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MARINE PARK
ZABARGAD & ROCKY ISLANDS
Two Very Different Neighbours
by Anders Jälmsjö
Sail straight out from the St. John’s Reef area into the open sea and you will come
upon two islands not far from each other geographically but hugely different in size
and topography. These are Zabargad and Rocky Islands, one big with high mountains
and the other a speck in the ocean in comparison and flat as a pancake. Two things
they do have in common though. They are both Egyptian Marine Protectorates and
hosts beautiful reefs for visiting divers.
Zabargad Island Marine Park
• Marine Protectorate since:1986
• Area: 4.976 km2
• Entry fee: 5 US$ / Person / Day
Now uninhabited, this island was in the
past exploited by ancient Pharaohs,
Romans and, more recently, the Egyptians
who mined its precious green olivine
mineral. Situated 46km south east of the
Ras Banas peninsular and 20km due
east of St John´s well known reef system,
Zabargad is a large island encircled by
reef and with several lagoons that offer
liveaboards well protected moorings.
There are plenty of alternative dive sites
around Zabargad Island but the most
commonly used are likely to be the south
side with a gorgeous sloping coral garden,
the Habili to the north east and the wreck
of the Russian “Spy Ship” Khanka. The
reefs on the south side are relatively
shallow walls with coral pinnacles rising
from the gentle slopes creating overhangs
and swim throughs that add interest
to the dive. The shelf next to the walls
progressively plunges down into deeper
water. Most liveaboards only use this dive
site for night dives but it’s actually really
pretty and is worth a dive during the day
as well.
Zabargad is an interesting and important
part of the Red Sea ecosystem as a well
known breeding site for Green Turtles.
Over 2,000 nests have been reported on
the sandy beaches of this island. This
is an extremely important and fragile
process, which can easily be destroyed.
It’s a good thing that this island is located
far from shore and likely to escape tourist
developments, which has destroyed
many of the breading beaches along the
coastline.
Rocky Island Marine Park
• Marine Protectorate since:1986
• Area:0.176 km2
• Entry fee: 5 US$ / Person / Day
Just, over 5 km south east of Zabargad
we find Rocky Island. This is a low island
in contrast to the high peaks of Zabargad.
The reef surrounding the Island plunges
straight from the top just beneath the
surface down steep walls into the
abyss. Because Rocky is more exposed
to weather and wind than Zabargad,
liveaboards tend not to stay overnight
here.
Diving around Rocky Island is gorgeous
with the traditional Red Sea beauty of soft
coral and anthias. Basically you would
check the currents and conditions and
then dive the side most suitable, but in
general there are always good alternative
dives around the island. The north face
takes the brunt of the prevailing weather
and currents which might offer a slightly
more challenging dive, but the flip side is
the presence of numerous pelagic species
notably hammerheads, grey reef sharks,
as well as large groupers and Napoleon
Wrasse. The coral growth is best on the
east side with beautiful coral formations
and a small plateau.
Rocky is also the location of the wreck of
the Steamship SS Maidan, an impressive
152.4 m long cargo vessel. She made her
final journey in 1923 and hit the southern
shores of Rocky Island the night of June
9th and sunk the next day into deep water.
Her passengers and crew climbed onto
the island and were rescued that same
day.
The position of the wreck was uncertain for
a long time, but she was finally discovered
in October 2003, by Grant Searancke and
Kimmo Hagman. They managed to get
the first photographs and video footage of
the wreck. The SS Maidan now lies at a
depth of between 80 to 120 m accessible
only to experienced Trimix divers.
Top: Green Sea Turtles use Zabargad Island as one of their nesting beaches in the Red Sea
Above: Rocky Island is less imposing than its neighbour Zabargad (Opposite)
THE EQUALIZER Sep-Oct 2011