I recently went on my first diving holiday abroad, nothing new for all you diving die-hards out there, but as I only started this lark last September, it was a whole new experience for me, and a very enjoyable one too. I picked up the details of the holiday company from the Dive Show. They’re called Explorer Tours (http://www.explorers.co.uk) and I’d definitely use them again. As this wasn’t my main Summer holiday, it had to be a cheap one. I picked the Ocean Lodge in Sharm El Sheikh at for £299 for a week (although late bookers got this for £199) and booked a four-day dive package for £100. I went at the end of July due to work commitments, not the time I’d recommend as was over 40ºC (over 100ºF) and too hot to walk around during the day. Thankfully, with a sea breeze lowered the temperature on the boat to 32ºC, and underwater to 30ºC - like a warm bath!
We struck lucky with the accommodation and the dive centre. As Ocean College was under our hotel, we could sit at breakfast and wait until the last minute to run out to the minibus that drove us to Sharm harbour. The rooms were a bit basic, but the breakfasts were good, the pool nice and cool, the bar open late and everyone we met on the boat was staying there - so there were plenty of people to go out with in the evenings. We taxied out to local restaurants in the town for E£10 (about £2).
We dived every day, except the last day when we flew home - 14 dives in 6 days. The vis went from 10-20m, even in the blue. I saw barracuda, turtle, dolphins, a reef shark (when snorkelling one lunchtime unfortunately!), a blue spotted stingray, moray eels, parrotfish, pufferfish, triggerfish, lionfish, clownfish, jacks, batfish, butterflyfish, snappers, triggerfish etc. etc. and gorgeous corals and anemones.
We were guided diving, with a dive leader (Richard was 19 the day before we got there and an excellent guide, except everything he said was in Welsh!) I went for a night dive with a bunch of Advanced PADI divers – fabulous, even at only 6m. We turned off our torch and swam by the light of the moon shining through the water - very surreal! The maximum the school normally dives to is 30m, with no deco allowed, so you can get away with using a dive watch rather than a computer.
On Wednesday we dived the Thistlegorm, one of the top 10 wrecks in the world (allegedly!) - it was amazing though, despite necessitating a 4am start! We swam around the bow in the first dive and penetrated the holds in the second. It’s full of BSA motorbikes, cars, wellington boots, rifles and shells (it was sunk during WW2). The funniest part was watching 11 dive boats trying to locate it underwater without wreckfinders – they dropped snorkellers in!! The mast top was at 16m, the seabed 33m.
We also dived the Dunraven, which sunk in 1871. It’s now more of a reef (it’s upside down, and most of the cargo has been taken away) but a good spot for turtles. We also dived the Yolande, a great drift dive, where the wreck has long since disintegrated, but the cargo of porcelain toilets remains!
All in all Sharm is one place I’d highly recommend for a first diving holiday, I felt warm, safe and relaxed throughout every dive. I can’t wait to go back.
Shireen Walker
August 1999