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Dahab Festival 14th - 21st April 2012

The second Dahab International Festival of Water Sports,  Desert Activities and Culture will be held from the 14th - 21st April 2012.

The 2011 festival was superb. Events included:

Windsurfing and kitesurfing competitions and taster sessions.

Yoga, massage and healing sessions.

The children's circus.

Camel races.

Raft races.

Diving Obstacle course.

Free diving Competition.

Plus lots of love music and great parties.

Last year was so much fun. Golitto made a special appearance at the tow-in freestyle comp just off the beach at the Coralia.  The camel race was the funniest thing I have ever seen. Such chaos at the start line followed by camels running which ever way they fancied while small Bedouin boys tried to keep them on track!!

The Dahab Festival is organised by members of the Dahab Community to showcase what this beautiful town can offer. If you missed last year try to plan your 2012 holiday around these dates. Availability in all accommodation still including the Lagoon Villa Apartments.

Follow the 2012 planing and event updates on twitter and facebook:

https://twitter.com/#!/dahabfestival

https://www.facebook.com/dahabfestival

We have reached Number 1 on Trip Advisor after just 2 years!

Fi learns to kitesurf!

After years of pondering and stalling I finally took the plunge (quite literally) and learned to kitesurf and it's SO MUCH FUN! I really wish I'd learned years ago.

I booked the beginner kitesurfing course which included all the equipment and 5 lessons (10 hours) with an IKO instructor. I wore a helmet (and looked ridiculous!) with a walkie talkie radio attached, meaning my instructor, Alex could always talk me through what I needed to do next. This gave me the confidence I needed to finally give it a go. This is the course plan. Some people learn much faster and can get on the board sooner.  Snowboarding and wakeboarding all help but no previous water sports are necessary.

LESSON 1 - Learning how to fly a land based kite. So no getting wet yet! I was a bit hopeless at this and I think that's why I put off for so long as the kite seemed a bit temperamental. We also learned how to set up the kite and the safety systems. Kitesurfing is really safe these days.

LESSON 2 - The fun begins! Finally we get to cool down in the water and learn how to control the kite (without having to think about the board). This is called 'bodydragging.' Alex did the first 'bodydrag' with me as I was so scared. Then I was set free on my own and realised very quickly that the water based kites are so much easier to control than the land based kites. I could put the kite exactly where I wanted it to be and could place it in the power zone or safety zone depending on how much power I needed.

LESSON 3 - This was all about building confidence with the kite and how to bodydrag back upwind (useful when you loose the board - which happens quite often at first). Plus other kite control exercises. BRILLIANT - I loved woooshing through the water. In fact it was so much fun I didn't really want or need the board!

LESSON 4 - The board! After a quick chat on the beach about how to put the board on my feet in the water it was time for action. This looked quite easy but took a bit of practise to get right. I lost the board a few times but no worries as I knew how to get back to it using my favourite bodydrag upwind technique!!

LESSON 5 - Right time to get on the board and 'ride.' Determined not to spend the whole time bobbing around in the sea (although it was so lovely) I tried a bit too hard to get up. This means you pull on the kite too much and stall the kite - hence not enough power to get you up. After a few attempts I managed to go a few metre's which I discovered later was good progess.

So here I am after a bit of practise on my own and I am now a 'kitesurfer' (yay!!) and I never thought I would ever say that! I was so scared before I started of absolutely everything. Now I realise how silly I was to not even try it. I discovered that the kite is really well behaved! You can park it in the water and it will just sit there. You can fly it directly above you (known as 12 o'clock) and it will stay there, as long as the bar (what you hold onto) is straight. You can have more or less power if you wish. Plus if you want to ditch  the kite you can pull your chicken loop and the kite will lose all power. So really safe. Relaunching the kite when it hits the water is now easy compared to the previous years. So if you have heard stories about previous kite experiences don't be put off or worried. I am now flying around the bay, can go upwind and doing zig zag turns, with the biggest grin on my face.

