Maldives Scuba Diving Voyage 2014
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MELBOURNE TO MALDIVES SCUBA DIVING CLUB TRIP
Divers vaction Itinerary for Scuba Life Hallam
The following is a sample itinerary of where you might dive during your holiday with us. We wish to show you the very best diving but a number of factors can determine where we visit. Weather, tides and currents how busy a site is with other dive vessels all play a part in the Cruise Director’s decision of which route the yacht takes. The safety of all on board is paramount and we always do our best in offering diving at alternate locations. The Cruise Director is happy to listen to requests from guests to visit or remain at certain sites and providing it is possible and the schedule allows, then guest’s requests are respected.
Central B 10 Nights- Kadhdhoo to Male
Up to 34 Dives including up to 5 night dives
Day 1 – Welcome Aboard the Maldives Siren dive vessel
Arrive Kadhdhoo airport on Laamu Atoll where our staff will be there to meet and greet you and accompany you to the waiting yacht. After a short boat briefing and introduction to your crew you have time to relax, settle in and get acquainted with the Maldives Siren.
Day 2 – Laamu Atoll – 4 Dives
Dive 1 –Maabaidhoo Reef. We make our check out dive on the outside of this reef where we can observe jack fish, Napoleon wrasse, turtles, moray eel and nurse sharks.
Dive 2 -Maabaidhoo Kandu offers divers the opportunity to see large pelagics that hang in the currents created by the deep channels.
Dive 3 -Fushi Kandu. Continue the day’s diving in another channel looking for more pelagics and possible shark action.
Dive 4 –Fushi Reef night dive
Day 3 – Laamu Atoll – 4 dives
Dive 1 -Vadinolhu Kandu offers the opportunity to observe white tip reef sharks, Napoleon wrasse, tuna and schools of snapper that hang in the channel.
Dive 2 -Guraidhoo Corner is a great dive and offers a unique diving opportunity for viewing a wide range of fish life. The dive is dictated by whether the current is outgoing or ingoing but it is possible to observe schooling bannerfish, big schools of fusiliers, rainbow runner, tuna and trevally. Grey reef sharks and a school of eagle rays can also be seen.
Dive 3 –Dhiyamigili Outside offers sightings of jacks, snapper, tuna, Napoleon wrasse and stingrays.
Night dive at Madifushi Giri. A pretty coral garden where lobster and different species of decorator crab can be sighted, along with the occasional white tip shark.
Day 4 –Laamu Atoll & Thaa Atoll– 4 dives
Dive 1 -Olhugiri Kandu offers different ecosystems including a sandbank, a wall, a corner and an outside reef. On the sandbank many garden eels can be found as well as goat fish, shrimps and gobies. As you get deeper the variety of species grow and one can see soldierfish, scorpionfish, lionfish, groupers and sweetlips. Big Napoleon wrasse and jacks can be seen as well as fusiliers, unicornfish, groupers, snappers and red toothed triggerfish.
Dive 2 -Dhiffushi Kandu is further East along Thaa Atoll and we hope to enjoy more sightings of pelagic and reef fish. The beauty of Thaa Atoll is the lack of resorts in the region and only liveaboards bringing divers or surfers get to experience this region.
Dive 3 -Fushifaru Kandu is found at the North of Thaa Atoll and we shall experience the great wall and channel diving at this rarely dived site.
Dive 4 -Fushifaru Reef many creatures and critters can be found here during the night dive.
Day 5 – Thaa Atoll – 4 dives
Dive1 -Vaanee Kandu. The channel is quite wide and dependant on tides the current can be very strong. We shall dive this first thing in the morning as the opportunity to observe pelagics is greater at this time of day.
Dive 2 -Galandharu Kandu.
The third dive of the day is at Velavaru Thila on Kuda Thila. This dive has it all and is one of the highlights of the atoll. We anchor overnight in the lagoon off Vaanee Island and make a night dive looking for the numerous good macro subjects the lagoon has to offer.
Day 6 – North & South Nilandhe Atoll – 4 dives
Dive 1 -Fushi Kandu is an exceptional dive with five thilas across the one km wide channel. Divers can take a look at the outside drop off for sharks, eagle rays and other big fish. The sandy shallows offer opportunities to observe stingrays and nurse sharks.
Dives 2 & 3 -Filitheyo Thila. Around the thila are numerous caves and reef outcrops that attract sharks, napoleon and eagle rays.We make two dives here for the large pelagics before a sunset or night dive on the house reef in search of leaf fish and many other critters.
Day 7 – South Ari Atoll – 3+ Dives
Dive 1 -Kudaven Kandu is a fantastic spot for seeing eagle rays along with schooling fish and grey reef sharks
Dive 2 -We spend time looking for whale sharks on the fringing reefs of South Ari Atoll and where we find them we will dive with them.
Dive 3 -Panettone. This dive site is exceptional. There are many features of interest including reef outcrops at 27 metres where white-tips and grey reef sharks, barracuda and giant trevally gather. The reef is covered in soft coral and at certain times of the year passing manta rays can be seen.
Day 8 – Ari Atoll – 4 Dives
The first dive of the day is at Fish Head. The site is well known for the presence of a large school of grey reef sharks and combined with the underwater scenery and the wide variety of marine life, have given this reef the reputation of being among the best dive sites in the Maldives.
Dive 2 –Himendhoo Thila.
Dive 3 -Maalhoss Thila, at an area known as ‘blue caves’. We shall explore these caves as they descend one after another down to around 27 metres. The ceilings are covered in soft corals in a mixture of colours, mostly white but also blue and violet.
Dive 4 –Fesdu Wreck a 30 metre coastal fishing trawler that lies upright on the bottom at 29 metres whilst the top of the wheel house is at 24 metres. Corals are well established and among the superstructure you will find many moray eels, whilst the engine room is guarded by a big grouper.
Day 9 – Rashdoo & North Ari Atoll – 4 dives
Dive 1 -Halaveli Wreck sunk in 1991 as an artificial reef for divers this 40m steel vessel lays between 20-30metres along a flat bottom. The wreckage is home to moray eels and marble rays; whilst jackfish and schooling fusiliers swarm over the wreckage
Dive 2 -Maaya Thila. The thila is about 80 metres in diameter and can easily be circumnavigated in one dive. There are many caves and overhangs all around the thila where white-tip reef sharks, dog-toothed tuna and great barracuda can all be seen.
Dive 3 -Angothi Thila (shark point) and as the name suggests the site attracts sharks including grey reef sharks and white-tip reef sharks as the site acts as a cleaning station.
Dive 4 –Madivharu Kandu a great spot for a night dive
Day 10 – Rashdoo & North Ari Atoll – 2 dives
Dive 1 -An early morning dive and we make no excuses for it. Rashdoo is now famous for sightings of scalloped hammerhead sharks that rise from deep waters on the outside of the wall in the early hours. These residential sharks prefer to swim in large schools and are timid, but in the clear waters divers can get a good look at their peculiar head shape.
Dive 2 -Kuramathi House Reef (Kandu) and you can enjoy two wrecks close by the island; the first a dhoni and the second a cargo ship. The reef itself has good coral and fish life
Day 11 – Male Airport
After breakfast disembark the Maldives Siren and transfer to Male airport for you onward international flight or continue your stay in the Maldives at one of the many resort islands
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