Just got back from a (way too short) trip to the Maldives, more specifically the Soneva Fushi Spa and Resort on North Baa Atoll. This resort bills itself as “no news and no shoes” and sure enough as soon as your seaplane lands at “Soneva Fushi International Airport” (a pontoon floating in the clear, clear lagoon), you are approached by your personal girl Friday and asked to deposit your shoes in a bag which you then don’t see until you are ready to leave the island.
The resort is the last word in understated luxury – no crass touches like gold plated faucets but the small touches are great. You are asked what kind of music you want before you even arrive and when you check into your room (primitive but so very comfortable), the music of your choice is playing over the room’s sound system.
The food was, well, quite simply superb! The chef made it a point to make sure that all cuisine, from basic barbecue lobster, tuna and steak, to Japanese sushi and vegetarian fare, was all catered for.
And the diving – well, I was saving the best for the last! Day one was the day I had arrived, after traveling all night from Bombay via Colombo in Sri Lanka to Male and then to Soneva Fushi. Thomas, the dive master decided to give me an easy time of it and sent me down with his wife Alessandra and three other divers. Viz was about 10 meters – poor but not unusually so for this time of the year. Its wet season in the Maldives right now which means lesser visibility but better chances for seeing big pelagics – which I could live with!
The first dive was just so-so. Lots of fusiliers, nudibranchs a few large tuna a large parrotfish, but nothing spectacular. I was perfectly content to just get wet – it had been two months since my last dive so I wasn’t complaining.
Day two dawned wet and overcast – so much for the myth of the tropics where every day is a beautiful bright one and the visibility goes on forever! After a breakfast of eggs benedict and freshly ground coffee, things got better as soon as we left the lagoon – a school of spinner dolphins playing at our bow put everyone in a great mood and seemed to set the pace for the dive ahead.
Dive one that morning was to be down to 22 meters to a chimney which descended down to 30 meters and then shallowing gradually along the reef. The descent took us through a huge school of fusiliers again – a very pretty site and much better visibility than the previous day. Past the 22 metre mark and the chimney came into sight, dog-legging to the left. As I descended into the chimney, I could see light at the other end of it and some fantastic coral outgrowth on either side – a fantastic feeling of almost being inside a coral colony! That done we started ascending along the reef. As we approached a rock overhang I saw a large shape off to the side of the overhang – yes it was a Manta with a wingspan of at least 6 feet! It seemed to be putting on a show just for us, swooping no more than 4 feet away, as we stood motionless in the water column for at least three minutes! Then another! This was just fantastic; two mantas swooping majestically and passing close enough to touch!
Dive two in the afternoon was pretty much a repetition of the previous afternoon’s dive – murky waters and not much to see. After the morning’s show though, I was in no mood to complain.
The next morning was a wall dive. The plan was to descend to 15 meters, which was the start of the wall, then drop off it and down to 30 meters, then back up slowly along the wall. As we got down to 15metres, Thomas stopped us and pointed just ahead to where the wall began and there they were-two sharks - 8 foot long white-tips. Another day, another show! Again we stayed motionless as the two sharks swam back and forth seemingly endlessly! After a while I felt I was watching a tennis match! Tearing ourselves away, we continued our descent along the wall stirring a couple of turtles along the way. Back up the wall then to virtually the same spot to find that our two earlier sharks had now been joined by two more and then an eagle ray as well!
The afternoon dive, after another orgasmic lunch, was to be my last, as I had to leave the next day. Again the seas were rough, there was a squall overhead and the waters were not particularly clear. As soon as we descended though, we were amongst the mantas again! Four of them this time and in no hurry to get away from us. What a fantastic sight! I honestly can’t remember much of the rest of the dive after that except for a curious incident as we were on our safety stop. The sun had broken out of the clouds and a large parrotfish and a queen triggerfish were both basking under a rock overhang. As we watched we saw a turtle head under the rock to investigate, only to come charging out, pursued by the triggerfish who actually seemed to get its jaws onto the turtle’s shell! One of the most ludicrous sights I have seen underwater!
Sadly I had to leave the next day but I have already booked myself a spot in paradise again, in September!
Edited by nikk, 03 August 2004 - 03:29 AM.