Many thanks to Alex my patient instructor, Harry Nass and all the Centre 4 crew. I love kitesurfing :) :)

A lovely relaxing day at Castle Zaman

          

Located 25kms North of Nuweiba, Castle Zaman truly is ultimate splendor. Relax by the pool, on huge bean bags and soak up the relaxing music. The view is stunning - a beautiful protected private sandy beach and stunning reef lie to the right.

Lovely cocktails are served and the highlight is the slow cooked food. Choose from veal, turkey, seafood or fish which has been slowly roasted for 1.5 hours for fish up to 4 hours for the meat. Also roast lamb available in the Spring. It really is fit for a Pharaoh with enormous portions and comes with a great selection of vegetables and rice. A juicy feast!



There is a treasure room below the Castle to explore and many different seating areas outside and in. If you want to relax in beautiful surrounding with great food then this is the place. Perfect for special occasions. We can organise the taxi and best to pre-order your food.

Contact us to book:  info@DahabHolidays.com

Dahab Festival – 14th - 21st May

Inspired by the powerful coming together of people in Egypt recently, the people of Dahab have combined forces to showcase local activities and events. The result: the first ever Dahab International Festival of Water Sports, Culture and Desert Adventure on the 14th – 21st May 2011.

Also intended to boost the local economy by reminding the world of the exciting things on offer in South Sinai. Events will include water sports, spectacular wind and kite surf competitions, diving and buoyancy challenges and free diving with experts. At night time things will liven up with bands and parties all over Dahab. Take this chance to discover the Bedouin culture in South Sinai, with events such as camel racing, a Bedouin party featuring local musicians, Bedouin bread making, desert walks, excursions, and safaris.

The alternative side of Dahab will offer free yoga classes and taster sessions of healing treatments including Reiki, massage, crystals, facial rejuvenation and much more. Dahab's creative side will be highlighted during the festival with street art, exhibitions, movie screenings, and a performance of its famous Children's Circus 'Circ Bonboni'.
Everybody involved is donating their time, energy and skills for free. So come and explore Dahab during this week of inspiring festive fun!

Diving in Dahab

Dahab is a great place to dive, with un-crowded, unspoilt spectacular reefs. warm water all year round makes it a great place to learn to dive as well as do a dive package.

There are many famous dive sites in the area, but the most know is the Blue Hole which is a natural sinkhole around 130m deep. The Blue Hole is one of the most famous dive sites in the world and is regularly hosting free-diving, and deep diving events.

If you are interested in finding out more about the diving in Dahab check out of diving page on the website by clicking HERE

Kitesurfing in Dahab

Nice bit of kitesurfing yesterday, looked a bit marginal for my 8m but turned out to be perfect!

Interested in learning to kitesurf or want to rent kit in Dahab then contact us at info@dahabholidays.com

Today in Harry Nass Centre 4 Dahab

Pretty windy day again, all the 3 kites in the photo are 6m2 and 7m2. Bit of a hazy day but the wind is gusting 34 knots who cares!!

More windy days to come though, the weather forecast is fantastic!! See you on the water

Toby

Windy Windy Dahab

I would like to start by apologising for the sheer lack of blogs, but I am going to try and improve this....

I could blame the lack of action in this department on the most amazing summer of wind I have seen in Dahab in the 5 Years i have been here.

To help you see what is going on I have added a snippet from windguru.com. All the stars are good by the way!!



So the wind is good, the temperature has been over 35 degrees for over 6 weeks and it hasn't rained since February.

Back to the beach for me now and I will endeavour to bog some more...

Toby

Hiking in Dahab

Not into watersports and want to explore the area at a gentle pace?

Mady offers  walks to the Blue Lagoon, White Canyon, Moses Mountain, Pharaoh's Island, The Caves to Gabr El Bint and Ras Abu Galum.  Enjoy the most unspoilt scenery. See the spectacular Mountains explode from the Deep Blue Gulf of Aquaba. Dine or camp overnight with the Bedouins in the desert or snorkel at some of the most untouched reef’s in the National Park. Stretch your legs with endless possibilities!

Please contact us at info@dahabholidays.com for more information or to book