Shark and Yolanda Reef

Shark Reef

Shark Reef is a wall that drops 800m into crystal blue water— sitting right on the tip of the Sinai peninsula where nutrient rich currents feed the spectacular corals. During the height of summer, it’s home to thousands of schooling snapper, barracuda, and batfish. Keep your eyes open for marauding sharks hiding in amongst them hunting.

Linking Shark and Yolanda together is a sandy slope or saddle. This runs up from the depths onto a shallow plateau between the two reefs and the shore. The many coral blocks in this area are home to scorpion fish, moray eels, stone fish, crocodile fish and more.

Yolanda Reef

As you leave the saddle and move on to the front of Yolanda reef you are treated to an abundance of vibrant soft and hard corals — and hundreds of anthias and reef fish. Take some time to admire the display and explore the nooks and crannies for shrimps, gobies and nudibranchs. Moving across the plateau you will generally find a school of unicorn fish hanging out — and if you’re lucky a turtle, eagle ray, dolphins, whale shark or manta may pass by.

At the end of the plateau is another saddle where you will find the remains of some of the cargo of the Yolanda. While the wreck itself sits below recreational diving limits — there are bath tubs, linoleum rolls, toilets and other bathroom accessories scattered over the reef floor. Having been there since the 1980s it’s now covered with hard and soft corals.

Current and dive time permitting, you could move to explore the back of these reefs. The sandy bottom and shallow depth offer amazing light. Listen for the chirping noise from hundreds of damsel fish — keep your eyes open for turtles, rays and Napoleon Wrasse. You may even find a huge barracuda or several squid lurking in the shallows as you make your way back to the front of the reefs to end your dive.