Monday 24 March 2014

MALDIVES - Falhumaafushi,Gaafu Alifu Atoll

Our next stop was Falhumaafushi on the Gaafu Alifu Atoll.

Here's a classic example where looks can be deceiving..... On arrival, the waters were not overly inviting, it seemed that there were broken/dead coral, there was seaweed floating around (which tend to resemble floating poo) and the visibility was quite low. Nevertheless i never give up a chance to jump into the sea.....and I'm glad i did.

Here are some macro shots i managed to snap.....


I didn't know these little crabs were so colorful and prickly !!!!



A very VERY close-up of a brain coral.....


Managed to catch the light shimmering off the surface of the water and reflecting onto a brain coral


Now...if you think the underwater pictures were taken from a fancy underwater camera....you'd be wrong..... I used my four year old point-and-shoot camera, the Cannon D10. I've been wanting to get the D20 but i just found out that the D30 has already been released!!! (yes i'm slightly behind the times). I'm sure the D30 would yield nice pictures too, but i can say that a big part of photography is know where, when and how to take the shot. And if you've got that... then a 3rd generation camera can also produce beautiful pictures.


Then at the end of a long hard day snorkeling and being in total awe of the Indian ocean .....you can sit back...and enjoy this:










Saturday 22 March 2014

MALDIVES - Dhaalu Atoll

Dhaalu Atoll was a special place.....a plethora of marine life and the corals were largely untouched / undamaged. One of the best drift dives i have ever had. Never a dull moment, everywhere you looked there was something to see....I'll stop talking/typing and let you see it yourself:



I got to try out a new toy on this trip...the above was filmed with the Sony HDR-AS30V...definitely a different design, different sensor and different options.


















Wednesday 19 March 2014

MALDIVES - Addu Atoll

Traveling on from Alifu Dhaalu Atoll we moved on to Addu Atoll...still in the Maldives.





 Here on Vilingili Island we had a very relaxing time...aided significantly by our amazing surroundings.


 There was almost no need to ever leave the villa......except to eat their amazing breakfasts, and go diving...























Sunday 16 March 2014

With a little dusting off...we're back....this time in the MALDIVES !

Like an old gramophone with low-scratchy-sounds quickly turning into a full bodied melody, so too will my little blog slot right back into showing what we've recently been up to!!

The Maldives....Indian Ocean.....lots of atolls......warm inviting water......super abundant marine life....a very nice place!

The first stop was the Alifu Dhaalu Atoll...needless to say the first thing I did on arrival was ditch the traveling clothes and jump into the warm inviting waters. But...the trouble with not freediving for a long time is that you lose your ability to hold your breath..but you THINK you still can do it. So you take a deep breath and go down deep. A third of the way down you find yourself running our of air and needing to surface immediately!!!! .... "has it been THAT long since I last went freediving???"   Answer: Yes

So, the first order of business is getting back into shape, which surprisingly doesn't take that long.....just gotta expand those lungs again ...and re-grow flipper feet :)



.....Going a little deeper each time......



...while taking in the views of the abundant marine life which seem unafraid of humans ....getting very close and swimming right up to me!



Mafushivaru provided the perfect introduction to the Maldives. A quiet, clean, relaxing and very inviting location to forget where you just came from!

It didn't hurt that they had a private island that you could have all to yourselves as well...





...where you can have dinner on the beach.....by yourselves....