DAHAB 2003

April 27^the to May 4^th

Reported by and Starring Paul Cole (of course!)

With Malcolm Cole, Steve Cain & Graham Morrison playing minor roles...

Guest Starring Simon Crompton, Lindsay Robertson & Dulce Roque.

4:30am on Sunday morning saw your reporter, Malcolm, Steve and Graham leaving for Gatwick airport where we met Simon, Dulce and (eventually) Lindsay. The flight was slightly delayed but we made good time as there was a strong tail wind and landed on time. After sorting visas and collecting our baggage we were met outside by a minibus driver who drove us the 80km to Dahab and our hotel, the Blue Hole. A very uncomfortable ride as I had even less legroom than on the plane.

The hotel was clean but basic, but the showers were pretty useless so after 3 nights we changed to the Bedouin Moon. The rooms didn't have air conditioning but then the air conditioning in our room in Blue Hole didn't work properly anyway.

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Taxi anyone?...........................................Waiting for the Boat

After settling in on the first night, we went to Bedouin Moon for a meal and a couple of beers before retiring. At 8:45 next morning we were met by our 2 dive guides for the week, Claire and Laura, with a pickup to take our gear the few yards to the dive centre, Reef 2000, situated in the Bedouin Moon. After dealing with paperwork, sorting our kit into crates and being allocated lockers we were eventually on our way to the first dive site, a bumpy ride partly along unmade roads. This was Bannerfish bay at the lighthouse, where we did a checkout dive. The diving is mostly shore diving. For a first dive this was really excellent with lots to see. Right at the start of the dive I saw a couple of Seamoths, which I had never seen before. We also saw an Octopus, a Bearded Scorpionfish in an old car wreck, a Crocodilefish and Lionfish. Near the end of the dive I saw a Pyjama Slug nudibranch.

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Clownfish.....................Common Lionfish......................Hawkfish

Our second dive was on Lighthouse Reef where the fish included several Bluespine Unicorn fish, Lunartail Grouper and a Porcupine fish.

That evening we got a taxi to the town, if you can call a pickup truck a taxi, and after some time walking up and down the main drag, with several restaurant employees trying to entice us into their restaurant, we decided on a Chinese. On average a 2 course meal with a couple of drinks cost around 50 L.E. which at the moment is about £5.00.

Claire Hanging About

The second days’ diving was at Glassfish pinnacle and Um Sidd. Glassfish Pinnacle, as its name suggests is around a large pinnacle which is completely covered in Glassfish. This dive was cut short for myself and Malcolm as my camera failed and the housing was letting in water. Luckily the leak was very small, caused by a fine hair on the O ring. It was clean when I closed it, ‘onest guv. The camera failure was just down to flat batteries, thankfully. I didn't bother with the camera to dive Um Sidd as I wanted to check it was watertight before taking in the sea again.

That night we went into town again, another ride in the limousine taxi, for a meal in a restaurant recommended by Claire and Laura, Lakbatita, which is their favourite restaurant. All the meals are cooked to order so it took a while but it was worth it. The restaurant is unlicensed so could not serve beer but we all got addicted to their freshly squeezed strawberry juice.

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Lemon Damsel...............................Lunartail Grouper..............................Moray

Wednesdays diving was at the Canyon for the first dive where you drop down into a canyon to nearly 30 metres, then swim through a short tunnel out into a lagoon. The second dive started at The Bells, which begins in a small slot in the shore line where you drop down to your maximum depth and follow the reef south. We followed the reef further south until we reached the 6m saddle into the Blue Hole. The Blue Hole itself is not that interesting a dive but the sloping reef on the outside, and on top of the saddle, is rich with life. Apparently a friend of our dive guides had seen a Spanish Dancer on the saddle earlier but we couldn't find it. I reckon he was having them on. I never took my camera on these two dives as we were told there would be strong currents but it was very calm all except at the end of the Canyon dive where you have to swim/crawl over a shallow ridge into a lagoon. This was a shame because there were some excellent pictures to be taken.

Thursday we had an earlier start as we were going out on a boat to dive Gabr El Bint. This can still be a shore dive but you can’t get there by road, so you have to go as far as you can by car and then a couple of hours on camel. No thanks! We'll stick to the boat. We had three dives this day, 2 in the morning followed by lunch cooked on the boat which was excellent. After lunch we dived at Gabr El Bint Canyon. One of the highlights of Gabr El Bint is some really gorgeous Gorgonian fans. The fish seen on these sites included lots of Bannerfish, Picasso Triggerfish, Zebra Angelfish and Clownfish in anemones. I saw one bulb anemone with a host partner shrimp. It was difficult to photograph with macro as it wouldn't keep still.

Friday we dived the reef to the right of the Blue Hole, following the reef the other way, towards the saddle again. We saw Yellowtail Surgeonfish, Striped Bristletooth, Striped Butterflyfish and a giant Pufferfish. The second dive was at the Coral Garden where we saw Royal Angelfish, Parrotfish and Broomtail Wrasse. After a rest and a snack back at the hotel, we were back on our way to Bannerfish Bay for a night dive. We had assembled our kit and got into our wetsuits at the dive centre, so when we got to the dive site, after a warm drink whilst waiting for the sun to set a little more, we just put our kit on and got into the water. After the dive the kit was put into the back of the trailer and we were driven back in our wet wetsuits. On the dive we saw more Lionfish, the Crocodilefish again, Cornetfish, Pipefish, a couple of Seahorse and a small grey Moray Eel. Back at the dive centre, after sorting our kit and getting changed we had been invited to a fish or chicken supper on the beach, courtesy of Ahmed who runs Reef 2000, which went down very well.

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Pyjama Slug..............................Zebra Angelfish..............................Bearded Scorpion Fish

Saturday, and our last day diving, we went to the Eel gardens were the main attraction is, yes you guessed it, a large area of Sand Eels where we lingered for a while, a bit too long really. They don’t do much do they. The second dive was at The Islands. I didn't do this dive because my back was giving me jib. However I went for a snorkel which was nearly as good and I saw a Slate Pencil Sea Urchin, Cornetfish, Masked Pufferfish and a Lemon Damselfish all at the top of the reef.

Saturday evening we took our dive guides Claire and Laura out for a meal to thank them for giving us a very enjoyable week. They were really excellent guides and unlike most Red sea guides don’t smoke before, during and after a dive. We let them choose the restaurant which, surprise surprise, was Lakbatita. We all then went to a bar right at the other end of the town before getting a taxi back to the hotel. Apparently Laura went onto another bar to meet some friends and didn't get home till the early hours of the morning. The life of a Dive Guide!

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The Lakbatita Restaurant............................Dive Guides Laura and Claire

Sunday was a relaxing day as we were not leaving for the airport until 6:30pm so went into town to do some shopping before going back to the hotel for something to eat and say cheerio to Claire and Laura. The drive back to the airport was very quiet and solemn but at the airport it was chaotic, but that’s another story!

All in all, everyone had a great time. It is a lot more relaxing than Sharm and most of the coral at Dahab is in pristine condition. I would advise anybody to go there soon because the way it is expanding, in a few years it could be just another Sharm.

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