True name | Power Station |
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Depth | 5m to bottomless (200m+) |
Conditions | Wall, mild current, excessive depth, light surge |
Visibility | Exceptional (30m+) |
Platform | Shore or boat |
Level | Advanced to technical |
Snorkelling? | Yes |
Other names used | Aqaba Blue Hole, Power Station North/Wall, Dorit's Deep |
Here, we drift along a magnificent ancient coral wall, swept along by a nutrient-rich current. Buoyancy control is essential if you’re going to cruise along the wall, both to avoid exceeding your planned dive depth and to prevent accidental damage to wildlife – but the best life is found near the top of the wall, anyway.
We cruise by huge soft coral outcroppings among a variety of reef fish (including large groupers), nudibranchs, turtles, and eels while larger pelagics cruise the blue – unlike most of Aqaba, shark sightings are not uncommon here.
In fact, larger predators are more common here than almost anywhere else in the region; many species of fish breed on this reef and the abundance of fry allows for a very productive food chain.
Power Station offers a range of challenges for new and veteran divers alike. We can make in-water safety checks easily and safety stops are almost an automatic part of any dive profile – we’ll simply make one as we swim through the shallows on our way back to shore.
If we come back at night, we’re in for a truly thrilling dive – but we’ll need to be extra careful of our fins and buoyancy to avoid damaging the reef (or, of course, ourselves). This is a night dive best reserved for more experienced divers.
We’ll also need to remember to plan to come ashore somewhat far away from our entry point – or simply have our dive boat come and pick us up.
Please, choose one of the reefs to see its location on the map, or browse through all the reefs below