Eritrea

[Eddie Clamp]

An article in today's Sunday Times Travel section states that since it is 17 years since the civil war ended the North African country is now a tropical destiination waiting to happen. It has balmy boulevards, barmy (sic) markets and an Italian capital, Asmara.

Having done Sudan: http://www.bsac.com/diverreports.asp?itemid=624&itemTitle=Sudan+%2D+Sudan+on+Royal+Emperor&section=1242&sectionTitle=Middle+East&cat=&new= . Can't wait to move down the coast to do my first Eritrean liveaboard BSAC report. :p Must be pristine there.

The Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea is one of the country's six regions. It lies along the northern three quarters of the Red Sea, and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and the coastal city of Massawa. The region borders the Anseba, Central and Southern regions to the west, and the Southern Red Sea region to the east. It has an area of around 27,800 kmē.

The Southern Red Sea region of Eritrea is one of the six main regions of Eritrea. It lies along the southern half of the Red Sea, and contains the coastal city of Asseb. It borders the Northern Red Sea region, and has an area of around 27,600kmē.

It extends over 500km along Red Sea coast but is only around 50km wide. Forming the major part of the Danakil Desert, its major towns include Asseb, Beilul, Rahaita and Thio.

It is generally considered one of the most inhospitable areas on Earth, except along the coast.

Any volunteers? :D

Eddie

[MSutcliffe]

I'll come. Absolutely. I've been planning a walking trip in Ethiopia anyway, so would love the opportunity to combine with some diving! A week on a liveaboard, then get the train! Awesome. And a beurocratic nightmare no doubt.

Will need a bloomin good expedition boat, mind. Something like the royal evolution - it's archaic like sudan, so would need to be totally self sufficient on the fuel/food/beer front! Blue Horizon is supposed to be able to manage a royal evolution style sudan trip, so that might be worth looking at also!

[Eddie Clamp]

I'll come. Absolutely. I've been planning a walking trip in Ethiopia anyway, so would love the opportunity to combine with some diving! A week on a liveaboard, then get the train! Awesome. And a beurocratic nightmare no doubt.

Will need a bloomin good expedition boat, mind. Something like the royal evolution - it's archaic like sudan, so would need to be totally self sufficient on the fuel/food/beer front! Blue Horizon is supposed to be able to manage a royal evolution style sudan trip, so that might be worth looking at also!

I flew into Port Sudan for my trip to join Royal Emperor - a Tony Backhurst boat where Royal Evolution isn't, even though he uses it.

Of interest to you would be pages 10 and 11 of the ST supplement about Ethiopia where they detail a search for one of the world's great religious mysteries - The Ark of the Covenant. The end of the article gives a number tour operators who cover the area.

Eddie

[John Bantin]

I was a dive guide there, based at Masawa, in 1992. We took our divers to Fawn Reef, Saunders Reef, or southern Sudan or Zubair and the Hanish Islands (Yemen). Why? Because of the Dahlak Bank. If you like sand, it's a great place to dive.

[Maria CM]

Sand? Is there anything else?

I haven't made up my mind which liveaboard to do next year yet....

best wishes,

Maria

[Eddie Clamp]

Sand? Is there anything else?

I haven't made up my mind which liveaboard to do next year yet....

best wishes,

Maria

That John Bantin is such a spoil sport - spoiling my dreams like that! :D

Don't think there are any liveaboards sailling from Eritrea yet Maria :( . Further up the coast from Djibouti is an option - I believe.

[Alison Boler]

There are liveaboards from Djibouti but I think its a bit of a one trick pony albeit rather a spectacular one. No, that's a bit unfair. The main attraction is the whalesharks who come to a particular "inlet" every year. The other is a group of islands whose name I forget - something like the Seven Princes. Anyway, we do have trip reports on Djibouti, some info and links to a couple of Diver articles, including one I seem to think, by John Bantin!!! Is there anywhere in the world he hasn't visited????? Not that I'm at all jealous.... :) :)
http://www.bsac.com/divelocations.asp?itemid=1093&itemTitle=Djibouti&section=1238&sectionTitle=Middle+East&cat=&new=

If you want a more or less sure thing with whale sharks and you can go when they are there, it looks good - albeit HOT HOT HOT.
Allie

PS Maria, quite a few new liveaboard trips going up over the past week and this week as Eddie and I plough manfully through the backlog that built up while the site was frozen. Worth a read here http://www.bsacforum.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=15111
Obviously at the top end there's Galapagos which is pricey but spectacular but also quite an interesting more budget conscious Caribbean one on Blackbeard.

[Eddie Clamp]

PS Maria, quite a few new liveaboard trips going up over the past week and this week as Eddie and I plough manfully through the backlog that built up while the site was frozen. Worth a read here http://www.bsacforum.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=15111
Blackbeard.

Many thanks Allie but shouldn't it be personfully in this day and age of political correctness? :D :rolleyes:

Eddie

[John Bantin]

In 1991 I stood at the Crystal Palace Dive Show and told everyone how wonderful the diving in Eritrea was - but I hadn't been there! It was very embarrassing for me to give people a couple of dives over sand so that they knew I'd got it wrong, before we went elsewhere. The Farasan Bank is similar on the other side. Look at a chart!

Djibouti has the Seven Brothers - six islands and a headland - at the Bab al Mendab (sp?) Gateway of Tears and of course the Gulf of Tadjura for whalesharks at the right time of year.

[Eddie Clamp]

In 1991 I stood at the Crystal Palace Dive Show and told everyone how wonderful the diving in Eritrea was - but I hadn't been there! It was very embarrassing for me to give people a couple of dives over sand so that they knew I'd got it wrong, before we went elsewhere. .

Cheers John! I shall read your Diver reports in a new light now!:D :p

Eddie

[JonasLondon]

PS Maria, quite a few new liveaboard trips going up over the past week and this week as Eddie and I plough manfully through the backlog that built up while the site was frozen. Worth a read here http://www.bsacforum.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=15111
Obviously at the top end there's Galapagos which is pricey but spectacular but also quite an interesting more budget conscious Caribbean one on Blackbeard.

Hi all, we went on a cruise with Blackbeard's in February 2009 through the Bahamas and Bimini Islands - we really enjoyed it!

Here's a short video clip of the trip (http://blog.bluecodproductions.com/njdiveteam/index.cfm/dive-trips/blackbeards-cruise-grand-bahama-bimini/) with the shark dives we made.

All the best,
Jonas