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Safari Routes
 North Safari
Wreck Safari
Brothers Safari
The South
The Deep South
North Safari
| The North Safari takes in some of the most famous shipwrecks in the Red Sea, as well as the famous Ras
Mohammed marine park, with it's dreamlike diving spots.
Two of the reefs we aim to dive are Shark Reef and Jolanda Reef. Both reefs stand on a plateau which are 20 metres
deep with the edges of the plateau dropping down to more than 200 metres. The reefs offer beautiful soft corals
and a multitude of fish. On your early morning dive |
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you may also see sharks.
The Jolanda Reef also offers you the chance to dive the cargo of the Cypriot freighter "Jolanda" which ran aground
in 1980 carrying hundreds of household toilets!
| The "Thistlegorm" is probably the most famous wreck in the Red Sea. The British ship was on the
way to Egypt to bring military equipment of all kinds for the British troops in North Africa. On 6th October 1941 two
German bombs struck the Thistlegorm just aft of the bridge. Nine of the crew died and the survivors were picked up by
HMS Carlisle, which was anchored nearby. Ten minutes after the attack there was a huge explosion and the Thistlegorm
quickly sank from sight. Now the wreck is lying upright on the sea bottom at 30 metres. Especially of interest is the
cargo which includes tanks, trucks, motorcycles, |
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rifles, railway carriage and one railway engine.
The North Safari will also take in the wrecks of Abu Nuhas - Giannis
D, Carnatic, Chrisoula K, Kimon. Abu Nuhas is known as the Ship's
Graveyard and literally means "the reef of brass". The
reef lies close to the shipping lanes and the approach to the Suez
Canal, and has claimed more ships than any other in the Red Sea.
For the history of the wrecks at Abu Nuhas please visit our Dive
Sites page.
| Wreck Safari
This classic wreck safari combines the "best of the best" of the most famous wrecks in the northern Red
Sea with some stunning reef diving.
Dive the famous four wrecks of Abu Nuhas - Giannis D, Carnatic, Chrisoula K, Kimon. Abu Nuhas is known as the Ship's
Graveyard and literally means "the reef of brass". The reef lies close to the shipping lanes and the approach
to the Suez Canal, and has claimed more ships than any other in the Red Sea. |
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For the history of the wrecks at Abu Nuhas please visit our Dive
Sites page.
Leaving from Hurghada, we aim to dive all the wrecks in the area including El Minya, an Egyptian mine sweeper lying just outside
Hurghada's harbour; Suzanna, a small pleasure yacht; the Patrol Boat at Umm Gamar; the Carnatic; Chrisoula K; Seastar and Giannis
D at Abu Nuhas; the Barke; the Ulysses and laying on the north side of Gubal Island. Then there's the Rosalie Moller; the Kingston
(Sarah H, sunk in1881) and laying at Shag Rock; the Carina (sunk in 1926) and laying close to Shab Ali and, of course, the most
famous wreck in the Red Sea the Thistlegorm, which lies at Shab Ali.
| The wrecks are spectacular and fantastic material for the underwater photographer being smothered in
corals. The famous SS Thistlegorm and the Rosalie Moller are World War II wrecks and one of the highlights of this
cruise. The SS Thistlegorm was sunk in 1941, bombed by the German Luftwaffe while on a mission to deliver a cargo
of ammunition and other war materials to the British troops in North Africa. The Rosalie Moller, carrying a cargo
of coal, suffered the same fate just two days later.
In between wreck dives we aim to also visit the reefs of the Straits of Gubal, Gulf of Suez and those to the north
of Hurghada. A variety of deep walls and hard coral gardens with an abundance of reef fish make them well worth
a visit. |
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Brothers Safari
The two specks of land known as Big Brother and Little Brother (about 1km apart), lie 70km to the east and on the same latitude
as the port of El Quesir. These small islands rise from an abyss 350m deep in the middle of the Red Sea, and exposure to strong
currents has left the islands with an abundance of soft corals and giant gorgonians. The Brothers are highly exposed with no
safe mooring, and therefore, should only be accessed on appropriate liveaboards. The Standard safari boat option does not exist
on any of the southern itineraries – all are Luxury 4 or 5 star vessels. Please bear in mind that night dives are forbidden
on both islands, and divers must show a minimum of 50 logged dives to dive at The Brothers.
| Little Brother
This island offers some spectacular coral diving, with the most colourful soft corals and delicate gorgonian forests
at around 30m. As you turn your head away from the drop-off, you are bound to see sharks gliding into the deep.
