Lee’s Trip Report
Maldives – 10 years ago this is where I did my first try dive and my passion for diving started. So as you can imagine a week on Nautilus 2 was my idea of heaven. I’d arranged parking though holiday extras and with my bags packed off I headed to Heathrow. All went smoothly and I was dropped at Terminal 4 ready for my direct Sri Lanken Air flight – a new service that they offer – the flight was comfortable and being direct meant I caught up on some sleep ready for the week of diving ahead.
Arriving in Male we were met by Issey, one of our guides for the week and made our way over to our Dhoni for the transfer to Nautilus 2. Anticipation was mounting; I’ve only ever seen pictures of Nautilus 2 and she always looks beautiful. Could she really be that good in real life and the answer is yes. She is everything you imagine, spacious and very majestic. Built in a traditional Maldivian style, she really is everything you expect and more! All diving throughout the week is done from the 16 metre Dhoni, so after our short transfer to Nautilus 2 we unpacked our dive gear and set it up ready for the check dive that afternoon.
Dive equipment unpacked we were shown to our rooms; these were large and roomy and had plenty of storage space for dive bags and any other belongings. Each room is equipped with individual air conditioning and an en suite bathroom – with a shower and massage jets, great for after a day’s diving. If you don’t wish to use air conditioning, a large deck hatch and porthole facing the sea provide plenty of fresh air and sunlight.
The excitement was mounting as we introduced ourselves to our fellow divers for the week and got to know each other, we had a great mix of divers on the boat, all with tales to tell of various holidays but all looking forward to the week ahead. Diving in the Maldives is good all year round, so our expectations for the week were high – we were already talking about wanting to see Mantas and Whale Sharks – what would the week ahead bring……
At our first briefing of the week Ziad (the 2nd dive guide on the boat) explained a little bit about the diving we could expect– many of our dives would be based on Thilas – A Thila is a submerged Coral Reef, typically with a flat surface coming to between 9 and 12 metres of the surface. The sides often have small caves and overhangs. These present some of the most interesting and exiting dive sites as they attract a huge populous of schooling fish and hard and soft coral growth. Thilas are found both inside the Atolls and in the channels. Channels are gaps or breaks in the outer reef of the Atoll where the tidal and ocean currents wash onto and off the central lagoon, often creating a hot spot of action especially during periods of good current.
The first dive of the week didn’t let us down. It was like being in an aquarium, very pretty with plenty going on around us, we even saw a couple of turtles. The water temperature was 28c and if this was the shape of dives to come we were in for a good week. Back on the boat it was time for dinner, all meals are on Nautilus 2 are served buffet style and include soup as a starter, the main course was a mixture of meat and fish dishes, some spicy and all were served with rice, pasta and salad. For dessert we had fresh fruit. Juice is included with all meals and tea and coffee are available free of charge throughout the day, as is fresh drinking water. If you prefer, cans of fizzy drink or alcohol can be bought from the bar and then paid for at the end of the week. I can honestly say this is the only liveaboard that I have been on that has draft beer on tap and a cocktail menu! What a great way to relax after the last dive of the day – either up on the top deck or in the comfy chairs at the bow of the boat.
The following morning we were woken at 06.00 for the dive briefing, and went off again for a fantastic dive. As all the dive kit stays on the Dhoni for the week this makes kitting up really easy. The tanks are filled in situ and you just need to let the guides know if you want to dive with Nitrox as this is all included (you just need to be Nitrox certified). Back on the boat it was time for breakfast, a choice of eggs, toast and cheese and cold meat and some fresh fruit – it was obvious we weren’t going to go hungry this week!!
It was now time to move on to South Male Atol – so we took this opportunity to stretch out and relax on the top deck – catching the first rays of sunshine – be warned (as I learnt!) the sun is much stronger out in the Maldives – even factor 15 didn’t stop the burn!!!! Throughout the week we managed to get 3 dives in most days and also had the opportunity to do a couple of night dives. We even had a chance on the Tuesday to snorkel and dive with whale sharks. For many of us this had to be the highlight of the week. Tuesday had started as any other day, 06.00 wake up call, dive briefing and off to the Dhoni, back for breakfast and then the briefing bell went and Ziad explained the plan for the day – we were going whale shark watching. Ari Beach, where we were in the South Ari Atol, is a well known area to spot whale sharks; this was what we had all been waiting for. We headed to the Dhoni, kitted up for snorkelling and started looking, it didn’t take long for Ziad and Issey to spot one. In we all jumped and had the chance to snorkel with this majestic creature. They really are beautiful, so elegant and at ease. Back on the boat we were all buzzing, for many this was their first encounter with a whale shark and we were all in awe, could it get any better than this…. we then kitted up for our dive hoping that we may then have the opportunity to see one of these amazing creatures whilst actually diving and we weren’t disappointed. Just as we were about to jump in one appeared so we started our dive with a whale shark – fantastic. We caught a glimpse of another one throughout the dive in the distance and really couldn’t believe our luck – this was amazing. Back on the Dhoni we were all unkitting, chatting away about how fantastic it had been to see three whale sharks and another one appeared – without any hesitation we all jumped back in for another chance to snorkel with a whale shark – this was turning into a truly remarkable day.
Another couple of dives around South Ari Atol and then it was time to move over to the North Ari Atol, most of the crossing’s throughout the week were around a couple of hours, giving us all chance to talk about what we’d seen so far, update our log books and generally relax. Between us so far we’d seen turtles, eagle rays, whale sharks, and the biggest wrasse I have ever seen in my life (who was extremely friendly and inquisitive following us throughout nearly the whole dive). Nudibranches had been spotted by many eagle eyed divers and on every dive we had been surrounded by huge shoals of fish – this was turning into a week to remember. We’d heard that the North was where we could hope to see grey reef sharks and white tips – were we going to get the chance ….. Our second dive at a well known site called ‘Fish Head’ didn’t let us down. As we all held on to an overhang in the distance we could see them, both white tips and grey reef how fantastic was this. Other dives in the North meant we saw huge tuna and barracuda, 2 of the biggest stonefish that I’ve seen and sting rays. All too soon it was the end of the week and the night before our last dive – this last dive we had been told would be our ‘shark’ dive. So raring to go on Friday morning we kitted up for the last time and followed Issey and Ziad to an overhang at about 22m where we held on and waited, we had been told to stay together as a group so we didn’t scare the sharks off, and we weren’t disappointed – within minutes we had between 7 and 9 sharks patrolling in front of us, a mixture of grey reef and white tips just swimming back and forth – we hung here for a good 20 minutes in awe just watching, not knowing which way to look next – what a fantastic way to finish the week, and as if on que as we left to start our ascent a string ray swam away in the distance – absolutely amazing.
That was it, we’d had our week’s diving in the Maldives, we’d seen everything that we wanted, done some amazing dives and gained more fantastic memories. The week was over and it had all gone too quickly. Back on board Nautilus 2 we hung our kit out to dry and started to pack away bits and pieces ready for the crossing back to Male where we’d spend our last evening on board ready for our return flights the following day. The crossing was spent chatting and reminiscing with new friends about the week and talking about where to go next. Back in Male we were given the opportunity to take the Dhoni over to the city and have a wander around giving us a chance to buy souvenirs and stretch our legs on dry land before our final night on board Nautilus 2.
