TV presenter travels to Tobago with Oonasdivers
Miranda Krestovnikoff is a regular presenter for wildlife programmes. She is also a qualified diver which has led to co-presenting opportunities in programmes with an underwater element. The channel 4 series Wreck Detectives proved a big success for Miranda. Her diving experience made her a natural presenter both above and below the water and you may have also seen her with her own slot on The One Show recently and Coast. Miranda is one of seven international faces of the new broadband internet site The Underwater channel. She also writes articles for Diver magazine and one of her recent adventures with Oonasdivers to Tobago will be featured in the January edition - so don't forget to grab your copy! Click here for the Oceans website.
New 'Oceans' series BBC2
BBC2 have a brand new underwater documentary coming up...
Explorer Paul Rose leads a team of ocean experts in a series of global science expeditions. With him, maritime archaeologist Dr Lucy Blue investigates our past and our relationship with the sea, exploring shipwrecks and lost civilisations; marine biologist and Oceanographer Tooni Mahto seeks the extraordinary life in our oceans today; and environmentalist Philippe Cousteau Jr looks to the future of our oceans and charts the way they're changing. Filmed in High Definition in some of the most beautiful, diverse and threatened seas on our planet, the team travels across the world to the Southern Ocean, the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, the Sea of Cortez, the Arctic Ocean and the Mediterranean, to dive the depths of the world's seas and oceans.
Catch the first episode on 12th November at 8pm, then each Wednesday.
Dive Show Competition Winners!
Thanks to everyone who came to see us at the Dive show at the weekend. We were delighted to see so many of you there. A big thank you to Charlie Stewart and David Cartwright for all their help and support on the stand and in the bar over the wekend!
Monty Halls drew the Oonasdivers prize for the holiday for 2 at the Southern Eco-Villages.
The lucky winner was David Marks from London.
Monty was also kind enough to draw The British Divers Marine Life Rescue raffle and Steve Pain from Lincoln won the top prize of a holiday on board M.Y. Juliet!
We are still taking show bookings this week so it's not too late to make the most of our offers! Call (01323) 648924 today!
Travelling Diver
Oonasdivers have teamed with 'Travelling Diver' to offer you their fantastic diving guides which are detailed inserts, packed with information which help you enjoy diving a region even more. With an integrated logbook format, they fit neatly into a standard diving binder, and individually detail each of the key diving sites of the region. If you are diving on holiday, take a Travelling Diver guide with you, to make the most of your trip. Contact Oonasdivers to order any of the guides to match the sites of your next dive holiday destination!
Free Liveaboard Tour
M.Y. Juliet’s owner Yasser Gouda is offering four free trips in a draw for those who enter a photo or video taken during a Juliet trip on his Juliet facebook site.
Oonasdivers on Facebook
The Oonasdivers group has now been created on Facebook. Join up and join the Oonas banter, share your holiday snaps or get some diving discussion going!
Go to Face Book and look up Oonasdivers Ltd
Workshop Winners!
We can now announce the Winners of Mark Webster's Photo Workshop which took place on board Blue Planet 1 on 1st October.
1st - Valerie Reid
2nd - Bartek Strozynski
3rd place - Bartek Strozynski
If you are interested in joining in on the workshops for 2009 click here for details
Direct flights from Dublin!
We can now arrange direct flights from Dublin to Sharm. These flights run each Thursday from November - May. So give one of the Oonas team a call to get your free tour plan and price for any of our Sinai tours: Umbi Diving - Sharks Bay M.Y. Juliet Freedom Fleet - mini safari & Dahab
Diver Medic Course - 4 places left!
The London Diving Chamber will
once again be running the Diver
Medic Course that has been put
together to create a practical dive
medicine course that is ideal for
Dive Guides and Dive Instructors.
The course is particularly useful for people who work, or intend to work in remote locations or on liveaboards. The course will give the participants: Guidelines on using a recompression chamber Information on the many issues concerning DecompressionIllness. Information on other Non-Decompression Illness Dive Medicine Practical Field Medicine Training CPR Training The London Diving Chamber has brought together a number of experts in specialised fields, to provide the best teaching for a practical dive medical course.