The Brothers attract several species of sharks, including hammer-heads, silver tips, oceanic whitetips, silkys and
sometimes even tiger sharks. |
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| Big Brother
The northern tip of Big Brother is very exposed and can at
times be un-diveable, with mountainous waves crashing over
the reef. The first of two beautiful wrecks - the Aida
- lies on the northern plateau of Big Brother with the stern
wedged into the island at a depth of 80m. Built at Nantes
in France in 1911, this 1426 ton Egyptian steamship carrying
Egyptian troops, struck the west face of Big Brother Island
and sank in September 1957. The second wreck (only a 5 minute
fin away) is the Numidia.
This 130m, 6400 ton British steamship was on her maiden voyage
from Glasgow with a cargo of rolling stock and locomotives
for the Indian Railways in Calcutta, when she ran onto the
northern plateau of Big Brother Island. With her bow well
fast on the reef she broke her back, the hull |
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on the seabed, with her rudder at the 70m mark. Her engines are evident in her engine room at 25-30m, with a steam locomotive
lying in 10m. The Numidia offers a longer stay within her shallower forward section than her neighbour round the corner,
though this dive is only for the experienced. Both wrecks are adorned with spectacular soft corals dancing in strong
currents, with shoals of sweepers and groupers filling in the recesses and barracudas circling above |
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The Brothers safari will leave from Hurghada and will typically stay 3 days and nights at the Brothers.
On the way there or on the return leg you will have the chance
to savour the delights of Panorama Reef, off Safaga, as well as
superb wall diving at Abu Kafan and Shab Sheer. If the weather holds
we will also dive the famous Salem
Express wreck. This passenger/car ferry, overcrowded with religous
pilgrims from a trip to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, sank quickly after
hitting a reef in December 1991, with many victims . The vessel
now lies on its starboard side, with its deepest part in 30m and
its port side 10m from the surface. Scattered around, sometimes
in near new condition, one finds shoes, suitcases, stereos, plastic
toys, clothing and, soberingly, 4 lifeboats in a cable entwined
heap that failed to get away.
The South
| Your diving adventure starts from Marsa Alam, a port 4 hours drive south from Hurghada. Alternatively,
if you don’t fancy the minibus trip, Marsa Alam now has its own ‘international airport’ (though
flights there are less frequent) where we will transfer you directly to the boat. This south route hugs the coastline
around the area of Marsa Alam, with stunning sites that offer a fantastic variety of diving. Weather permitting,
we will do a couple of dives at Elphinstone, the famed monolith. Steep walls drop to the depths on the reef’s
east and west |
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sides, reaching 80m or more, while the north and south ends of the reef slope steeply to a submerged plateau. In the early morning,
you have a good chance of encountering hammerheads and grey reef sharks, and even oceanic white tips, circling on the plateau. We
aim to cover Shab Mansour, Wadi Gimal, Shab Sataya and the caverns and swim throughs of Shab Claude. Shab Sataya offers us some
ancient amphorae and Abu Galawa offers us the only wreck of the trip. A small tug boat lies here at 20m, sunk in the 1950’s,
completely coral encrusted – a photographer’s dream! Our southern most point would be the horse shoe shaped Dolphin
Reef, just south of the Fury Shoal reef complex. Sharks of several types can also frequently be spotted here, and there are regular
sightings of dolphins along the reef or inside the lagoon.
The Deep South
| The Deep South consists of the best reefs and islands that the
Egyptian Red Sea has to offer in terms of colour, size, species, diversity and sheer numbers of vertebrates and
invertebrates. It also covers the longest distance so there is a lot of traveling at night. The boat leaves from
Marsa Alam, Hamata (six hours drive from Hurghada), or sometimes Wadi Lahami. Amongst the prolific fish life one
also encounters here, but rare further north, are sail fish, manta rays and large shoals of bumphead parrotfish.
There are so many |
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good spots that one runs out of superlatives in describing them. With large distances between sites, good communication is needed
between the divers, the guides and the boat captain as to which sites are either "must do's" or "may do's".
Sites on the route include St Johns Reef, Bodkin Reef, Zabargad and Rocky Island, Wadi Gemal, Ras Banas, Habili Gefar and Habili
Ali, Shab Aiman, Shab Samadai and Shab Mahrus. The sole wreck on the itinerary is an unknown petrol tanker of about 60 meters length
found in 25m off the north end of Zabargad.
If your budget and time allows, this safari can also be booked for a two week period.
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