A Few Pics From Sharm

[ahoy]

Folks, just been to Sharm and got back on Monday :( :( :(
Anyway, had a good trip with 8dives in Ras Mohammed and 4 in the Straits of Tiran. As a George "Dubya" Bush was in town early in the week, the Naama Bay marina was closed and no diving was allowed in Tiran. As a result, when he b*ggered off, Tiran had been diver free for a few days, so we had some interesting encounters - so, as far as i'm concerned, he did acheive something with his visit to Sharm ;)

Anyway, I digress... These pics were taken with one of those £10 Kodak 10m rated jobbies - as you will see, the Tiran shots were taken at about twice that...

Ras Ghazlani, Ras Mohammed. Bannerfish. Nice dive site on the fringes of the National Park.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/Bannerfish.jpg

Anemone City, Ras Mohammed. Brief stop-off here at my request prior to popping across to Shark and Yolanda. This is the only place i've seen heteractis magnifica - anyone any ideas why (strong converging currents, perhaps)?
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/Anemone City.jpg

Woodhouse Reef, Tiran. Great site and this picture doesn't do the experience justice.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/Dolphin And Turtle.jpg

Woodhouse Reef, Tiran. Same dive as above - In my 13years of diving, i've never even come close to enjoying a dive as much as this. A turtle, a dolphin playing with us for about 10min and two white-tip reef sharks. Needless to say, I was down to 50bar in minutes!
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/Whitetip.jpg


Hope they were interesting...
S.

[Nick Derbyshire]

Can i carry your bags for you next time? God i need to get out there and get wet again!
Nice pics mate fantastic
Cheers
Nick

[jasmine]

You lucky devil -
we have dived various sites in the Sinai (Eilat, Taba, Nuweiba, Dahab and Sharm several times) over the past few years and never been lucky enough to see a shark. And the only place we have seen a dolphin is the 'wild' (tame) one in Nuweiba, so I think you're really lucky to have seen one in Sharm. Do you think it came from the Dolphin Reef in Eilat? Did it interact with you?!

The pics made me very envious. Roll on September when we go to the Great Barrier Reef...!

Jas

[ahoy]

Jasmine, it did interact. Basically, the turtle came along, minding it's own business, then the dolphin appeared, physically nudging the turtle out of our way. It stayed with our group for about 10min, seemingly playing in a friendly manner, then other groups of divers appeared, so we left. Without wanting to sound grand or corny, it was unreal having something this big about 1foot away from you!!

Some divers reckoned the dolphin was protecting the turtle from the divers, although another explanation i've heard is that it was jeleaous of the attention (similar to us in more than one way, perhaps). No idea where it came from, but on the way back to Sharm, we passed through a school of (literally) dozens of dolphins and had the pleasure of them surfing the bow waves...

Barrier Reef in Sept - my turn to be envious ;)
S.

[les]

Harr this time last year I was about to set off for my very first dive and my very first visit to see a reef at Sharm. :) I WANT TO GO BACK. :( SOB SOB. Les.

[diver]

Ahoy

Has the current political climate made any difference to the amount of divers over there at the moment. Normally go to the Red Sea twice a year, Easter and October, wasn't able to go earlier in the year but your photo's have given me the bug and i feel a diving holiday coming on. Great photo's really jealous of the dolphin experience.

Diver

[rayc]

nice photo's m8!

used a cheapy some years ago and it was rubbish so never bothered again,they must have improved!

i've dived in quite a few places yet never been to the red sea - i must be mad it's right on the doorstep.

must get away soon.....

[BrianO]

Lovely Pics :)

Sounds like a great holiday/diving.

I am planning on heading there next month with other half, never been to Sharm before only Hurghada.

Can you reccomend any good hotels/areas/dive co's ?




Thanks


Brian.

[ahoy]

Brian
I booked with Explorers travel (www.explorers.co.uk - usually have special offers) and opted to stay in the Ocean Club hotel, which is a 3* equivalent - spacious, clean rooms with air-con and a good bathroom. Food is nice, if not adventurous, and beers are about £1 each. It is, basically, a divers hotel - if you want a bit more luxury, there a a range of hotels including Marriots and Hiltons in Naama Bay (the main resort in Sharm). Explorers also use the large Naama Bay Hotel, which is more upmarket than the club, but I prefer the laid back, friendlt atmosphere of the divers haunt...

Explorers own the Ocean College dive school, which I have been thoroughly impressed with. Good range of instructors and the boats they own are nice to dive from. Other colleges include Red Sea College and Emperor divers - no experience of them, but they seem like big outfits.

Diver
The plane out was packed, which gave an indication of the current political woes not affecting the diving. There was no animosity from the Egyptians, exemplified by one taxi driver refusing to let us pay him for a trip when we needed to go to a pharmacy... After chatting to the dive staff, it turns out there was a bit of a lull in bookings during March at the start of the military ops, but all seems well now.
S.

[Andy Hipkiss]

FWIW
Has the current political climate made any difference to the amount of divers over there at the moment

It appears the liveaboards are pretty empty at the moment.


if you want a bit more luxury, there a a range of hotels including Marriots and Hiltons in Naama Bay (the main resort in Sharm)

I've used the Hilton Fayrouz last year ... really excellent hotel if you like 5* hotels. I've lived my life in hotels over the last few years so prefer smaller hotels (note a 4* is as luxurious as a 5* , it just has less rooms). Note my relative dislike of large hotels is merely cos I lived in one for a couple of years. Really you couldn't fault the Fayrouz normally.

[split66]

Brian,
Got to agree on Explorers and The Ocean Club. We went twice in the last twelve months and both times were fantastic. The atmosphere up at the sunset bar is great. If you go, try and dive Jackson Reef in the Staits of Tiran..... you won't be dissapointed, just don't go too deep as we found the top 10m of coral garden just blows you away. Enjoy!!

On a completely different tack......
Does any one have the web address for SeaUrchins dive club some where on the south coast? or any recommendations for south east/central dive clubs? We did our first UK dive at Martins Haven in Pembrokeshire last week and it was fabulous. Very keen to experience more sites and find a good club, preferably without the BSAC vs PADI slanging matches. Any leads most appreciated
happy diving
Alan