Sailing on the magnificent Red Sea

---

The past two days have been amazing! My brother Stew organised a luxurious boat trip on the Red Sea off Sharm el-Sheikh for 15 mates (mostly Aussies & Brits) and what a trip it was! I had heard that the snorkeling and marine life on the Red Sea reefs were top notch and so my expectations were high. Fortunately all expectations were exceeded as soon as we arrived at our 5 star three story boat. Once we set sail, the incredible landscape and blue blue waters were magical.

We were situated just off the Sinai Peninsular between Saudi Arabia and Egypt in international waters and together with 9 staff we were treated like royalty for two days. Amazing meals were cooked for us, drinks were served to us and we had three massive balconies to sun bathe on - it was bliss! And then there was the marine life! We did a few snorkels each day and always experenced a new reef each time. In some areas the reef was so shallow that your stomach nearly touched the coral below. We saw all kinds of tropical fish as well as turtles, giant stingrays and clams. The coral colours were extraordinary and having snorkelled the Great Barrier Reef, I think it was just as good.

Despite our concerns about sharks, (there were 5 separate shark attack deaths last October in the area) we had a ball and were told to jump on the nearest coral in shallow water if a shark was sighted. Luckily this never happened.

I doubt that the pictures really capture the full beauty of the Red Sea - with hardly any tourists we again had the entire place (entire sea) to ourselves. It was magic - if you come to Egypt then a trip to the Sinai coastline is a must!

---