Coconut palms, banyan trees, fine coral sands and endless turquoise water – this is bucket list travel at its finest.
Who doesn’t dream of visiting the Maldives one day? This remote, sparsely populated tropical country is little more than a garland of 26 circular-shaped atolls, with 1192 low-lying islands. None of them are more than 1.8 metres above sea level, and only 185 are inhabited.
Welcome to Constance Moofushi
There is only one resort per island, romantic with its dim lights, so the heavens are clear and constellations from both the Northern and Southern hemispheres are visible. Positioned south-west of India, this fragile environment is exquisitely beautiful; it’s the quintessential island fantasy. Dotted with coconut palms, mangroves and breadfruit trees, the islands are fringed by powdery white sand and translucent water. On the beach, hibiscus trees were in full bloom. In the early morning, the delicate flowers would be sunny yellow, and by late afternoon they’d have darkened to a burnt-orange shade before turning crimson and falling off. An exquisite flower with a lifespan of a single day.
I stayed at Constance Moofushi, situated on the South Ari Atoll – said to be one of the best diving and snorkelling spots in the world. The coral reef systems of the Indian Ocean teem with marine life, the water is a pleasant 29°C (so you only need a second skin, not a wetsuit), there are hardly any waves and visibility is clear up to 25 metres.
Enzo Spina, the owner of Bluetribe Moofushi Dive Centre at the resort, has lived on the island for decades. He persuaded me to try a diver propulsion vehicle to whiz past hundreds of sharks in the renowned Shark Pass. It’s a thrilling experience. To my amusement, I was named Top Gun Diver of the Day. Enzo videoed our dive, so I have a souvenir to post on my social media.
Dive right in!
During a more leisurely dive at Dega Thila, or Coral Garden, I was mesmerised by the diversity of corals and their extraordinary colour combinations. A hawksbill turtle manoeuvred itself out from under an overhang, a pair of Maldive anemonefish darted in and out of their host anemone (think Finding Nemo) and thousands of fingerlings shimmered past. Close encounters with gentle whale sharks and night dives with nurse sharks are moments I will never forget.
After my water activities, I sipped coconut water from a freshly cut coconut. This is perhaps the closest thing the Maldives has to a national drink, as alcohol is eschewed in the Muslim culture. (Although I am told that some islanders discreetly produce their own toddy, called ‘raa’, which is tapped from palm trees and left to ferment.) The Manta Bar is always open for a creative mocktail, cocktail or refreshing beer, and the open-air Totem Bar on the beach is a popular spot for a light lunch and cheerful music.
From the deck of my water villa on stilts, I watched black-tip reef sharks, trumpetfish, fusiliers and purple jellyfish swim past in the lagoon. If I felt like snorkelling, I didn’t need to go far! Spinner dolphins and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins often gambolled near the wooden stairs leading from my private veranda, and I could swim alongside reef sharks, whiptail rays, shimmering schools of blue jackfish, and an impressive variety of iridescent reef fish. I could hear parrotfish biting off bits of coral; apparently they can change both their colour and gender.
After hours of gentle snorkelling, I visited the Constance Spa for a classic massage, where I was lulled to semi-sleep watching the movements of trumpetfish and fusiliers through the spa’s glass floor.
Nocturnal adventures
During an evening stroll, I searched for scurrying ghost crabs, expertly camouflaged in the icing-sugar sand. By day, they dig into cool, moist burrows, but at night they scuttle out to feed on plankton washed out by the tide.
I spotted swift-footed rock crabs, also known as Sally Lightfoot crabs, that inhabit the rocky shores. A nocturnal land hermit crab (using an abandoned mollusc shell as its temporary home, until it outgrows it and has to find a bigger one) withdrew into its shell as I approached. When I stood still, the crab peeked out, then slowly extended its legs and gingerly continued on its way. Astoundingly, they can live up to 40 years.
Black-naped terns plunge-dove into the sea for fish, and a pair of white-breasted waterhen summoned their two fluffy chicks with loud, cackling calls from beneath the dense undergrowth of sea lettuce. A grey heron (or maakana) stood motionless beside the water, waiting to catch aquatic creatures. At dusk, it flew away with slow wingbeats.
Food, glorious food
Dinner was served at a lamp-lit table beneath a beach calophyllum tree at Alizée Restaurant. The wine list features mainly South African wines, but I was feeling like experimenting. The Château Respide-Medeville Blanc 2018, an unusual French blend of 50% Sémillon, 48% Sauvignon Blanc and 2% Muscadelle, complemented the scallops. And with these surroundings, how could I not opt for fresh seafood at every opportunity? My main course was a delectable reef fish and, for dessert, I had three scoops of gelato – basil, lemongrass and coconut – paired with a New Zealand dessert wine, Two Rivers Altitude Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, which had notes of honey and passionfruit and was delicious.
All too soon, my stay at Constance Moofushi drew to a close. I am left with a rich trove of memories, a tick on my bucket list and a fervent hope that I’ll return one day.
Getting there
Air Seychelles offers weekly flights from Johannesburg to the Maldives, via the Seychelles. It’s a pleasant nine-hour journey, faster than long-haul routes offered by other carriers.
Written by Gillian McLaren
Taken from: https://m24magazines.evlink.net/public/messages/view-online/5aDU1yF8IPLrpKfn/b5vsYdud0Ju2XCjI/15bce618c05a5275
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