travel
JETPACK &
WATERSPORTS IN THE MALDIVES!
By Yves de Contades T
he Maldives are rightly known as heaven on earth, just over a thousand islands all reflecting an idyllic vision of paradise. Tiny islets of fine golden sand dotted throughout a crystal glass sea, basking in glorious sunshine that stays between 25 and 35 degrees all year round.
I decided to visit Kanifushi in the Lhaviyani Atoll to experience all the thrills and spills of motorised water sports with adventure sports professionals Dive And Sail. Dive and Sail have a number of great dive centres on island resorts in the Maldives: Ellaidhoo, Hakuraa, Kanifushi and a soon to be opened centre on Gasveli.
The atolls in the Maldives are essentially old volcanoes where coral grew and formed barrier reefs. These circular formations developed into islands of sand surrounding a lagoon which encouraged a wide variety of marine wildlife and rich ecosystems. The islands in the Maldives are often around 2 kilometres long and widely regarded as the most beautiful in the world, however if you think they are just for relaxing and sitting on
56
surreymagazineonline.co.uk
impossibly beautiful beaches, well think again.
For our first venture we started with a jet ski safari around the Lhaviyani atoll. My companions and I took out three Yamaha Waverunners along with our Dive and Sail guide in their speedboat. Our aim was to visit all the islands and get a dolphins’ view of the atoll and perhaps mix it up with a little competitive racing along the way. We cruised out past the tiny islands Vavvaru and Veyvah until we reached Naifaru, the capital of Lhaviyani Atoll, with a population of around 4000 people, more than 120 shops or markets and the main hospital for the area. It is the sixth most populated island in the Maldives and relies mainly on fishing. We sailed on past the dolphin park and tiny eastern port with its mix of sailing, fishing and industrial boats and headed further north.
We passed more stunning desert islands, our Waverunners swooping up each wave, teetering on the edge, then surfing down the other side. As we reached the island of Hinnavaru, one of our guides in the boat waved us closer and explained with pride that this was
this home island where he grew up. You have to admire the commute. Just further north we came upon Kuredu, the island we had visited just two years before. The sight of the beach and jetty there brought back many fond memories, but we had no time to stop and say hello, so we pressed on east past Maagiri and Fushifaru. The lagoon here is known as the Laccadive sea and is well known for its dolphins, whale sharks, manta ray and turtles and we were not disappointed. As we turned south we first spotted a few dolphins jumping in the water ahead, then tens, then possibly 50 dolphins that flickered around the bikes. At first the fins resemble those of sharks, but as we got nearer it was clear it was a large shoal of Spinner dolphins. They sped like torpedoes before us, clearly delighted in their ability to out run us, leaping out of the water and twisting back into the sea with ease. Each was around five feet long and they swam so close you could reach out and touch them, the sound of their blowholes as they surfaced could be heard even over the engines. There are over 23 species of dolphin in the
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
