Fuvahmulah is unique and the most beautiful island in the Maldives, which is located on the equator between two South Atolls -Addu and Huvadhoo. Unlike the other two thousand Maldivian islands, which are coral reefs, Fuvahmulah is of volcanic origin, which makes the island more similar to the Indonesian islands Bali or Gili. It is the only island of the Maldives archipelago with fresh water lakes, lush tropical vegetation - the island is covered by mango trees, coconut palms, papaya, and different kinds of flowers.
One one the main feature which makes Fuvahmulah incredibly attractive for world diving community are Tiger Sharks. Tiger Sharks are surrounded the island cleaning the waste daily produced by fish market. Sharks are not aggressive, no any case of shark attack were registered. Diving with the tiger sharks is available everyday and doesn't depend on the current, seasons, time and weather conditions. Experienced dive guides lead this dive following all necessary safety rules requirements. We named this dive site “Tiger’s Zoo”. One of the best destination for Tiger Sharks, 100% guarantee everyday. https://www.fuvahmulahdive.com/
This photo just shows the incredible size comparison ratio, human to shark (diver to the right is myself). This shark is estimated to be a large female approx. 5mts. in length.
Photo taken by Simon Lorenz of Insider Divers.
The trip commenced for me from Adelaide at around 7.30am for a 9.10am Singapore inter-connecting flight via Singapore and continuing onto Male arriving around 10.40pm that same day. I was met by Simon and Joseph in Changi airport for the Male flight which was nice to have others to chat to and keep company. This called for a cold beer between flights as it wasn't long before we boarded our connecting flight.
Arrival into Male-Maldives at 10.40pm with some mixed emotion as we were tired, hungry and excited to be here. Next step was to enter Customs & Immigration, check our Covid19 vaccinations/certificates and wait for our luggage at the carousel, with luggage all safely retrieved we found our transfer to H78 Hotel to book in and turn in for the night.
Next morning was a more relaxed feel, sleep in, breakfast and social chat about nothing and everything. As we were finishing breakfast Mariah (Mo) joined us at the table and with introductions done we just chilled in the Hotel-checked out the beach and made contact with family and uploaded some social media posts.
Later in the day we made our way to the Airport to check in and meet up with Neil for our small flight to the remote island of Fuvahmulah to commence our pre trip extension - diving with Tiger Sharks. There was time of course before going through security to have coffee/cake, so across from the Domestic Departures are Cafe's on the upper level. As we all travel light (not) we crammed into a small lift with backpacks, carry on and camera packs making an easy task an awkward one, but personal.
Flight boarded and thrilled to soon be in the water with Tiger Sharks after 10years of diving & 600 dives I have never seen or dived with Tiger Sharks in the ocean.
Tiger Sharks are the second largest predatory shark after the great white shark, measuring over 5m (16ft) in length and weighing 900kg (2,000 lbs) and its with this knowledge I approach this portion of the trip with trepidation, exhilaration and some uneasiness but sooo much enthusiasm eases those concerns. https://factanimal.com/tiger-shark/
Upon arrival we are met by the owners of DivePoint Fuvahmulah Anna and Marcus and the crew, with baggage loaded a transfer firstly to the Dive Shop for formalities such as filling out forms (disclaimer & personal info) plus removing all of our necessary dive gear we then head to the DivePoint Residence which was only opened in June 2022.
As we settle into our rooms, unpack, have a late dinner and prepare our personal dive equip and cameras etc its time for a relaxing shower and to retire for an early exciting morning.
For the rest of the week, the typical format would remain the norm;
Breakfast at 6.30am
Check camera gear and batteries
Transfer to boat 7.00am
Head out for early morning dive in search of Thresher Sharks
Return to Marina for time slotted Tiger Shark dive (30 min) around 9.30am
Transfer back to Residence for lunch, rest and hydrate etc
Time for afternoon 3rd dive, usually another Thresher Shark dive
Return to Residence, shower, dry clothes, rest and dinner.......
Goodnight and reset for tomorrow
The real underwater treasure of Fuvahmulah is Thresher Shark and it is been the only one island in the Maldives when thresher sharks can be seen throughout the year. Usually, thresher shark diving is deep, since threshers use deep cleaning stations. However, in Fuvahmulah, in the right time thresher sharks use to come up for cleaning station at 12-15 mts, and sometimes make divers happy jumping out of the water. Thresher sharks are available all year round, but can not be guaranteed everyday and every dive as Tiger Sharks.