Duration: 3 days Dates: Friday 14th - Sunday 16th November 2008
Cost: £375 Minimum qualification level: Divemaster / Dive Leader (or equivalent)
For further details or to register your interest, please click
The London Diving Chamber Website
El Hierro News!
In Spring the island is at it´s greenest and ablaze with blossoms and wild flowers; the weather is perfect for walking and the sea is still a balmy 20 degrees for those apres walking swims.
For those of you considering a return trip; Shane has new walks and variations of old walks to give you some new experiences...
The very special 28kms "Camino de La Virgin" or Way of the Virgin pilgrimage which traverses the island is now being offered as an option. It is a long walk of course (up to 7 hours) but not a strenuous one as most of it is along the flat plateau which is the backbone of the island. In Spring this walk along country lanes between dry stone walls and bedecked with wild flowers and with stunning views is more reminiscent of the Arran Islands than of the Canaries. It is also possible to complete part of this walk and be picked up along the way.
Breff and Rita, a very popular walking couple from Newbridge, have completed 5 trips with us and have made many firm friends along the way; those of you who know them and who may be considering a return this Spring may like to join them on 7 March trip.
See our land availability page for all dates.
Additional trips can be arranged if you have a group wishing to travel on other dates. For full details on this tour visit our El Hierro web page.
New Brochure out now!
Grab your copy of the new Oonasdivers brochure! New destinations include The Maldives, Cultural tours in Egypt and trekking in India! - yes that's right, Oonasdivers have got some great new adventure tours to feed your adrenaline needs!
If you haven't yet received your copy, call us on (01323) 648924
Oonasdivers are ATOL bonded so when it comes to choosing your next adventure, we not only have the expertise to tailor make your ideal tour, your tour payments on our packages are all financially secure.
Paul Merton tours India
Following the success of Paul Merton in China last year, Channel Five once again follows the comedian and presenter as he tours India for a new five-part series, starting Wednesday 8th October 2008. Those inspired to follow in Paul Merton’s footsteps can do so by joining one of the new Oonasdivers tours in India, which includes trekking around the Himalayas. Call us now on (01323) 648924 to find out more and request our new brochure.
Diddy Dugong Discovered
Photo by: Austen Bannister
Well, some of us have been luckily enough to dive with the Dugong at Marsa Abu Dubab. Well, it seems the Dugong has had a baby! Come and see the diddy Dugong for yourself by arranging your next visit to the Southern Eco-villages or see November issue of DIVER magazine (page 41) for John Bantin's full report of the Dugong when we sent him down to the Eco-Villages.
FCO website
You can now register your journey abroad on the British Foreign Office web site. Click here to register now fco website
NEW FLIGHT TO MARSA ALAM TAKES OFF!
From November 2008, there's a new flight to Marsa Alam from Gatwick and Manchester Airport each Monday as well as the usual Wednesday departure. So there's no reason not to visit the souther Eco-Villages! These locations are perfect for solo travellers, groups, couples and those just seeking world class diving in the most relaxing surroundings. Check out this tour now. Check availability now.
Book now for Shark School 2008
After a very successful program in 2007, we are now taking bookings for this years Sharks School which takes place on 23 - 26 November. Flights depart from Gatwick to Hurghada on 21 - 28 November. The cost cost is £995. The package includes flights from Gatwick to Hurghada, transfers, 7 nights accommodation in tents (upgrades available), 4 daily workshops about sharks by Dr. Erich Ritter, 6 boat dives to Elphinstone by daily boat and/or speedboat, plus SHARKSCHOOL workshop documents and certification. (Please note price may vary according to flight price at time of booking).
To join SHARKSCHOOL and dive on Elphinstone you must have at least Advanced Open Water level and 50 logged dives.
Dr. Erich Ritter is Chief Scientist of Shark Research Institute, Princeton, NJ, USA and has his own research and diving centre on the Bahamas.
During the 4-day program you will learn all they needed to know about the behaviour of different species of sharks and how to be a safer diver while diving with them. Key goal of the program is to make the participants aware that there is no such thing as shark attacks, only shark accidents. There are no dangerous sharks, only dangerous situations, knowingly or unknowingly created by humans because they do not understand shark behaviour. Ritter therefore focuses on understanding of shark behaviour and “just having fun and enjoy hanging out with the great buggers (sharks)”. The workshop program covers:
* Evolution,
* Biology (senses, mating, birth and juveniles),
* Ecology & Food Chain
* Shark-Human Interaction ADORE-SANE (Interaction concept of Dr.
