ABU KEFAN
Drop Off lovers, this is the place to be !
Abu Kefan is a long reef dropping steeply to a depth of more than 400 meters !! As a bonus, there's at the North end, as well as at the South end, two amazing plateaus stretching for several hundreds of meters in both ways !!
The South plateau is to be visited from the boat at the mooring. By calm sea, the boat may be able to moor on the big coral pillar at the beginning of the South plateau.
If weather is good and no current is present, the visit of the plateau is a real enchantment. It is completely covered with hard and soft coral and appears completely untouched. Giant murray eels, big groupers and sometimes turles like to wander about on the plateau.
About the fringe of the plateau, around 25 meters depth, do not only look at the reef, but also look into the blue ... here's your best chance to see pelagic fishes !!!
Tunas, jackfishes, baracudas ... but also whitetip reefsharks and grey reefsharks are not uncommon !!!
Only the most experienced divers will be able to go down to the end of this plateau, and this only when no current is present.
Indeed, at the end of the plateau, a downgoing current may make you deeper than you actually planned !!!
To end the dive, you will probably ascend along the big coral pillar where the boat is moored. This will indeed be a very good idea....
This pillar is bathed in schools of thousands of Anthias whirling around and in the softcorals ! Who said safety stops had to be boring ?
If the current is too strong (which is regularly the case), no worries ! The South-East wall of Abu Kefan is completely protected from the current.
Along this wall, dropping to more than 400 meters, no thermocline, and excellent visibility are as many factors that may fool you into too deep diving. So, regularly checking computers and depth gauges is not overkill !!!
The most lively part is situated between the surface and 15 mètres, a true wall of anthias !
The reef fringe is particularly irregular, showing many cavities where many a fish looks for a resting place. Giant murray eels, surgeonfishes, balloonfishes and schools of glassfishes whirl around in the light filtering through the cracks in the reef.
The entire wall is covered with hardcorals and softcorals hiding hawkfishes and dascyllusfisches. But another treasure is hidden on this wall ... black coral, the gold of the red sea is present around the place. Divers around here are often escorted by numerous smooth flutemouthfishes, which like to take a jacuzzi in the bubbles of the divers !!!
The North plateau is visited while drift diving, when the weather conditions allow it.
This dive is most probably the most beautiful dive of Safaga, but also the most difficult !!!
A dropping above the plateau, along the reef, with as a reference two pillars coming up from the plateau to more or less 5 meters, allows to not be ripped off the reef by the strong current.
For the ones with a low air consumption, the mission will be to head to the end of the plateau to the most Northern point of the reef.
Here, anything is possible !!!
Look into the blue, and discover baracudas and jackfishes mixed with each other, and ... for the lucky ones maybe a gray reefshark or even something else !!!
On the plateau, softcorals eneverywhere where dyscillusfishes whirl around by thousands, big black coral branches and numerous gorgonias on the ridge of the plateau.
At the base of the two pillars, at the descent point, schools of bannerfishes and butterflyfishes are present. Also, this is the place to find scorpionfishes, big groupers and in the blue a big school of snappers.
But be careful, it is important to turn back to the boat with at least 100 bar. The boat will be moored at the West side of the reef !
Count at least 20 to 25 minutes before being back at the boat, and while drifting and swimming, it is possible to admire the spectacle of the reef wall between the surface and 15 meters : hardcorals of all kinds, and mainly also gigantic table corals.
However, if the sea conditions are bad, and the current too strong, this dive will be most likely impossible to do !!
The dive plan will then be from the boat on the West wall, reef on right hand side to go in the direction of the North plateau and when the current gets too strong to be be vanquished, back to the boat (reef left hand side).
