2 weeks: Tiran-Brother Islands-Daedalus-Rocky Island-Zabargad-Salem Express

旅程的高潮

• Strait of Tiran, Gordon, Thomas, Woodhouse and Jackson Reef. The Gordon reef is marked by the wreck of a large commercial freighter. The reef composition is quite varied, with patchy sections, sand beds and full-fledged coral gardens. In the center of the reef slope, a shark amphitheater or bowl dips to 24 m; with luck a variety of shark species can be seen sleeping on the sandy bottom. The site boasts a very good range of corals, with lots of branching varieties. All of the corals are well preserved, in densely grown patches that often show a remarkable mix of different species.
• The Brother Islands one of the best diving spots in the world. The Islands – the Big Brother and the Little Brother – are two small exposed promontories that just come out of the water in the middle of the sea at around 60 km from the Egyptian coast line. The Little Brother has a very high concentration of life in a much reduced area. The walls are covered literally with sponges, anemones and all sorts of hard and soft corals in an astonishing variety of colors and shapes. Of course you will find here plenty of fish. It is not unusual to see sharks: hammerheads, thresher sharks, grey reef sharks, silvertip and white tip reef sharks.
• The Daedalus Reef is a huge reef formation that lies at about 180 km south of Brother Islands. The reef is surrounded by a sheer wall all around, featuring a plateau on its southern side that goes from 28 m beside the reef to 40 m on the edge of the drop-off. If the weather is good, try to get as far north as possible and drift along one of the sides of the reef. Reef and hammerhead sharks are often spotted here. Marine life is here more abundant than anywhere else, with schools of surgeons, fusiliers, carangids.
• The Island of Zabargad is a superb dive spot. Here you can dive along walls, hover over drop offs or dive slowly in the shallow area, watching the big amount of reef fishes or inhabitants and admire the beautiful coral garden.
• Rocky Island is a mystical site that represents a diver’s dream. The indented reef that circles the entire perimeter of the island drops deeply to an astonished depth and the constant currents that flow all along the year favor the growth of different kinds of colorful marine life in a continuous struggle for a place on the reef. The walls are absolutely covered with the most beautiful soft corals, as well as gorgonias, fans, sponges and black coral trees. Because of its exponated situation everything seems to concentrate on the surroundings of this small island. Reef sharks, especially grey and silver tips, you can watch in the blue and may be manta rays, turtles and dolphins
• In the night of December 14. 1991, while on route to the Egyptian port of Safaga, the Salem Express ran aground on Shaab Sheer reef during a storm and struck a leak. The ship had large open decks and sank in minutes. The passengers, mostly pilgrims returning from their Hajj to Mecca, were caught sleeping. It is still unclear why the captain deviated from the safe shipping route.
• The Salem Express is now about 1.5 boat hours southeast of Safaga at a depth of between 11 and 32 meters on the starboard side. The wreck can be dived from the outside. Since not all bodies could be recovered from inside the ship, the Salem Express was officially declared a grave. In the meantime, the tailgate has been opened to dive in, but the cabins are still not allowed to be entered.