Diving vacation in Eilat, the red sea

Hi,
This weekend was Shavout holiday, also known as "Water Fest" in Israel. To celebrate it, my girlfriend Shira and I drove south to Eilat to spend the weekend near the Red Sea shores, diving and snorkling.
We arrived at friday noon, and needed some time to rest from the drive, and to adjust to Eilat's hot climate...

On Saturday morning we hired scuba equipment, and dove to the coral reserve.
Shira was very happy to dive again:

Although the reef's health is deteriorating, there are still a few nice corals and fish, like this couple of Clownfish (Nemos):

Some corals surrounded by fish:

Diving further we got to the main site of the dive: Moses Rock. It's a rock made of hard and soft corals, at 9m deep, going up almost to the surface, making it ideal for snorkeling. It is located in the middle of the corals national reserve. It is usually surrounded by thousands of small fish, using it as a habitat and refuge from predators.
Moses rock:

A school of small fish around the rock:

You may also find some predators from the groupers family:

Another clownfish couple:

A box-fish (should check it's name in the book):

And a rock fish (also need to identify):

The next morning we went snorkeling at the "Lighthouse Beach", a nice site, close to the Marine laboratory, where many experiments are conducted in the water.
There are ropes hanging, crates and platforms on the ground, all perform as habitats for corals and fish:



Even a cute octopus waited for me at 15m deep:

More pictures of the octopus, note how it changes his colour and even his body texture to resemble the corals.
Close to the coral, all spiky:

When leaving the coral the body becomes lighter and without the spikes:

Over the sand:

A spotted sting ray:

Another coral:

Try to find the Lionfish:



Hint: It was on the left...

On the way back we made a stop in the Arava, in an antilope ranch. They grow about 10 species of antilopes, sheeps and deers. some of them extrimely rare.
They grow them and reproduce them for nature conservation reasons and to sell them for zoos. It's like a mini-safari, just 5 minutes off road.

A Kudu:

Gnus, like in the Serengheti in Kenya:

Oryxes from the Sahara:

And last but not least for all Bambi lovers, A spotted deer (which thrives well although the desert climate):



That's it, happy holiday for all...
Next week I'll be in Turkey, paddling down the mighty Choruh river.
I'll be back with stories and pictures.
Till then...