Seeing an Oceanic Whitetip shark, also known as Carcharhinus longimanus, is on the wish list of many divers and those who choose to go scuba diving with Euro-Divers in Egypt’s Southern Red Sea have the chance to realising their dream at Elphinstone Reef.
These awe-inspiring sharks are easy to distinguish from the reef whitetip by their more substantial bodies, the pilot fish that continually accompany them and their rounded fins edged with white. They can reach 3.5 metres in length but individuals this large are rare.
They roam the tropical and sub-tropical seas and often spend time at shallow depths hence being regularly sighted by divers at Elphinstone Reef. Classified as dangerous to humans, sightings of these majestic creatures get the adrenalin pumping!
Oceanic white-tip sharks used to be the most common pelagic fish in the sea but are now threatened with extinction due mainly to fishing. In some areas They are deliberately targeted in some areas for meat and fins, it is also often caught as bycatch.
Scientists estimate that the population of oceanic whitetips has declined by over 98% since the 1960’s so encounters with them whilst diving is a huge privilege not enjoyed by many.
Elphinstone Reef is one of the world’s most exciting diving destinations. A few small waves breaking are the only visible sign that just below the sea’s surface is the summit of a subterranean mountain, rich in colourful corals and fish species, and attracting hungry barracuda, dolphins and sharks.
Aside from the oceanic whitetips, divers who visit this reef are also on the lookout for hammerhead sharks, also an endangered species.
Encounters with sharks at Elphinstone are unforgettable but not for the feint hearted. The sharks themselves pose little risk, they are curious but do not actively seek out human prey, the location of the reef in open sea with alluring deep coral plateaus and infamous currents means this dive is best suited to experienced divers.
If a dive at Elphinstone with the possibility of an encounter of a life-time appeals to you, contact the Euro-Divers Egypt team to get your adventure started.
Everything started with my Open Water Course at Koh Tao, Thailand. I’m hooked with the first breath I took underwater – this magical and peaceful world with all these different colors and creatures made me forget about everything else. It felt like an addiction.
This time made me realize that I don’t want to keep diving only as a hobby. I wanted to become a Diving Instructor and make diving my profession.
I was working as an entertainer in one of the resorts in South Male atoll. The first time I tried diving I absolutely fell in love with it, so every day off I would go diving.
I was lucky enough to meet people from Euro-Divers who helped me complete my instructor course and employment later on.
That trip changed everything. Since 2014, I visited more than 50 countries in three continents.
2019, 2020, 2021 – still in Maldives, enjoying what I love the most.
Im sonnigen Süden (Ägypten) lernte ich im Urlaub die unglaubliche Unterwasserwelt bei einem Schnuppertauchgang kennen und lieben.
Anfangs arbeitete ich im Tauchcenter im Büro, mir wurde jedoch schnell klar, dass ich die Gäste nicht nur über Wasser sondern auch unter Wasser begleiten wollte. Somit machte ich die Divemaster Ausbildung.
I studied Hotel management and ended up working for several years in different Hotels/Resorts around Italians seaside where I spend my days off diving and achieving the Dive Master rating.
I choose to stay in Oman because of its unspoiled dive site, beaches and many undiscovered dive places! We do not have mass tourism here and the country itself is spectacular besides being the safest place to live in.
Bored and burnt out of the stressful life in Holland, I quit my job as Manager Back Office & Finance and I went to Curacao for holiday. On this tropical island I took my first breaths under water with Instructor Marc, who is still my buddy in life.
Diving keeps me grounded, relaxed and connected with Mother Nature (myself). It supports me to let go, to put things into perspective and it helps me to stay focused and balanced in my position as a manager.
But diving was not at all my purpose of the journey, in fact I was not even a diver yet, I became a diver after I got passionate in freediving in Egypt in 2012 while freediving with dolphin in the wild, eager to become a snorkeling guide, I did my life guard licence and then my PADI open water!
I love freediving but scuba diving is an all other story for me, learning scuba diving make you discover part of yourself you didn’t know, you learn to control things that you would have never imagined possible, I regularly see many of my students discovering how calm they can be underwater when in life they tend to be hyperactive and then in the other hand I see calm or introverted persons becoming excited and move like a torpedo underwater 🙂 so diving might not be for everyone but it is definitely to discover!
I decided after my hospitality studies to enter this fascinating new world. I have started my career in Club Med as Guest Service and had the opportunity to travel some of the famous destinations for diving or snorkeling.
I am the perfect example of someone who was scared of diving, the only advice I could give is to believe in yourself.
But since I was young, I knew I wanted to travel the world, to go on adventures, have fun and meet people from everywhere. Unfortunately, those jobs didn’t give me the opportunity to do it so after 5 years I decided to move to Thailand.
Scuba Diving is a sport of passion.
During this time, I wanted to try something new, so I started scuba diving and I will never forget my first underwater experience. I felt nervous at first but at the same time a lot of excitement.
Some people might think that diving is a difficult sport, but there are many ways to enjoy safe diving for any age or gender.
