[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky5NognHWLw[/youtube]

Heads up from ‘Hosp’, an awesome Austrian kiter that rides for Fone & is also a junior Doctor, “Steph- you must take those kids to Zafarana- it’s the best spot in Egypt by a long way.”  Reluctantly we decide that a week in flat water would’nt do us any harm & Egypt is somewhere we wanted to explore again with the vision to regenerate Edge in Egypt! October half term, wind guru looked shocking but we flew out with BA on our airmiles & took the 2 hour transfer to the spot. 

The lagoon’s, flat water, kite centre & everything related to the kitesurfing is fantastic. The atmosphere is friendly and since the only people staying at the hotel are windsurf & kitesurfers you soon get to know each others daily routine.  But do not expect 5 star glory. The Hotel was built 10 years ago & the developers had some vision for sure, it is absolutely huge,  however never got finished.   The rooms are basic and some dirty, on the final day we were informed that 317 was the best room! The food is very Egyptian and we decided this would be a great chance for a de-tox! I think that the real name is Ramadan and the only real saviour was that we had taken a jar of Nutella & peanut butter. Perhaps we are so used to the 5 star glory of Boa Vista that we are now spoilt. In fairness the place was very reasonably priced so for people on a budget wanting a decent week in the sun in a quiet windy spot then this ticks the box. 

The Bridglets got loads out of the kitesurfing and especially enjoyed the air compressor to pump their kites, the small slider, the handle pass practice bar, the games of chess at night & the squatting of mosquito’s before going to sleep. The wind was not from the normal direction, the north however we had about 10-14 knots for 4 days which they were ripping on and the final day the wind came back well with 25 knots. We were informed that even during this ‘iffy’ spell it was Zafarana that had the best wind in the Red Sea with a local effect from the mountains close by. The best time to come is during spring tides when the lagoon is full in the mornings and the more reliable wind is May- October.

If you are learning to kitesurf then the centre was extremely well run & managed by kiters and the teaching that we saw was the best we had seen at any venue. The real bonus which is unlike any other centres is the massive expanse of shallow, waiste deep water everywhere you can stand, its perfect. There is no coral or rocks and the area is plenty big enough if it got busy with kiters. If you decide to make the trip, take some cheese, ham, apples, snacks, cereals and chocolate, although we are told that the management at the hotel is changing and the food will improve.