Morning breaks with an early breakfast and we transfer to the Marina to setup our dive gear and with a quick safety briefing we head out into the aqua clear warm waters.
The first dive site 'Kedevari' was only a short cruise out from the mainland and as we gear up and have our 1st dive briefing for the trip I start to get a bit anxious and mindful of my recent PFO heart procedure as this would be my first serious diving since my surgery from September 2021.
These dive sites call for depths of up to 32-45mts in depth to catch a glimpse of Thresher Sharks so my diving profile, use of Nitrox and surface intervals plays in the back of my mind. I enter the water in trepidation, but confident in my health, fitness and experience that I will be fine with knowing my limits and trusting my training.
This dive was a success with a sighting of a Thresher at a depth of 42mt. and I was lucky enough to slowly approach hugging the reef wall so as not to startle the shark. I stayed with the Thresher for at least 2 minutes watching, videoing and following at a calm steady pace to allow my dive buddies a good experience as well. I didn't know until later that Neil was behind me videoing the whole thing which was sooo amazing to be able to see and show people my special moment.
So please enjoy this short video below
As the Thresher turned and changed direction Simon was able to reach out into the blue and shoot some amazing photo's, so all of us got to have an opportunity to dive and swim with the elusive and skittish Thresher Shark.
Wow, what a start to the trip as the last time I had the chance to see a Thresher Shark was in Malapascua Philippines, and it was poor visibility and only fleeting sightings.
It was now time, Tiger Shark time. Dive 2 was scheduled for 9.30am for Tiger Point as the Dive Operators are allocated 30 minute time slots to share the site for all to enjoy and experience. The dive site is just 50mts. out from the mouth of the Marina, so quick and before we knew it the crew called us for dive site briefing including rules, behaviour and protocols to follow.
The dive site is located at the harbour entrance since most fish waste has been dumped in this area after the harbour was built. Due to this accumulated dumping, tiger sharks more and more frequently have been cruising the area scavenging on the remainders of the local and sustainable tuna fishery.
The dive site includes a shallow plateau 6-9 meters deep and a steep drop off at about 12-15 meters that drops into the depths of the ocean. On this plateau, we remain stationary and observe tiger sharks that are attracted by the fishermen's waste.
Speechless, in awe and exhilarated by what I just did with my mates and with a Top 2 predator, and there were actually no less than 10-12 Tiger Sharks on the dive and got to within 1/2mt. to me (Whoooooaaaa). Pictures above show the interaction and proximity.
I had pole position of the action, perched behind the smallest of rocks (great protection) and was able to video some amazing activity, behaviour and action on my GoPro and extendable pole. Below is only 1 of many many videos which are similar.
At the completion of the 30 minute time slot we were signalled to slowly swim off the reef wall out to the blue and go for a casual dive. During that dive I feel the interaction got even more intense with a few of the Tiger Sharks swimming around us in the open ocean environment - crazy stuff, it was just sooo surreal and a moment I will treasure.
Lunch was calling us and the conversation was exuberant, shock awe and just 'WOW', you know that time when you were soo scared to go on the Roller Coaster and did it anyway and as soon as it was over you wanted to do it over and over, well thats how we all felt.
After lunch and the incessant recall of the dive it was time for an afternoon dive to go Thresher Shark hunting, and again we were successful - this place just keeps on giving 🤗
Despite Fuvahmulah is real pelagic place, it is also has an amazing alive huge house reef. Fuvahmulah reminds almost untouched by El Nino 2016. Corals are alive and colourful. Mostly we have hard corals, and there are such a big variety of them surrounded by millions reef fishes and wrasses.
After 4 days of diving with Tiger Sharks, Threshers Sharks and Hammerhead Shark we just couldn't get enough, but our days were numbered and were due to leave soon, but not before a day tour of the Island by a local friend showing us historic sites and history lesson.
During the trip I also took advantage of experimenting with 360dg Insta camera and found it wasn't to my liking, but made some nice footage with the help of Carl Charter.
If your considering Fuvahmulah, Tiger Sharks and DivePoint Dive/Residence I cannot speak highly enough of them all - 'JUST GET THERE'
In closing, 'Take Every Chance You Get In Life, Because Some Things Only Happen ONCE', & let my stories and experience give you inspiration to create your own Moments.
Another 'Rivetting Moment', to inspire & ignite the traveller in you, to broaden life challenges & experiences!!!