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The
idea of a few days in Eilat before Christmas was a last minute
decision, intended more as a rest than any sort of photographic
mission, However, having read Peter Rowlands' articles in
October's IN FOCUS and the first issue of UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY,
I decided to pack my camera and make a few 'phone calls to
check precise locations.
Booked
through Speedwing, we got into the Caravan Hotel on a B&B
basis, just ahead of the high season prices, for £240
per head. Whilst this was pretty good, as was the cost of
hiring tanks and lead, most other things in Eilat are not
cheap.
Having
left the site directions at mv office, we had to take pot
luck and came out of the first dive very disappointed. The
next dip to 20 M wasn't much better until, coming back, we
were adopted by a lion fish in the open who decided to tag
along with us.
And
then, suddenly, there it was, a solitary 20 foot pinnacle
simply teeming with life. Corals galore, nudibranchs, glass
fish, cleaner prawns. It was unbelievable. To cap it all an
angler fish was basking in the sun, We returned quickly with
fresh film to find a frog fish. The next day we met the resident
Moray, and so it went on all week. Nearby there was a colong
of Sand-eels and a big stone fish. One day by the beach in
very shallow water there were two ghost fish.
It
wasn't until the last afternoon, when I met Siddy Langley
on the beach, that I learnt that I had been trespassing on
private property belonging to, yes, Scoones and Rowlands? |
