Hamata, Red Sea, Egypt

Big Gota St Johns

Big Gota (Gotat Kebir) is a coral pinnacle in the St John's complex, rising from a sandy plain at 25 metres to a top at 6 metres. The reef is celebrated for an exceptional swim-through cavern system cutting through the pinnacle at 12–18 metres, with multiple entrances and exits, lit by sunlight shafts and decorated with soft corals and glassfish schools. Outside the cavern the reef is densely covered in hard corals on the top, with anthias clouds, anemones, parrotfish and lionfish. Resident species include Napoleon wrasses, masked pufferfish and the occasional turtle. Reef sharks (whitetip, grey) are common, and seasonal grey reef shark and silvertip passes are recorded. Currents are moderate. Visibility 25–35 metres. Liveaboard only.