it’s best to drop in further to the north and drift into the finger-shaped plateau. Here you’ll find purple dendronephthya, brown soft corals and crowds of redtooth triggerfish, fluttering in the current. Giant trevally and great barracuda often hunt here and reef sharks are common.

As you swim closer to the shallows you’ll join up with the wall covered in gorgonian fans and intricately carved with overhangs and cracks. This majestic underwater tapestry of Elphinstone is brightly coloured by purple and orange anthias, angelfish and emperors go about their daily business, and flutemouths move stealthily through the shallows.

No strangers to Elphinstone’s Southern Plateau and frequently spotted are oceanic white tip sharks, seemingly always accompanied by pilot fish. These sharks seem curious of scuba divers and often return for a surprise second look. Oceanic whitetips are rare sightings elsewhere in the world so this fish, perhaps more than any other, has come to represent what’s so special about diving in the southern Red Sea. Best time for an encounter: October until the end of December.

At the western side of the south tip plateau, there are a number of cave entrances at a depth of 30-35m. Here lies the infamous Elphinstone arch, a 10m high tunnel that connects the western and eastern side walls. The tunnel is beyond the limits of recreational diving and penetration should not be attempted without proper training. Stay close to the reef to avoid being swept out to sea if the current is strong.

offers an inspiring wall diving, while strong currents make this a spectacular drift too. The sheer walls plunge away vertically to invisible depths of more than 100 metres, covered in a rainbow of beautiful soft coral colours as far as the eye can see. The vibrant fish population features barracuda, schools of jacks, angelfish, snappers, napoleonfish and large tuna.

is steep and so has more ledges and caverns that attract titan triggerfish, soldierfish and squirrelfish. There is one huge buttress which runs down to 10m and creates a large overhang where black snapper congregate.

• Reef basics: plateaus, wall diving and sharks
• Depth: 5 – >40m
• Visibility: 20 – 35m
• Currents: can be strong
• Surface conditions: generally calm
• Water temperature: 23 – 30°C
• Experience level: intermediate – advanced
• Number of dive sites: 4
• Diving season: all year round
• Distance: 25 km north of Marsa Alam (1½ hrs), 230 km (14 hrs) south-east of Hurghada