MALDIVES DIVER
COCOONED IN RAA
Raa Atoll sits right on the wild frontier of the northwestern Maldives, says DANIEL BRINCKMANN. Far away from any other dive operations, adventurous souls discover enormous numbers of fish, colourful diverse reefs and a generous measure of luxury
IT’S A GIANT’S PLAYGROUND destined to be etched into visitors’ minds forever. Several baitballs made up of millions of anchovies race over huge boulders and black corals like silvery cascades, rendering dive-buddies invisible until only the camera flashes reveal their location.
The anchovies appear to want to play “Sardine Run” with the large trevallies that are already on their game as we look for shelter from the current on the leeward side.
Hovering close to the peaks and valleys, a giant cone ahead of us makes an excellent viewpoint for schools of bannerfish and rainbow runners and a solitary grey reef shark, all navigating the fish soup.
With my needle now long past the 50-bar mark, I’m finding it difficult to break away from the
dazzling reefscape for my safety stop, to leave behind the dense schools of anthias, encrusted sponges, small shrimps and general diversity that could be taken straight from Komodo’s Batu Bolong. Aren’t Maldivian shallow reefs supposed to be barren ever since coral-bleaching began?
“No, not at all, it just depends where you go and especially if you know where to go,” DivePoint manager Miranda Pontiglioni says in her charming Italian accent.
“Actually, this was a rather average dive for Reethi Thila on a day with good current.”
The half-hour drive back to the island takes place amid discussions about the structural changes tourism has undergone in the Maldives.