Zabargad, Red Sea, 2007
by Eddie Clamp

Journey
We flew to Marsa Alam from Gatwick and return via Thompson Airways. The flight was acceptable if somewhat crammed. Having an obliging non-diving wife (who makes room in her case for my wetsuit) I had no problems with weight restrictions but was reliably informed that all divers could have an extra 10Kgs on showing proof of diving qualifications.

On arrival in Marsa Alam processing was very quick and mostly carried out by our Regaldive representative who also arranged provision of our Egyptian visas (£12) and gave us a quick brief on our hotel. The Resort adds on an hour to Cairo time. Something to remember for your return journey. We then set off for our hotel in a local hire minibus. The Zabargad Dive Resort is set to the south of the Red Sea near the border with Sudan. This entailed a slightly scary two and a half hour bumpy drive in the dark along a narrow tarmac road. We finally arrived to a very friendly reception in the hotel with a welcome snack left for us in our hotel room. The return trip from the resort to Marsa Alam was a little more enjoyable as it was done in daylight and in a smaller, more comfortable taxi from which we had a good view of the Red Sea, the desert, a multitude of wild camels and Mangrove swamps as we passed by.

Diving
All my diving was carried out with the Orca Diving Centre. Orca Divers are a German run dive operation that is situated near the town of Hamata in the south of the Egyptian Red Sea. The centre is located on a private beach of the Zabargad Beach Resort and has its own jetty, bar, classrooms and equipment storage area. Boat trips consisting of two daily dives are arranged to the vast number of reefs in the surrounding area. Dives can also be arranged, when required, on the house reef nearby.

Diving both on the house reef and day boat was very well organized. I pre-booked a four-day dive package although a six-day dive pack seemed to be the norm for a week. Anticipating being tired from the journey on the first day I chose to do my checkout dive on the house reef. I was informed that ALL divers diving with Orca Divers must carry out a mask clearance and buddy breathing exercise before continuing to dive. This requirement was soon carried out a five metres after a reasonably high jump off the jetty. Mark, another Brit diver, who arrived on the same flight as us did his check-out dive from the day boat and informed me that he had to wait ten minutes or so underwater with his dive buddies before the Dive Master carried out his check.

I did two dives on the house reef over the week I was there. Equipment transfer from the dive centre to the jetty is different here as it is transported in a donkey cart. The donkey, Prince Ali, is often to be seen around the resort carrying out his varied duties. A real character! I enjoyed my dives along the house reef. Unlike other reefs I have dived where there has sometimes been a sparsity of corals and sea life due to rubble from the hotel builds (Ras um Sid) coral life here was attractive, if not in abundance. Fish seen during my diving here included a large barracuda, a large Triggerfish at a cleaning station plus a large shoal of Fusiliers (when the barracuda wasn't lurking) and a Carpet Crocodile fish amongst many others.

Meeting for the dive boat is at the dive centre at 0820 daily. Enough time to check your equipment and then onto the bus for transportation to Hamata Jetty. Once in the routine of daily diving, equipment can be left on the boat overnight as the crew always sleeps onboard. For those who have day boat dived around other areas of the Red Sea the diving routine will come as no surprise. Arrive onboard, check your gear, safety brief (if you are new), chill out on the sun deck on the slow trip out to the reef. On arrival dive brief. Dive briefs are given in German as most divers are either: German, Swiss or Dutch. An English brief was normally given on completion. I say, normally, because on one occasion the Dive Master's English seemed not quite adequate enough. Not a real problem for me as I had lived in Berlin for a couple of years but something that may cause problems for some. Most of the foreign divers we met spoke excellent English and were willing to help the more linguistically challenged amongst the Brits. Experienced divers may carry out heir own diving, unaccompanied by a dive guide, as long as their dive follows the instructions given in the pre-dive brief.

I did four days boat diving giving a total of eight dives in all. I enjoyed all the dives but especially Sha'ab Claudio. This reef was pristine with many open caverns to swim through leading to glistening yellow sands with myriads of antheas and glassfish (my favourite type of Red Sea diving). One note of caution here. From time to time we did meet some very strong currents. Especially at Abu Maksour where there is a deep drop off. Disappointingly, I did not see any large fish life that I had expected to see so far down in southern Egypt amongst the Fury Shoals. This, however, was more than compensated for by the scenic diving and the abundance of small fish life of all kinds. On completion of the first dive lunch is served by the crew and time given to sleep it off in the sun. After the second dive the crew upped anchor and the slow return journey back to Hamata begins. Arrival back at the resort was normally around 1715 where an après dive beer could be had at the bar next to the dive centre. My last dive of the trip was enhanced by the arrival of a turtle that turned up just as we were carrying out our three at five at the end of the dive. A very apt end to an excellent diving holiday.

Weather during our trip was mostly kind to us. Calm seas and blue skies for the first few days. After the third day we awoke to an overcast sky and although the wind was not strong in the morning it blew up during the trip out to the reef. This made for some lumpy sea conditions, especially on the return journey. Diving was never interfered with as the boat could usually tie up in the lee of the reef.

The Resort
The Zabargad Resort hotel is located on the shore of the Red Sea near the Sudanese border. I understand it was completed in 2001. Both my wife and I enjoyed the laid back feeling of the hotel. No televisions or radios, no telephones - just blissful quiet! My wife was amazed to find herself completely alone by the excellent pool most days when the divers had departed. There are two beaches here but they are very rocky and next to the reef plateau - so no sea swimming. Two very handsome Sea Ospreys frequent the area. I was surprised to hear a squeal one day and looking up saw one of the Ospreys carrying off its kill. All the hotel staff show a friendly willingness to help you make your holiday a good one at what we came to call "the hotel at the end of the desert" woith no apologies to "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy". The Zabargad Resort is a great place for divers and those who wish to relax and chill out but if you are looking for luxuries - I recommend you go elsewhere!

Our holiday deal gave us half board. Breakfast in the morning that for me in the Red Sea whether ashore or on a liveaboard is always two fried eggs on toast ordered in my pigeon Arabic. A note here that the staff are always amazed by anyone who shows a smattering of their language and it goes a long way to cementing relationships. Evening meal was always served buffet style with a different choice every night. The pool side bar was open in the evenings for those who wanted to continue their après dive but we being somewhat older made our way to our room for a read and early bed. There are no themed evenings here at the hotel.

Booking
Our holiday was booked online through Regaldive: Website. On surfing their website we found a special offer for the region during late February dates that appealed to us. On applying for the offer that clearly stated it was for flight from Gatwick and Manchester we were informed that the offer was only for flights from Manchester. After an exchange of a number of emails they came up with an offer that was acceptable to both parties. They must be ok as I am shortly off on a liveaboard trip with them to the Brothers and Daedulaus Reef with full BSAC discount.

Eddie Clamp
March 2007

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