Rocky, Zabargad, St. John, Elphinstone Tour

Majestic June 2025

Operated by Oceanic-Liveabords

June 28, 2025
Check-in day aboard M/Y Majestic. Old friends reunited, new friendships began to form, and the atmosphere on deck immediately felt warm and relaxed. After setting up our dive stations and unpacking gear, we shared a lovely dinner prepared by the crew. The evening ended with a few cheerful drinks on the upper deck—a perfect start to what promised to be a fantastic week at sea.

June 29, 2025
After a detailed boat and safety briefing that morning, our journey truly began. The engines rumbled softly as we left the harbor behind and sailed southward into open water. Our check dive took place between Abu Dabab 2 and 3, a dive site well-loved for its easy reef profile, sandy plateaus, and abundant marine life. The gradual slope allowed a gentle reintroduction to diving—the corals thriving, the water crystal clear, and the sensation of being weightless again simply wonderful.

Though a delayed start allowed for only one dive, the evening more than made up for it with another excellent dinner and relaxed drinks under a starlit sky.

June 30, 2025
Today took us to Rocky Island, one of the southernmost Egyptian dive sites and among the most dramatic. Steep drop-offs, powerful currents, and deep blue water create the perfect environment for pelagic encounters—oceanic whitetips, tunas, and sometimes even hammerheads. While no big fish showed up for us that day, the walls covered in dense soft corals, anthias clouds, and sweeping schools of fusiliers made the dives breathtaking nonetheless.

Our third dive brought us to Zabargad Island (also known as St. John’s Island), famous for its turquoise lagoon, mysterious shipwrecks, and vibrant night dives where Spanish dancers and hunting lionfish steal the show.

July 1, 2025
The early morning began with a sunrise dive at Habili Gafaa, part of the St. John’s Reef system. These submerged pinnacles rise dramatically from the depths and are alive with color—giant sea fans, carpeting soft corals, and swarms of reef fish. Later dives at Big Gota and Umm Khararim revealed vast cave formations and playful anthias swaying with the current. Umm Khararim, in particular, stands out with its maze-like swim-throughs filled with beams of sunlight slicing through the water—a real photographer’s dream.

July 2, 2025
We continued further through Egypt’s southern waters, diving the iconic Shaab Maksour, Shaab Claude, and Abu Galawa Soraya. Shaab Maksour is known for its long north-south reef structure and frequent sightings of reef and hammerhead sharks. Shaab Claude, on the other hand, is famous for its cathedral-like caverns and light effects, soft corals lighting up the swim-throughs in gold and blue hues. Abu Galawa Soraya featured a beautiful small wreck colonized by table corals and surrounded by curious batfish—a perfect blend of adventure and serenity.

July 3, 2025
Today was all about adrenaline: Elphinstone Reef. The sea was calm, visibility superb, and the temperature held steady at 26°C—ideal conditions to explore both plateaus. Elphinstone’s south plateau, with its strong currents, offers frequent visits from hammerheads and oceanic whitetips. And indeed, as if on cue, a school of hammerheads appeared, circling gracefully above the blue before fading back into the deep.

Later dives brought no more shark sightings, but my buddy and I grabbed scooters for a thrilling ride along the reef’s dramatic drop-offs—a completely new way to experience the site’s majesty.

July 4, 2025
On our way back to Hurghada, we visited the hauntingly famous Salem Express, a large ferry that tragically sank in 1991 near Safaga, claiming hundreds of lives. Unlike other wrecks, this one carries an unmistakable weight of history and sorrow—luggage still rests in the holds, a silent reminder of the human stories forever connected to this place.

The safari ended with a gentle farewell dive at Panorama Reef, one of Safaga’s most beautiful sites, known for its massive coral towers and frequent encounters with moray eels and giant trevallies. As always, everything was perfectly organized—a fitting close to an unforgettable adventure beneath the waves.