TRAVELSPECIAL
Red Sea anemonefish
A lionfish on the wall at Elphinstone , coral grouper in the background
A ‘ day octopus ’ changes its colour and texture to meld with the background
I ’ d noticed exceptional numbers of coral grouper on previous dives , and at Elphinstone there seemed to be more polka-dot predators than anywhere else , one appearing every few metres . Again , there were large schools of anthias , at times so thick that they seemed to block out the reef . Elphinstone ’ s wall is marked by cracks , where schools of soldierfish hide behind curtains of fan coral . Looking up , I saw a majestic lionfish , its fins outstretched in full display against the blue water above .
Finning back to the boat , we were briefly joined by two groups of dolphins . A few big bottlenose bruisers gave us a close swimpast , followed by a timid group of spinners . There was laughter , tears and the inevitable goading of those who had missed out .
Our trip wound down with the long journey back to Hurghada , where day six consisted of a couple of morning dives around the Ramada Reefs . Such shallow reefs may have been considered a bit of a comedown , but there was plenty to see .
The reef had plenty of outlying coral pinnacles ; host to myriad tiny critters , including a little blue and yellow fish subsequently identified as Townsend ’ s fang blenny , Plagiostremus townsendi . We were also treated to an encounter with a reef octopus , who ran through an impressive range colour and texture changes before retreating into its coral home .
Cleaning and setting my kit out to dry , I considered the immense value that Egypt continues to offer UK divers . With the tentative easing of restrictions on UK travellers , it has emerged at the vanguard of available destinations , with the Maldives not far behind . The packages aren ’ t quite as competitively priced as they used to be , but the quality of the diving , and of the service , is extremely high . There are many good reasons why the Red Sea is the number one destination for BSAC Clubs , and everything I had seen suggests that those reasons remain as persuasive as ever . �
The author booked with Scuba Travel [ tel 01483 411590 , web : scubatravel . com ], offering land based or liveaboard holidays throughout the Red Sea . One-week fully inclusive liveaboard trips on this itinerary are priced from £ 1,345 , flights included .
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