Maafushi

Introduction

We did two dives at Maafushi (a handy but beautiful island only about 90 minutes from Male). There were three dive operators on the island.

• Shark Diving & Watersports (which we dived with because they were straight up and no-nonsense). They gave us a discounted price of USD35 per dive including all equipment (without discussing their normal price).
• The second operator cost USD40 but was busier which might mean it was better (or would offer a less personalised service, who knows).
• The third operator started with a price of USD50, then discussed various packages and when we didn’t bite, pulled out a separate chart with a lower price of USD40; we don’t like this kind of tactics.

All operators start at 0830 and do two dives, returning around 1230. They have a separate departure at around 1430 for one dive. Any further dives are subject to request.

Shark Diving’s equipment were all very new and in good shape. The large dive boat had plenty of room. It had high barriers as a result of the seatbacks on the side benches, which meant that we had to do the big step forward into the water (quite unusual for me).

Getting ready

We reported to the diveshop at 0815 instead of the 0830 timing that was advised, to allow some time to check the fit our equipment. They told us to take a seat. At 0830 sharp, we were summoned on to the boat and we departed. They were confident of our fit and I trusted them.

There were two of us plus a Swiss, two dive masters, Captain and a boat assistant. It was a large boat with plenty of room. It had high barriers as a result of the seatbacks on the side benches, which meant that we had to do the big step forward into the water (not done very often).

The diving experience

The first dive at Guraidhoo Reef was disappointing for me as we saw a couple of white tip reef shark. Kim saw more as he was being led separately being a very slow equaliser.

After the dive, we repositioned to manta cleaning station to search for mantas. While they are in season, they’re still not guaranteed. There hadn’t been any presence last few days and they weren’t cooperating (people who continued to dive subsequent days didn’t see them either).

We continued to Kandooma Corner for a slightly better dive. We saw some turtles, morays and a puffer fish. We were back on land around midday.

Overall, diving anywhere in the world does depend on the specific site and luck; I guess Maldives is no different. I’m just too spoilt from diving very special sites in Malaysia and Indonesia which have aquarium-like conditions.