Sharm pools. What a beautiful name for Sharm's main sewage treatment works! Located North West of naama bay (27 56'29 N 34 18'08 E) on the ring road from Rowaysat ,the area is easily accessible by Taxi although finding one when you want to leave can be an issue, so we would recommend taking a phone number of a driver and ringing them for collection.

The area consists of 16 settlement pools with grey water entering at the southern end and filtering through to the north. The "treated" water is then taken away by a constant flow of water trucks and sold to the hotels for watering their extensive gardens. Any overnight buildup is allowed to flow into a lagoon area at the bottom of the complex or used to irrigate the nearby eucalyptus plantation. The lagoon area has a nice reed area on the approach which is always worth a look for warblers and other passerines.

 Of the 16 pools the large northern cleaner pools seem to provide the most species. Here there is a constant changeover, from waders, duck, coot  swallows and martins. In the grasses and reeds that have taken hold around the site pipits and sparrows are regulars. One bird we can't fail to mention are the white wagtails that are constantly flitting about, drawing your attention every time, "WHATS THAT" another bloody wagtail! From morning until dusk the ground and sky can be filled with white stork , with many soaring high on the thermals created by the mountains behind the water plant. Amongst the stork many birds of prey can be spotted and also other large species like pelican, eurasian crane, black stork as well as various heron . In the desert surrounding the pools wheatear and desert larks are common.  Other desert species visit  the pools to drink as it is a convenient water source on the edge of the desert. In the evening lichtensein's sandgrouse drink in small groups with the occasional crowned joining them. We have never seen spotted sandgrouse on this site, as they seem to us the small pools to the north instead.

We regard the pools as our initial site and it is the one we visit most because of its close proximity to home.