![]() The west wall is adorned with abundant soft and hard corals. In the sheltered area near the reef are many superb photo opportunities. There are lots of overhangs and small caves. The west side is less steep and slightly sandier than the East. The southern ridge descends steeply and is pierced by a cave at 55-58 metres. You can then then do a superb drift right to the southern end. There are many cleaning stations on the way to keep you amused and huge amounts of fish stocks - moray eels, butterflyfish, angelfish, large schools of black snappers, goatfish and more. ![]() The north plateau is around 80m long and between 10-25m wide.There are two pinnacles on the north end the first at 42 m along with a convenient platform at 40 metres where the sharks appear but only at dawn. Elphinstone is an oval, flat top sea mount, with about 0' - 3' water and waves across the top. Both the hard and soft corals are in excellent health. There are not that many sponges present so the reef is not as colourful as reefs in other parts of the world. ![]() The reef and the fish and sea life are all in excellent condition. It is a very popular dive site, so there is likely to be many other dive boats there when you are and it can get very crowded in high season, unless you overnight on a liveaboard.ĭue to its isolated position Elphinstone is well known for encounters with oceanic whitetip and hammerhead sharks along with barracuda, numerous big jacks and even tuna. Pelargics often swim by the spot to feed on the abundant reef fish population, but many other species, including dophins, fusiliers, jacks, snappers groupers and wrasse may also be seen. The walls plunge deep into the blue, richly decorated with soft, bright pink, red, white and brown corals, sponges, gorgonias and fans. Elphinstone Reef is the mythic dive site of the south. Excellent visibility often 50 meters or more but safety is key on this reefīesides Dolphin House reef this is the other must dive site if you are visiting Marsa Alam or the Port Ghalib area especially between June to November. It is easy to drop to very deep depths without realizing as it has a bottom at 170mtrs+, as it is an open site the current can be fairly strong with no protection at all on the North Plateau. It gets very tiring, immersion 'on the fly' with the current but with great satisfaction. You really need to have to have good experience of drift diving, deep diving and also rougher sea conditions before going here to ensure you are relaxed and get the most enjoyment from diving this reef. Egyptian law states that you must be at least PADI Advanced OWD qualified and have at least 50 dives, you descend to about 40 + metres so there is a good reason for that. The reef is 6 miles out to sea, it descends to over 100m and is swept by strong currents. Let's start with the important me emphasise this is a not a dive for inexperienced divers.
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