Tag: diving

Scuba diving at Panorama Reef

Posted on by Livia (Volgyesi) Hertelendy

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 This is a reference to the concrete pillar which once marked its northern shores but has now been replaced by a high-tech automated beacon.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.

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

Napoleon fish Red SeaThe journey across can get very rough, especially since your boat or liveaboards 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 live aboard, 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.

Red Sea fishesThe 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.

Scuba Diving Holiday in Egypt

Posted on by Livia (Volgyesi) Hertelendy
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!

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 scuba 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 Red Sea 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.

Red Sea Diving Holiday in EgyptThe 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.

Dugong in EgyptThe 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!

Ship wreck of Giannis D

Posted on by Livia (Volgyesi) Hertelendy
Location: Sha’ab Abu Nuhas
Description: Japanese freighter
Depths: 4 -24 meters
Length: 100 meters
The Sha’ab Abu Nuhas large coral reef lies in the Gubal straight. This reef is just as well known (although feared) among sailors as it is among divers. There are seven ship wrecks lying on the bottom of the sea, one of them the Ghiannis D. She hit the reef in April of 1983 and over the course of two weeks slowly split in two and sank. She is undoubtedly one of the best wreck dives in the Red Sea.
To find the Ghiannis D, leave the lagoon via the channel to the West. Proceed slowly along the Nothern reef at a distance of about 50 metres. It can be seen from the surface after about 200 metres. This is the most accessible of the other wrecks in rough seas. It takes extremely foul weather to make it out of bounds to divers equipped with a zodiac. Current is minimal.
The best part of the wreck is the stern section. It lies on the seabed at 28 metres, upright but slightly skewed to one side. She is an ideal wreck for penetration with a number of entry and exit points. Because she is skewed, the interior has impossible angles and perspectives. You find yourself swimming up a stairwell which your mind tells you is heading down. The effect is very disorientating and the conflict between balance and vision can even lead to sea sickness. The engine room is at the centre of this zone. It is large and spacious but dark. Take a torch. There is a large air pocket in the engine room. This should be avoided unless you want to be covered in the layer of oil that floats on the water’s surface.
Outside the stern section the masts, railings, wires and cables are festooned with soft corals. Some dramatic photographs can be taken of the superstructure silhouetted against the light. The bow section is also picturesque but it is a long swim away. Your time and air might be better used exploring the shallow mast and rigging of the stern, where you can also do your safety stops.

Large potato cod often hang out to the North. Free swimming morays, snapperfish, eagle rays, mackerels, groupers and sharks can also be seen.

The Sha’ab Abu Nuhas large coral reef lies in the Gubal straight. This reef is just as well known (although feared) among sailors as it is among scuba divers. There are seven ship wrecks lying on the bottom of the sea, one of them the Ghiannis D. She hit the reef in April of 1983 and over the course of two weeks slowly split in two and sank. She is undoubtedly one of the best wreck dives in the Red Sea.

Location of the wreck: Red Sea / Egypt / Sha’ab Abu Nuhas
Description: Japanese freighter
Depths: 4 -24 meters
Length: 100 meters

The ship wreck of Giannis D

To find the Ghiannis D, leave the lagoon via the channel to the West. Proceed slowly along the Nothern reef at a distance of about 50 metres. It can be seen from the surface after about 200 metres. This is the most accessible of the other wrecks in rough seas. It takes extremely foul weather to make it out of bounds to divers equipped with a zodiac. Current is minimal.

The best part of the wreck is the stern section. It lies on the seabed at 28 metres, upright but slightly skewed to one side. She is an ideal wreck for penetration with a number of entry and exit points. Because she is skewed, the interior has impossible angles and perspectives. You find yourself swimming up a stairwell which your mind tells you is heading down.

The effect is very disorientating and the conflict between balance and vision can even lead to sea sickness. The engine room is at the centre of this zone. It is large and spacious but dark. Take a torch. There is a large air pocket in the engine room. This should be avoided unless you want to be covered in the layer of oil that floats on the water’s surface.

Outside the stern section the masts, railings, wires and cables are festooned with soft corals. Some dramatic photographs can be taken of the superstructure silhouetted against the light. The bow section is also picturesque but it is a long swim away. Your time and air might be better used exploring the shallow mast and rigging of the stern, where you can also do your safety stops.

Large potato cod often hang out to the North. Free swimming morays, snapperfish, eagle rays, mackerels, groupers and sharks can also be seen during scuba diving.

Scuba Diving holiday in Sudan

Posted on by Livia (Volgyesi) Hertelendy

Sudan in Africa is one of the most beautiful places in the world to go on a scuba diving holiday any time of the year. New or experienced scuba divers can choose from a variety of areas and destinations. There are untouched coral reefs including the world famous Shaab Rumi where Cousteau conducted his experiments.

There is also the wreck of Umbira, a 150m long WWII ship that sank in quite shallow waters, making her easy to dive. You will see tube sponges and soft corals hanging from the walls and arches of the reefs while you’re scuba diving on a luxuary liveaboard in Sudan.

Scuba diving holiday in SudanThe number of boats and liveaboards in Sudan offering diving safaris is about 8-9 (in Egypt there are hundreds), so during the diving safari holiday scuba divers do not meet other cruises or liveaboards and do not have to fight for space underwater with other scuba divers. The scuba dives are only for the group and the dive sites can be enjoyed without the crowds.

Sudan is mostly famous for its sharks, schools of barracuda, untouched coral reefs and mainly in the south, for the large schools of hammerheads.

On the last day of the diving safari when the boat sails back to the harbour, the guests can visit the island of Suakin, which was once the main port city in the Red Sea. Today it is a white virtual ghost town, famous for its houses built from coral “bricks”.