“I am a good shark, not a fish-eating automaton. If I want to change this image of me, I must first change myself. Fish are friends, not food.”
From the movie Finding Nemo
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Itinerary in pills
- First spot: leopard shark
- Second spot: dolphins
- Third spot: nurse sharks
- Fourth spot: sandbank
- Fifth spot: snorkeling at the shipwreck
- Conclusions
Introduction
The most complicated part of planning our trip to the Maldives was undoubtedly the choice of atolls to visit, and consequently the island(s) to stay in. Among the atolls I had targeted by gathering a bit of information from various sources was Vaavu. My attention was mainly focused on the possibility of easily spotting nurse sharks, swimming for example in the wonderful waters of Keyodhoo, or bathing with stingrays on the fishermen’s island of Fulidhoo, where, it seems, they freely approach the shore.
In the end our choice fell on other islands, notably Dhigurah and Omadhoo in South Ari Atoll and, after various vicissitudes, Kamadhoo in Baa Atoll. One of the reasons why we opted for the islands mentioned, particularly those in the South Ari Atoll, is the greater likelihood of whale shark sightings, particularly around Dhigurah. However, sightings are not generally guaranteed. On the other hand, I had read that nurse shark sightings in Vaavu Atoll were quite guaranteed, so I inquired about the possibility of organizing a day trip from Dhigurah to Vaavu Atoll. In the end, I found two diving centers that were ok for such purpose. Since excursions to other atolls generally have somewhat higher prices than the others, we opted for the day excursion to Vaavu Atoll starting from Dhigurah, rather than vice versa, so as to avoid the not unlikely eventuality of spending money unnecessarily.
In this article, I tell you about our experience of that day, which was one of the most beautiful and intense spent during our trip to the Maldives, despite some minor disappointments. Make yourself comfortable!
Itinerary in pills
The excursion to Vaavu Atoll was the first of the many ones we took on the trip.
Almost any excursion you can take starting from Dhigurah, as well as from any other fishermen’s island, can be easily arranged with your Guest House (or resort, if you choose this option). Not all guest houses, however, organize excursions to other atolls, as not all have adequate resources and facilities. As mentioned, I found two guest houses that organized the excursion to Vaavu Atoll. The first of these is the Dhiguveli Maldives, which is the guest house chosen for our accommodation. The same diving center (which is called GoDivers) also serves another associated facility, Dhiguveli Breeze, which, however, has higher costs than Dhiguveli Maldives. The second guest house, which is instead the one we eventually chose for our excursion, is the Akiri Dhigurah. I was also told of another facility in Dhigurah that organizes the excursion, namely the Seaside Dhigurah, but I did not go to them since it was definitely out of budget for us.
I will point out one relevant aspect in this regard. Normally, each diving center serves only guests of certain facilities. GoDivers, for example, does not accept guests from facilities other than Dhiguveli Maldives or Dhiguveli Breeze for its excursions. As for the Akiri, I was able to get us accepted due to the fact that, at the time of my inquiry (prior to departure), the facility was fully booked. This was actually convenient, since staying at the Dhiguveli Maldives cost us much less, and moreover that facility is much better located than the Akiri compared to the island’s bikini beach.
The reason we chose the excursion with the Akiri is mainly related to the number of spots that are visited during the day. With the GoDivers there are two stops, one for swimming with nurse sharks and another at the wreck snorkeling spot located in Keyodhoo waters. From what I have been told, the Seaside also adds swimming with dolphins to these two stops. The Akiri, in addition to the same stops as the Seaside, further adds a sandbank, moreover at an overall cheaper price than the GoDivers. In fact, with the GoDivers the cost of the excursion is US$178, with the Akiri US$140 (dropping to US$100 if you decide to stay on the boat instead of jumping in with nurse sharks), including snorkeling equipment. By contrast, I do not know the cost of the excursion organized by the Seaside, but I have reason to believe it is in the same range as the other two.
First spot: leopard shark
The excursion starts at 8 a.m. Akiri also arranges for pickup at our facility to take us to the port. Vaavu Atoll is quite far from South Ari Atoll, in fact it takes us about an hour to get to the first spot. Before heading into the area populated by nurse sharks, our crew launches the drone into the air to try to spot some leopard sharks, managing to find one within few minutes. Consider that leopard shark sightings are a fairly rare occurrence, so to have found one, and right away too, was a real stroke of luck.
