The Red Sea – Day 6: Paradise at Elphinstone
THE RED SEA
Day 6: Paradise at Elphinstone
June 27, 2024
After diving Daedalus Reef, one would expect it all to go downhill from there. Well, one would be very wrong.
Once again, overnight, we had sailed to another one of Egypt’s most famous and thrilling dive sites: Elphinstone Reef. The long, narrow reef rises sharply from the depths to just below the surface, forming a stunning offshore reef surrounded by sheer walls. The northern and southern plateaus are the main dive zones – both dropping off into open water and often swept by strong currents. The latter, of course, make it one of the best sites for adrenaline-pumping shark encounters!
Here, we’d have a couple of dives – one on the northern plateau and the other on the southern one. I have to say, this dive site was one of my favourites, with the reef blanketed in soft corals, sea fans and sponges, and schools of anthias, fusiliers and barracuda bringing the whole place to life. Not to mention the giant trevally, turtles, moray eels, nobbed sea slugs and black-breasted pipefish.
While we didn’t see any of the big stuff, none of us was disappointed. The colourful, vibrant reef was nothing short of paradise.
Ras Torombi
About an hour away by boat stood our next destination: Ras Torombi. Our next couple of dives would be here, with the last one being a much-anticipated night dive.
Ras Torombi, Aladin explained, lies within a sheltered bay featuring a mix of fringing reefs, coral gardens and seagrass beds, offering a diverse underwater landscape. The site is known for its healthy hard and soft corals, large table corals and abundant marine life, including turtles, barracuda, rays, lionfish and unicornfish.
While the afternoon dive was quite uneventful – save for a particularly memorable queen triggerfish – the night dive was on a completely different level. It wasn’t just the very act of diving in the dark that got me over the moon. It was also seeing a free-swimming octopus that made my day. That said, there was something else that made my week: A friggin’ Spanish dancer.
The Spanish dancer – a large, red-coloured nudibranch that gets its name from the way it moves – had been on my radar ever since I’d been a kid. It’s not just the fact that it’s a super cool red sea slug. It’s the fact that when disturbed, it undulates its bright red or orange body and frilly mantle in a motion that resembles a flamenco dancer’s swirling skirt. So, so cool.
I gotta admit that as good as the dive was, Amelia was certainly having a better one – with Aladin being her very own private guide. Having substituted me as her dive buddy, I can’t say I wasn’t jealous – spending the entire dive trailing behind the two of them like a third-wheeler. Guess Aladin finally found his Jasmine, huh?