Ras Ghozlani.
A shallow fringing reef, plateau and drop-off at the northern point of Marsa Bareika. Coming from Sharm el-Sheikh, it is one of the first sites inside Ras Mohammed National Park. Anchoring is prohibited, so it is dived as a drift, usually with little current. The main features are large table corals, coral towers covered in soft corals, and a good chance of turtles.
What's down there.
- Fringing reef wall from the surface
- Plateau with large table corals and soft-coral-covered coral towers
- Sandy bowl where boats drop divers
- Drop-off from about 20–25 m
- Turtles
- Anemones and anemonefish
- Red lionfish
- Masked butterflyfish
- Tube worms
- Octopus
- Nudibranchs
- Eagle rays and stingrays
The fringing reef runs from the surface to about 10–14 m. A plateau then slopes to a drop-off at about 20–25 m, which continues past 40 m (Red Sea Diving College). Guided dives stay within 30 m; Wannadive describes coral on the slope at 22–32 m.
Current is usually weak and mostly runs north to south, although Red Sea Diving College says it is occasionally strong. The site is always dived as a drift because anchoring is prohibited, and divers are dropped at the sandy bowl. pro-taucher describes it as an afternoon dive after lunch, and Oonas Dive Club as a first or last dive of the day. Boat time from Na'ama Bay is about 55 minutes (pro-taucher). Protected status: inside Ras Mohammed National Park (declared 1983). In 2009 pro-taucher gave the park fee as €5 per diver per day and said passports and the full Egyptian visa (not the Sinai-only entry stamp) were needed. Night diving is not permitted in Egyptian marine parks (liveaboard.com, describing current practice).
3 dives.
From the log — the dates follow the pattern I dived, so read them as representative rather than exact.