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Nick & Caroline meet Hesham Gabr – Founder of Camel Dive Club & Hotel

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Whilst on our recent trip to Sharm el Sheikh we got the chance to have lunch with Hesham Gabr, founder, owner and Managing Director at Camel Dive Club & Hotel. We chatted about the early days in Naama Bay, the success of Camel Dive Club, the current situation and his hopes for the future.

Hesham first came to Sharm el Sheikh in 1982, when he was just 22 years old. He had dropped out of his university course in Cairo after becoming disillusioned with life in the city, which was crowded, noisy & polluted. Instead, he dreamed of being one of the pioneers in developing the “unknown” Egypt – the Sinai Peninsula. He was lucky to have a friend with a geologist father, who travelled along the coast and had access to scuba diving equipment. Hesham’s first dive was done hanging onto his friends tank and buddy breathing from their only regulator – but he was hooked.

At first Hesham tried to buy a piece of land in Nuweiba, but this fell through. He returned to Sharm, donned a mask and snorkel to see what the reefs off Naama Bay had to offer, and decided to stay. At the time, there were only three, Israeli owned, dive centres in the region. He got a job filling tanks at one of them, working in exchange for learning to dive properly. In 1983, Hesham became a PADI diving instructor, and decided that he should also go back to university to finish his degree in Anthropology. He divided his time, using the midnight bus that ran from Sharm to Cairo, between his studies, and teaching his fellow students to dive.

In March 1986, Hesham Gabr successfully bought his plot of land in Naama Bay. His new diving centre was opened in December of that same year, but as the lawyers were finalising all the paperwork, they phoned Hesham to say that everything was in order apart from one thing – what was the name of this business going to be? Hesham had given no thought to this idea, and as he glanced out of the window, a lone camel wandered down the street past the new dive centre. That was it – “Call it Camel Dive Club,” and with that this historic scuba business was born.

In 1994 they started work on the hotel. The architects suggested knocking down the dive centre and building the new joint operation from scratch, but Hesham wanted to keep the centre and ordered them to build around the original site, so the stone walls you see today at the dive centre are still the originals. The hotel was finished in 1997. Now the Camel Dive Club and Hotel offers diving, hotel, food and, of course, the famous roof top bar where divers have always met to discuss their adventures over a cold beer.

The scuba diving business boomed in the 90s and continued to grow for another 20 years, seeing divers flocking here for the great diving, warm, all year round sunshine, clear blue waters and a vibrant social scene. However, with political changes and a terrible terrorist attack, numbers coming here have plummeted. If you look down the main streets, it is like a ghost town, but as we talked to Hesham about these troubled times, we were delighted to hear some optimism from him. Many divers are now returning, particularly with from mainland Europe as they are able to fly directly once again; they are returning to a destination they have always loved. Many have never stopped, with loyal Camel Dive Club customers finding a way to come visit throughout. But, flight capacities are limited and even when the UK finally does give Sharm airport the all clear, it will take some time for the travel companies to add flights onto their schedules. Hesham expects 2017 to be another tough year, but not quite as tough as the last two years. But, he has high hopes for 2018.

The positive news right now is that the dive sites are uncrowded, the reefs have been under less pressure and are, as a result, in spectacular health. In our next feature for Scubaverse we will talk about how you can get there right now, fully insured and with some great deals on offer.

www.cameldive.com

For more from Nick and Caroline, visit www.frogfishphotography.com.

Nick and Caroline (Frogfish Photography) are a married couple of conservation driven underwater photo-journalists and authors. Both have honours degrees from Manchester University, in Environmental Biology and Biology respectively, with Nick being a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, a former high school science teacher with a DipEd in Teaching Studies. Caroline has an MSc in Animal Behaviour specializing in Caribbean Ecology. They are multiple award-winning photographers and along with 4 published books, feature regularly in the diving, wildlife and international press They are the Underwater Photography and Deputy Editors at Scubaverse and Dive Travel Adventures. Winners of the Caribbean Tourism Organization Photo-journalist of the Year for a feature on Shark Diving in The Bahamas, and they have been placed in every year they have entered.Nick and Caroline regularly use their free time to visit schools, both in the UK and on their travels, to discuss the important issues of marine conservation, sharks and plastic pollution. They are ambassadors for Sharks4Kids and founders of SeaStraw. They are Dive Ambassadors for The Islands of The Bahamas and are supported by Mares, Paralenz, Nauticam and Olympus. To find out more visit www.frogfishphotography.com

