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December 22, 2006

Photo competition winners

Thanks to the hundreds who entered the latest Emperor Divers' Underwater Photo competition. Maria Munn had her work cut out in judging the competition, but after much deliberation, chose the shots that she considered to show a remarkable eye, and skill, for capturing the subject. And the winners are...

Click here to see the winning entries!

December 19, 2006

Book Hurghada now! Great value dive packs

Low Season Hurghada Diving Deals
(Only applicable for pre-paid reservations prior to arrival)

3 January - 18 March / 6 June - 8 July, 2007

Based at the Hilton Hotel and with over 45 dive sites, its own marina and private jetty, Emperor's Hurghada dive centre is a great choice. Local wreck dive makes a great third dive of the day and there's tech diving!

Balena Wreck - close by!

Day Dive Package
5 days € 155
6 days € 186

For UK divers, we can provide a GBP costing if this is how you prefer to pay - contact us!

Group Discount: 9 pay one goes free

Book today - contact reservations@emperordivers.com

December 18, 2006

NEW! Thistlegorm overnight trips from Sharm

Now you can dive one of the Red Sea's must-see dive sites, the Thistlegorm, on an overnight trip from Sharm El Sheikh. And here's the best bit, it includes a night dive on this wreck that has been voted one of the top ten dives in the world.

Here's your sample itinerary:

Day 1
Ras Mohamed/alternatives – 1 dive
Thistlegorm – Survey Dive
Thistlegorm – Night Dive

Day 2
SS Thistlegorm – Penetration Dive
Dunraven/Small Crack/alternatives/Lonely Mushroom – 1 dive
Ras Mohamed – 1 dive

Supplement: 120 Euros + 35 Euros for Ras Mohamed Park Fees & Food (paid locally)

For more information on this WWII wreck, click here

Book your adventure today. Email reservations@emperordivers.com

Martin Edge - 'best night dive ever' in Nuweiba

Renowned and respected underwater photographer, Martin Edge, and his son, Jamie, recently visited Emperor Nuweiba. Jamie was all set to take the Advanced OW course, whilst Martin met some Spanish Dancers.

As well as numerous day dives, Martin also did a couple of night dives to hopefully catch a glimpse of the impressive Spanish Dancers. And this is where Nuweiba comes into its own, with a virtual guarantee to see these Dancers on just about every night dive. With cameras at the ready, and after only 10 minutes underwater, the first thing we came across were four squid at the edge of the reef. A rather impressive start, with Martin taking photos galore. Not more than a couple of minutes later, there she was! The lady of the night in all her glory and, of course, more photos ensued.

Photo by Martin Edge

A little bit further and there was yet another one, and after double checking to make sure they weren't one and the same, by the time we returned to the second one, she was strutting her stuff and dancing!

Four Spanish Dancers later, Martin was a very happy man and claimed it was his best night dive ever - and only the second time in 20 years of diving that he had seen a Spanish Dancer, let alone seen one dance.

Photos by Jamie Edge

Needless to say that yet another night dive was done with much the same success. At the end of the week, Martin was so impressed with the area, that he is planning to take out photography groups in the near future to do the same thing.

On another high note, Jamie also finished his AOW and achieved his Nitrox qualification, and judging by the quality of his photos, he's already following in his father's footsteps! The Nuweiba team also say thanks to Martin for kindly leaving a copy of his highly acclaimed book, The Underwater Photographer, for the staff and future guests of Emperor Nuweiba.

And you can see more of Martin's work right here.

December 02, 2006

Rare impersonator now spotted in Sharm

Last month, we brought you amazing news of a Mimic Octopus (Thaumoctupus Mimicus) spotted in Nuweiba. Now these creatures are rarely seen outside of their usual territory in Sulawesi, so for the Red Sea to report two sightings is pretty astounding, don't you think?

Photo: Graham Pierce, Filmplus Videos & Photos

Just last week, Graham Pierce - Emperor Divers/Filmplus resident photographer in Sharm -photographed this little chap in Naama Bay whilst he was diving from the beach centre.

These amazing impersonators can grow up to 60cm and are usually brown/white in colour when they're feeling safe and secure. As soon as they feel threatened, they're able to mimic corals, sea snakes, flat fish, rays and even lionfish (Ah ha, is that the answer to the lionfish mystery? See the piece above re lionfish. Ed.)

Although a lot of creatures use mimicry as a defensive tool, this is the only creature known to assume the form of several different animals. As we said, they are very rare in this area but if you happen to come across one on your diving holiday, do please let us know. We can do our own marine investigation to see if they are becoming more widespread. Perhaps the stage in Sulawesi just isn't big enough any more for their changing repertoire.

Marsa Alam - keeping the customers satisfied

Thank you for the brilliant service from you and your staff on our recent holiday. Once again we would like to praise your guides, (Aladino, Vanessa, Roberta and Mataeus) they were excellent guides underwater and so helpful and friendly on land. The boat crew were up to their usual standard, although we did miss Sammi, the food was very nice and the crew so friendly and helpful. Thank you for the tip before we came out about the four Oceanics in the area, because of that tip, we booked Elphinstone and were not disappointed. The experience of diving with sharks for the first time was totally amazing and we are still buzzing. Look forward to coming back next year.
Linda & Graeme Moore, Kent, England October 2006

Read more from satisfied guests here

Lights! Camera! Action! NEW UW Video Course

Learn to shoot professional, quality footage underwater! Dive, film and edit with Filmplus and Emperor Divers.

Sharm El Sheikh's leading dive centre and underwater videographers have teamed up to offer you a course to make your own movies.

The UW Video Made Simple 3-day course will teach you everything you need to know to be able to shoot professional, quality footage underwater as well as learning 'trade secrets'.

Experienced guides and instructors make this course both easy and fun. Classes are kept small, maximum 5 people, and over 3 days you will master how to film and edit your own adventures.

Click here for the complete script!