Tag: sharks

An Eiffel Tower in Sudan

Posted on by Livia (Volgyesi) Hertelendy

We have concluded a classic week in Sudan with grey reef sharks, white-tip sharks and barracudas. There were no strong currents this weeks which kept the hammerheads away but we still had plenty to see!

Tour date: March 16 – 23, 2013
Itinerary: Sudan-North
Air temperature: 30C
Water temperature: 26C
Visibility: 30m

Because of the strong winds, Shaab Suedi was the most northern site on this tour. After the first 2 dives in the morning, we headed straight south. Temperatures hovered around 30C all week but there were a couple of days laced with some clouds and there was no need for AC either.

We dived the Sanganeb reef system heavily this week too, although out of the 124 reefs, there are a few still left behind to discover. Its famous Eiffel Tower-like lighthouse was there to greet us again. Our cameras were working from atop of the structure, taking in the gorgeous view from above – we were in the middle of the sea, surrounded by emerald reefs. There are always a couple of Sudanese soldiers on duty for 3-4 months at a time and they happily welcome every visitor.

Our tour plan:

Day 1: Shaab Suedi Fasma, Shaab Suedi Fasma, Shaab Suedi Fasma
Day 2: Blue Belt, Shaab Rumi South, Shaab Rumi South, Precontinent
Day 3: Shaab Rumi South, Shaab Rumi South, Precontinent, Shaab Rumi Lagoon
Day 4: Shaab Rumi South, Sanganeb North, Sanganeb West, Sanganeb West
Day 5: Sanganeb North, Sanganeb South, Sanganeb South, Umbria
Day 6: Umbria, Umbria

As usual, the dive sites were at our own disposal or on occasion, had to share with one other boat. And the underwater life… It was amazing once again. On most of our dives we met up with grey reef sharks or white-tip sharks. Besides the uncountable tiny fish swarming around us, we were lucky enough to see other larger pelagic species too. We were face to face with lots of large Napoleon fish, marvelled at huge schools of barracudas and jackfish. So, it is not hard to believe that all our day dives were fascinating. Our night dives were equally exciting. We saw Spanish dancers, crabs, scorpion fish, barracudas and rainbow-coloured nudibranches.

A 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:

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!

The Sharks winked back!

Posted on by Livia (Volgyesi) Hertelendy

Last week Poseidon showered us with his affections once again – sharks were winking back at us at every dive site! The air temperatures keep rising in Sudan – this week it was already 30-32C and only our last 2 days were a bit windy.

Tour date: March 2-9, 2013
Itinerary: Sudan North
Air temperature: 30-32C
Water temperature: 25C
Visibility: 20-30m

There were plenty of sharks at all the main dive sites. At Abington we did not know where to look because 20 hammerheads were circling around us at 15-25m for as long as 5 minutes, only 2-3m from us. Angarosh and Shaab Rumi did not disappoint again. Thankfully the grey reef sharks have returned to Shaab Rumi, giving us plenty to see. The giant school of barracudas was at Sanganeb, as always. We were able to visit all the dive sites in the itinerary:

Day 1: Shaab Suedi; Gota Shambaia; Gota Shambaia
Day 2: Angarosh; Angarosh; Merlo; Gota Shambaia
Day 3: Quita el Banna; Quita el Banna; Blue Belt; Shaab Rumi Precontinent
Day 4: Shaab Rumi South Plateau (2 dives), Precontinent
Day 5: Shaab Rumi; Sanganeb South; Sanganeb South; Umbria
Day 6: Umbria

A new week, new hopes. We will be back next week let you know we have seen.

If you have missed the action of the past weeks, click on the links below to catch up!
Angarosh, the “Mother of Sharks”
A Perfect Start in Sudan!
Fish parade in the month of Pisces!

It is shark fever onboard Cassiopeia!

Posted on by Livia (Volgyesi) Hertelendy

Today is about fish again because we have seen marvellous things in Egypt! Like a Rhina Ancylostoma and a Stegostoma Fasciatum or Varium. And this is only the beginning as we have just barely left the harbour… and all this at the beginning of a classical North safari.

Usually March is not the most preferred month for divers in Egypt. But we still like sailing then too, map out the underwater scenery without that all that “popularity” down there. And we have found something this week without even trying. We are doing a classical North tour.

There it lay, a few metres from the wreck of Dunraven at 28m deep on the sandy bottom, a bowmouth guitarfish, 2.5m long. If you wish to dive and see it, even if only in your imagination, you can do it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowmouth_guitarfish

We had similar luck yesterday at the Woodhouse Reef 10 minutes into our dive where at 20m deep we ran into a 1.5m long zebra shark lazily lying on the sandy bottom. Zebra sharks can be found a bit more frequently in the Red Sea but they are still not an everyday occurrence!

By the way, the air temperature is about 28C, perfect for a safari! J

Photos by Gyozo Horvath

Angarosh, the “Mother of Sharks”

Posted on by Livia (Volgyesi) Hertelendy

This time around we have enjoyed a lot more sunny days then last week. Winds were not too strong and luckily the waters were quite calm at the northern dive sites. Our dives were made more colourful by the schools of hammerheads, jackfish and barracuda. This week Angarosh rocked!

Tour date: February 16 – 23, 2013
Itinerary: Sudan-North
Air temperature: 28-30C
Water temperature: 24-25C
Visibility: 25m

We were able to visit all the sites of the North itinerary:

Day 1: Shaab Suedi, Gota Shambaia, Gota Shambaia
Day 2: Angarosh, Angarosh, Merlo, Gota Shambaia
Day 3: Quita el Banna, Blue Belt, Shaab Rumi Precontinent (day and night dive)
Day 4: Shaa’b Rumi South Plateau (3 dives), Precontinent (night dive)
Day 5: Shaa’b Rumi, Sanganeb, Sanganeb, Umbria
Day 6: Umbria

We hardly saw any other boats this week again, and this made our dives undisturbed at most sites and no other diving group’s bubbles disturbed our underwater adventures.

Shaab Rumi, one of the most beautiful dive sites in the world, lies 40km north of Port Sudan. Visibility had improved since last week and the site was especially rich in marine life. The shallow waters of the lagoon protected from the currents, were perfect for night dives. Another thing that makes Shaab Rumi so famous and why we love this place, is Precontinent II, the experimental underwater station built by Cousteau, whose remains are still visible today.

Still, this week we saw the most sharks at Angarosh. We counted about 20 of them at once. No wonder the reef was named the “Mother of Sharks”. The name serves it right, week after week at every dive!

The hammerheads got closest to us at Quita el Banna, to about 4-5m. After our dives, we marvelled at the gorgeous scenery and sunsets.

To be continued next week…

You can read about our last week’s adventures in Sudan here…