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2002: RED SEA (MARSA SHAGRA) BSAC's dive magazine does have its uses. We spotted an article on the tented dive camps opening up south of Hurghada and thought this looked like our kind of diving. The buddy didn't fancy going back to Sharm, as last time she was there the only accommodation for divers was a Bedouin camp! I didn't fancy a liveaboard as I go very green when the water is anything other than as calm as a millpond. We eventually decided to head for Marsa Shagra with Oonasdivers. This was a small 'eco' dive village about 3 hours drive south of Hugharda. A mini bus picked us up from the airport and eventually delivered us to the dive village, where we were greeted with something to eat and drink. The package included two shore dives a day for five days and all meals and drinks apart from alcohol. Being responsible! divers we didn't expect to get through too much of this. We'd decided against the cheapest accommodation, (tents) and were going to have a single room with shared toilets. As luck would have it, these were full and we were upgraded to on suite accommodation. The only problem with having this luxury was, if we go back we'll have to pay for it next time. To be honest, the accommodation was excellent and would have been worth the extra money. The atmosphere was very chilled out. There were no shops, no discos and no one trying to sell you anything. A guy did trot by on his horse every day to see if anyone wanted a ride in the desert. The diving day consisted of an early breakfast followed by a shore dive, lunch then another shore dive, afternoon tea and cake with a beer followed by a couple of hours kip. Dinner was generally very good and eating was communal. There was no choice apart from a vegetarian option but this wasn't really a problem as the food was very good. We were treated to some excellent local dishes. The two shore dives involved travel on the back of a lorry for up to an hour either north or south. Most of the dive sites were Marsas, which were small coves where you could swim the reef in either a northerly or southerly direction. Generally you would dive deep in one direction and then return shallower. The reefs were in good condition with little evidence of damage caused by divers. The corals were excellent and there was lots of fish life. Marsa Shagra itself had a house reef. This you could dive at any time without extra charge. It was just a case of putting on your gear and walking all of 10 feet to the waters edge. If you wanted, a Zodiac would take you out and you could swim back. All you had to do was tell them how long. They would also pick you up. Boat trips were also available to Elphinstone and Dolphin reef at extra cost. Elphinstone is a narrow reef that's our on the horizon from Marsa Shagra. We had one rather exciting dive on this. The plan was to drop us on to the northern end, stay there for a while watching all the big fish and then drift down the reef and eventually surface for the pick up. Unfortunately the current was very strong and the drop off was poor so we only managed to get onto the side of the reef and 'roller coast' along it to the far end. The boat had moored at the far end, however a strong surface current resulted in some rather scary antics by the Zodiac driver who discovered that you don't have much control over your boat when you approach divers up current. He also found that his boat didn't go anywhere when it was full of divers and their kit and there were four others in the water hanging onto the sides. After this, we decided to give the second drift dive along the other side of the reef a miss. Oonasdiver have informed us that such boat handling practice is no longer carried out! Our other boat trip was to Dolphin reef. This is a horseshoe shaped reef where young dolphins are schooled. Unfortunately there were no dolphins when we went. We figured they'd been taken out on a day trip, as the sea was very calm. The diving was however still very good. The second dive involved diving through a series of caves, which made an interesting change. We had an excellent week and would recommend Marsa Shagra if you want a quiet place to dive that's relatively close to the UK and not too expensive. Being able to swim the house reef as much as you liked with out extra expense would make the place ideal for anyone wishing to log dives, practice there diving skills or just enjoy the fish life on the reef. Apart from Elphinstone the diving was relatively easy. The dive visibility was very good. In March, when we went, a full wet suit with hood was good idea. We'd advise going soon as the hotels are starting to go up and a new airport is soon to open. Some of the shore dive sites have already gone to developers so eventually the coast will end up like Sharm and boat diving will become the norm. Dudley & Co. |