surface is 28-29C now and about 26C at 40m deep. This week there was no full house on the boat, so la dolce vita was in full swing.

Tour date: May 6-13, 2013
Itinerary: Sudan-North
Air temperatures: 35-39C
Water temperatures: 29-29C
Visibility: 10-30m

diving, safari, red sea, sudan, andromeda, sunsetAt Angarosh the first 2 hammerheads appeared right away. And a great surprise – a longimanus also showed up. At Merlo Reef we snorkelled with dolphins and at Shaab Rumi we dived with grey reef and white-tip sharks but the currents were so strong that we were not able to swim out into the open sea, so we missed the hammerheads this time. No despair, the north side of Sanganeb made up for it and we were able to swim with a huge school of them and with some grey reef ones at the south side. There was a grey reef shark even at Umbria! The triggerfish are still spawning and have not let up their attacks yet, so the fins keep getting decorated with their bite marks, if we get too close. 🙂

scuba diver, cruise, Andromeda, onboard, red sea, sudan, trip, diving safariThere are only a couple of weeks left and we are closing the season with a big bang – our 2-week Deep South Sudan safari! There are still a few places available, so join us!

Andromeda, sudan, diving, safari, scuba, liveaboard, red sea, wreck, sharkA new week, new hopes. We will be back next week again and let you know what we will have seen.

In case you have missed out on our previous reports, you can catch up by following these links:
Warrior fish and the offspring
Caught between dolphins and sharks
Scooters in action!
Sudan, the Jolly, under and above water
An Eiffel Tower in Sudan
Manta, hammerhead, barracuda!
The sharks winked back!
Angarosh, the “Mother of Sharks”
A perfect start in Sudan!
Fish parade in the month of the Pisces!