Abu Kafan

The name Abu Kafan is given two meanings, "Father of the Deep" and "The Deep One". The reef is described as a small Elphinstone: long and narrow, with plateaus at the north and south ends that drop straight into the open sea. The dive can follow the north plateau, where there is a better chance of big predators, or head from the mooring to the south plateau, with its drop-off and pinnacles.

There are black corals and large gorgonians, and the drop-off of the north plateau also has soft corals. Barracudas and reef sharks are seen regularly, there is a resident school of barracudas and, in the blue, there are big groups of giant barracuda. Hammerhead sharks and grey sharks sometimes appear, and blacktail sharks are also mentioned. It is a spot for pelagic fish such as snappers and tuna, and there are also jacks, anthias and turtles. Over the plateau there are hundreds of red common bigeyes, and along the reef there are schools of bannerfish and sweetlips. In the holes of the reef there are moray eels and groupers, and crocodile fish, boxfish, stonefish, scorpionfish and sea slugs are also mentioned.

Abu Kafan is known for hammerhead shark sightings in late spring and manta ray sightings in winter. Diving runs all year, but because it lies in the open sea, only on calm days; when it is windy, the boats return to the sheltered reefs behind Abu Soma. In the Safaga region, the weather tends to be milder from February to June and from September to November, when demand for diving increases.