Erich Ritter) http://www.sharkinfo.ch/SI1_01e/communication.html
* Myths, fears and phobias
* Longlining, Finning, Nets, Trade & Sales / Stop Finning, Stop Sales
* Longimanus special
Call today to reserve your places! (01323) 648924
New Waste Facility for Eco-Villages
HEPCA's new solid waste recovery and recycling plant is now open in Marsa Alam! This is a major step forward in the Red Sea Diving Safari's efforts to preserve the delicate eco-system of the region. The facility is part of HEPCA’s solid waste management strategy for the Red Sea.
Our team has already built waste rooms near the villages. Separated waste items will be collected and transported by trucks to the waste management center twice a day. Organic waste will be used as animal feed for the local community. Non-organic waste will be sorted, processed, and traded through to recycling firms where possible, or otherwise placed into a managed dumpsite for non-recyclables.
We thank all the individuals who have made this possible including USAID, the EEAA, the National Parks of Egypt and the Association for the Protection of the Environment.
Click for more information on the Southern Eco-Villages tour
PADI courses at Lahami
Oonasdivers are pleased to be able to offer PADI courses from Open water to Dive Master at their special dive location, Wadi Lahami. Check the full details of this tour on the Wadi Lahami Page.
Scuba divers support Sinai schools
An exciting and unusual new project to help local schools is being developed by the diving community on the Sinai peninsular in Egypt. One of the organisers of the project, Mark Fraenkel, explains that divers are being asked to bring all kinds of educational material and equipment out on holiday and to donate it to local government schools in the area.
The project has been initiated by Sharks Bay Umbi Diving Village.Caroline Love, the hotel manager at the Diving Village told us that “thousands of divers regularly decamp to the shores of the Red Sea - yet it is an inescapable fact that many of those travellers know little of the life that exists in Egypt and the Sinai outside of the diving resorts”.
The new project plans to try and change that. The project has been kick-started by Sharks Bay UK agent Oonasdivers, with a donation of ₤500 worth of equipment.
Staff at the dive centre have been in close contact with two local government schools in the Sharm area and they plan to extend the project to cover other schools in the nearby towns of Dahab and El Tur.
Despite the obvious commitment shown by the teachers at both schools it is glaringly obvious that this determination is undermined by the lack of facilities and equipment in the schools. The first two schools that will benefit from the project are Rowayset School, a predominantly Bedouin school in a town about two kilometers inland from Sharm el Sheikh. The second will be the Fayrouz School which is situated between Naama Bay and Sharm el Maya (Old Sharm).
Teachers at the schools told us that there are many things that it would be useful for holidaymakers to bring out. The list is probably topped by English language books for foreigners followed by sports equipment and educational computer games. Other useful items include decent quality drawing paper, crayons, water colours and other arts and craft equipment.
The school in Rowayset was partly refurbished recently thanks to the work of the local Rotary Club. New plumbing, blackboards and fans were installed. The school, with an age range from 4-14, still needs much equipment.
Staff at Sharks Bay have agreed that the dive centre can act as the central collection agency for all the donated equipment and they will ensure that the equipment is transported to the head teachers at the respective schools.
Please bring donated books and equipment to Sharks Bay Umbi Diving Village or speak to Oonasdivers about aranging sending your donations. info@oonasdivers.com (01323) 648924
Travelling to Egypt
If you go to the Foreign Office web site on www.fco.gov.uk and check 'country advice' you will find that Egypt is not listed amongst counties that should be avoided if possible, or not visited at all. We take our instructions from the Foreign Office.
Hand Luggage
Now that security has been heightened in both the UK and Egypt all
passengers are requested to keep hand luggage to an absolute minimum.
Passport, tickets, money, keys and any essential medicine is all that is
allowed and everything else is to go in the hold.
HEPCA's new solid waste recovery and recycling plant is now open in Marsa Alam! This is a major step forward in the Red Sea Diving Safari's efforts to preserve the delicate eco-system of the region. The facility is part of HEPCA’s solid waste management strategy for the Red Sea.