We then jump into the water to swim to the shark; it is important to avoid crowding so as not to disturb the animal and thus scare it away. Fortunately, there is only our boat at that point. We then reach the shark, that was lying at the bottom of the sea on the sand, on which it apparently feeds. We watch it for a few minutes, until we see it rise up and swim to other horizons, a moment when we immediately lose sight of it because it is too fast for us. The show was really cool, though.
Second spot: dolphins
We head to the spot populated by nurse sharks at this point. Since there are already a few boats there, however, we veer toward the spot where dolphins are generally spotted, located a short distance from the nurse sharks, hoping that in the meantime a few boats will get away. Again, we manage with some luck to spot a fairly large pod, jumping abruptly into the water. And even in this situation, ours is the only boat around.
We manage to see something both out of the water and while swimming, but again the speed of their movements is unsustainable, so we lose them fairly quickly. I manage, however, to catch something with my underwater camera. Their escape, anyway, does not bother me all that much, since I had already had the opportunity to swim with dolphins at close range during my trip to Zanzibar a few years ago, plus I would see them much better a few days later on an excursion to the Baa Atoll.
Third spot: nurse sharks
We go back to reach the spot populated by nurse sharks. We are at this point in the waters of Keyodhoo. I have to say that the experience, although adrenaline-pumping, left me a little bitter in the mouth. This is because, unfortunately, although the sharks are in their natural habitat, they are attracted to the boats by the crews, who throw food at them. This practice, while forbidden (at least in theory), is quite widespread, even on other islands in the Maldives (on Omahdoo, for example, we saw even worse things). Fortunately, it does not happen with all aquatic wildlife. One reason why, for example, sightings of whale sharks or manta rays are not guaranteed is also because in those cases the animals are not fed. For those who may be wondering, the reason why animals should not be fed lies in the fact that, attracted by the food given to them artificially, they alter their habits and ecosystem, being in environments not always conducive to their well-being.
Apart from this detail, the experience is suggestive, not least because that type of shark does not generally attack humans. However, they are still wild animals, so you still have to be careful not to bother them, as well as stay at a proper distance. Keep in mind that sharks get close and can even make direct contact with your skin, possibly you will feel something slimy touching some part of your body. Skippers will explain to you the position to take to avoid any problems, which is to keep your fists closed and your arms attached to your body.
The area where the sharks are found is quite large. There are a few boats, but nothing comparable to what happens with whale sharks (which I will discuss in the article on Dhigurah).
Fourth spot: sandbank
After the long stop with nurse sharks, we head to the spot that I personally enjoyed the most on the entire excursion, and among the spots in general that I enjoyed the most on the entire trip, which is a wonderful sandbank. It is here that a small snack is also provided around lunchtime, which I do not properly call lunch because by that term I mean food, whereas in that case it was more modestly a bit of fruit and some cookies.
The sandbank is quite small, you can go from one end to the other in seconds. On the other hand, the colors of the sea around it are something indescribable, perhaps the most beautiful and breathtaking we saw during the entire trip. We stay there for a good hour or so, just enough time to take a swim, snap a few photos, playing beach volleyball, and roast our skins properly.
Fifth spot: snorkeling at the shipwreck
The fifth and final spot planned in the excursion is the snorkeling spot around a wreck not far from the sandbank. The wreck is easily accessible, partly because its surfaces is clearly visible even from a distance. The snorkeling is very nice, although we found much better reef and aquatic life in the Maldives than what we saw there. Around the wreck, in addition to lots of colorful fish, we also spot a couple of eels. The carcass of the wreck is also quite fascinating, but it is still not a very large vessel. The water around it has beautiful colors.
At this point we head back toward Dhigurah, taking about an hour or so as on the way out, arriving at the port around 4 p.m.
Conclusions
The excursion to Vaavu Atoll was one of the nicest we did on the trip, minus the issue of shark feeding, of which I was unaware. Comparing the cost of the excursion with that of the others we took part in on subsequent days, I think it is justified by the quantity (and quality) of points of interest.
The description of the excursion also mentioned a visit to Fulidhoo Island, but that is not actually covered (I had also asked at Akiri, but they told me that that activity has been replaced with Dolphin watching).
The points I enjoyed most during the excursion are, in order:
- The sandbank, not only the part I enjoyed most during the excursion, but one of the best moments of the entire trip
- The chase of the leopard shark, a very fascinating and rare animal to spot
- The snorkeling at the wreck, among colorful fish, eels, and fabulous sea
I don’t put the experience with nurse sharks on the podium, not because it wasn’t adrenaline-pumping to find them next to each other, but because of the bad habit of feeding.
