So, where is The Republic of Maldives then:

The Maldives lie south-west of the most southerly point of India, and just north of the equator.  Let's take a closer look:

The approximately 1192 tiny coral based islands are grouped in clusters or atolls, only 202 islands are inhabited, others are used solely for factories, airfields or agriculture, and another 75 are set aside as resort islands.

Reethi Rah Resort (Medhufinolhu)
February 1999

We stayed on the Reethi Rah Resort Island, located in the North Male Atoll, about two hours boat trip from Male Airport.  The atmosphere was very relaxed, with bare feet being the order of the day.  Most of the accommodation is in thatched bungalows which are scattered along the island, which is of a long thin shape, about 800m long and 100m at it's widest point.  There are also a few water bungalows, mounted on stilts above the lagoon.  For a page with lots more detail about Reethi Rah click here.

While Kathy relaxed in the sun, David took to the warm waters and learnt to SCUBA dive, with help from the lovely Helen, a blond Swedish dive instructor.

The Island

Click to view an Enlarged Image

Reethi Rah Island

The Coffee Shop

The Spit

The Beach

Undergrowth

Sunset

The Beach

Maldivian Air Taxi

Reethi Rah Island

Underwater

The variety of marine life is amazing, standing just knee deep a few feet from the beach you can see fish swimming around your ankles.
The small Black Tip Reef Sharks swim very close to the shore, as these photo's show:

Black Tip Reef Shark

Black Tip Reef Shark

Some of the creatures we saw while snorkelling, either along the shore, or on the House Reef were:
Black Tip Reef Sharks, Stingrays, Turtles, Moray Eels, Octopus, Tuna, and a multitude of brightly coloured smaller fish, like the Picasso Triggerfish below.

Trigger Fish

While diving David saw Turtles, Lobsters, Eagle Rays, Stingrays, White Tip Reef Sharks, Giant Moray Eels, Sweetlips, Lion fish, Goby fish, a Giant Napoleon Wrasse, and Manta Rays.

The best moments were when the giant Whale Shark skimmed past me inches away, and when I was about 10m under, looking up to see a host of about 30 Manta Rays serenely glide above me eclipsing the sun.

Manta Ray

Whale Shark

David took the above photos while snorkelling, Kathy watched from the boat!

Go to Reethi Rah Details