SeaLogEgypt · reef · intermediate
Two coral towers on sand off Wadi Lahmy, found and named by the dive base that still runs it.
Habili Coconut is a pair of coral towers standing on sand in the Fury Shoals grounds off Wadi Lahmy, south of Hamata. The Orca dive base at Wadi Lahmy Azur says its own staff found the site, and describes two large blocks rising out of 30 m. A second dive guide puts the sand a little deeper, at 35 m, with the tops of the towers stopping about 5 m short of the surface. On either account nothing here shows above water, so there is no reef line to swim along and no landmark to steer by.
The dive is the two towers and the sand between them. The published profile is to circle each block and work slowly up its side, which front-loads the depth: the deepest part of the dive is the first part. Soft coral cover is what the operator singles out, with anglerfish sitting in it. The guide description adds barracuda, tuna, napoleon wrasse and whitetip reef sharks moving past on the open side, which is what you would expect of a block standing alone on sand rather than of a fringing reef.
Access is by boat from Hamata harbour, about ten minutes by road from the Wadi Lahmy base, then a run out by day boat or speedboat; one guide gives the boat distance as roughly 12 km. The Orca dive base plots the site at 24.1882 N, 35.4866 E, which is around 8 km southeast of the position this catalogue currently holds. A neighbouring Fury Shoals reef that likewise stops short of the surface is described by the tour operator selling this area as impossible to moor on once there is moderate swell, and dived rarely as a result; expect the same constraint here, and expect the trip to be cancelled or swapped on a windy day.
Boat only. From the Wadi Lahmy Azur base it is about ten minutes by road to Hamata harbour, then out by day boat (45 minutes to 2.5 hours depending on the site) or by speedboat (10 to 40 minutes). One guide gives the run as about 12 km, also reachable from Marsa Alam and Port Ghalib. The dive base's own map puts the reef at 24.1882 N, 35.4866 E; the coordinate held in this catalogue is roughly 8 km off and should be corrected to the operator position.
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Nothing published gives a season for this reef. What decides whether you dive it is sea state rather than month: with no part of the reef above water there is nothing for the boat to make fast to once there is swell.
A settled-sea dive on an exposed offshore block. No published source gives visibility or a current reading for this reef specifically, and this page does not invent one. The tour operator that sells the area describes the Wadi Lahmy grounds as lightly dived and only sporadically visited by the large safari boats, so you are unlikely to share the site.
On current: No source gives a current reading for this site. The two published depth figures disagree: the operator that found the reef gives 30 m, a dive guide gives 35 m to the sand, and this page takes the shallower operator figure. Plan for the deeper one if you are working the base of the blocks.
The two towers stand on sand and their tops stop about 5 m below the surface. The dive base that found the site gives the sand at 30 m; a second dive guide gives 35 m. Treat 30 m as the working figure and plan for the deeper one if you intend to reach the base of the blocks.
No. Nothing at this site reaches the surface: the shallowest coral is roughly 5 m down and the reef sits in open water away from any reef line. There is no shore access and no shallow area to swim over, so it is a boat dive only.
By boat. From the Wadi Lahmy Azur base it is about ten minutes by road to Hamata harbour, then out by day boat or speedboat; one guide gives the run as roughly 12 km and notes it can also be reached from Marsa Alam and Port Ghalib. The dive base plots the reef at 24.1882 N, 35.4866 E.
It is a simple layout, two blocks circled one after the other, but the sand sits at 30 m or more and the profile starts deep. One guide rates it easy; on depth alone it is past the Open Water limit, so a newly certified diver should treat it as a dive to work from the tops down with a briefed plan.
The operator that found the site describes dense soft coral on the two blocks with anglerfish hiding in it. A dive guide adds barracuda, tuna, napoleon wrasse and whitetip reef sharks passing on the open side, which is the pattern you would expect around isolated coral towers standing on sand.
No source gives a season. The limit is sea state, not month: no part of this reef reaches the surface, and the tour operator selling this area notes that Fury Shoals reefs which stop short of the surface cannot be moored on once there is moderate swell. Expect the trip to be swapped on a windy day.
It should not be. The tour operator that sells the Wadi Lahmy grounds describes them as one of the least frequented diving areas in Egypt, visited only sporadically by the large liveaboards, and this particular reef was found by the local dive base rather than being a fixture on the standard safari route.
Animals divers commonly encounter in these waters. This site has no occurrence record of its own yet, so this list comes from the sea it sits in rather than from observations at the pin.
An offshore tower off Ras Banas, dived as a wall, and carrying at least three operator names.
The southern end of the Lahami Bay house reef, the long narrow Banana section. Two to seven metres, walked out to from the beach base.
The northern end of one long house reef at Lahami Bay, walked into from North Beach. Shallow, sheltered, and visibly knocked about.
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