Blogs

My Aruba Dive Adventure: Amazing Reefs, Epic Wrecks, and a New Furry Friend

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Aruba

If you’re new to this blog, then I am Mia DaPonte and I share my life underwater with you after I got certified as the youngest female Master Scuba Diver in the USA! You can also follow me and all my adventures on Instagram: @underwaterwithmia.

Last week my family and I returned from our vacation in Aruba, where we did lots of fun activities, and my mom and I went diving with AJ and Aruba Premier Boat and Dive.

Before you think I’m going to say it’s not great diving—it’s actually amazing! Aruba diving is truly an experience, but it all depends on who you go with. On our first day, AJ took us to the Antilla wreck. It is SOOOO cool—maybe one of my favorite wreck dives yet (but I haven’t seen too many wrecks). AJ told us the story of the Antilla wreck, and guess what? It is the largest wreck in the Caribbean! AJ guided us through the wreck. It was filled with fish and moray eels. We saw a sea turtle! My most favorite part of this dive was getting to go through some of the easier parts of the wreck. I am really liking wreck diving and want to do more!

Aruba

The second dive that day, I got to choose a reef or a wreck. I chose another wreck that was more pieces than a full ship. It’s so cool to see wreckage at the bottom of the ocean, especially when I hear about why it’s there and can imagine the story while I dive.

For our second day of diving, we met AJ on the other side of the island. The goal for this day was to see some beautiful reefs! Both dives this day were beautiful. There were so many colorful corals. We saw a stingray and tons of beautiful tropical fish.

Aruba

It was a lot of fun diving in Aruba, where the waters are clear. I would definitely want to come back and dive in Aruba—especially with AJ! He was so fun and told great stories. I learned so much about the island from him. Side note: during surface intervals, AJ served us butter and Gouda cheese sandwiches and they were so delicious! Oh—and he gave me and my mom great tips on how to treat the sunburns we got on our first day on the island. Haha.

The rest of the vacation was family time. We spent time relaxing on the white sandy beaches, went to the Aruba waterpark, ate at lots of delicious restaurants, shopped, and spent whole days swimming. The waterpark was a lot of fun and they had some bigger slides for older kids. My personal opinion is that the waterpark is made more for younger kids than older ones—my younger brother loved it—but it was still a good day.

Diving is always a favorite for me, but on this trip something else was even better. This was my favorite part: We were at the airport on our way home, and we were unusually early for our flight. Anyway, I knew my parents had a surprise for my brother and me, but when I asked them, they told us it was just a painting being delivered (not really a great lie, but it worked). I was just on my phone and my brother was playing video games while we waited. We didn’t even notice at first, but then my mom walked up to us with a little puppy in her arms.

Aruba

He was a surprise that my mom and dad adopted from the Sgt. Pepper’s Rescue on the island! I was so excited to have a new puppy—and he’s the coolest island cunucu mutt! It was the best surprise ever. Now we have a new family member! I think it’s OK to talk about him in this blog. We, of course, named him “Reef”! It fits with my scuba theme.

Thank you for reading my blogs—this one might just be my favorite. See you next time!


Book your next dive adventure in Aruba with AJ:

Call: +297-7445406 or +297-744-2009

Email: arubapremiere@gmail.com

www.arubapremierboatanddive.com

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Gear Reviews

Gear Review: Atomic Frameless Mask (Watch Video)

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atomic frameless mask

In a video produced exclusively for Scubaverse.com, Jeff Goodman reviews the Frameless Mask from Atomic Aquatics.

For more information about products from Atomic Aquatics, visit www.atomicaquatics.com.

Sea & Sea is the home of Atomic Aquatics and other leading diving brands in the UK. 

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