Following the flow to Fuvahmulah
Diving with tiger sharks in Maldives
After spending almost three weeks in Thulusdhoo I started to get the feeling change was brewing.
I’d started asking around to find out where the best Maldives free diving locations are. I first asked a friend who’d spent some time scuba diving and he had heard Fuvahmulah was the Mecca for oceanic enthusiasts. That afternoon I had a coffee with another friend Christian, who told me his next destination was none other than Fuvahmulah. At this point the name hadn’t quite clicked but when I left I asked him to send me some more info and off I went to enjoy my last night with my soul sister and month long travel companion Aluna.
We had a funny last night together, smuggling a friend we’d met at the airport on our flight from Sri Lanka into our guest house… I say smuggle lightly because I think the guest house knew and they were soooo sweet and generous with this little situation!
I checked my phone and I’d been sent the information from Christian about ‘Fuvahmulah’… an instagram story of two of my dear friends from Australia who were there running a free diving retreat! this was my third ‘sign’ and my intuition was telling me to make it happen. Christian was travelling with his beautiful mum Karen and they had a flight booked the following day, I checked their flight and saw it had 4 seats available.
I woke up the next morning bright and early ready to walk my two pals to the ferry port and send them off on their way but as we began to walk I started to get the strangest feeling that I needed to be getting on that boat with them. I voiced this aloud, gave my friends a big hug in case I didn’t make it back in time and bolted back to throw my bag together and try make this ferry!
As I walked back to the port I could see my friends in the distance laying on the ground relaxing and the ferry a short distance away pulling into the harbour. As they got up to see the ferry and noticed me hurrying back to meet them it was the funniest scene of cheers, laughter and dancing! I didn’t yet have a flight ticket or any plan but I had a feeling and I was ready to follow the flow.
I had no local SIM card; so there I was on the ferry to the airport with no booking. and a rough idea that there was only 4 seats left on the flight I hoped to catch later that afternoon. When we got to the port and connected to coffee club wifi I hit my first red light: this flight was no longer available.
Determined not to give up in trust that I’d been guided toward this decision for a reason I walked a block to the airline office to ask if it was for certain booked out.
Yes, fully booked.
Still not convinced I took a second water ferry to the airport terminal to meet Christian who had already asked the airline check in staff to put me on standby. I went to check again myself and the sweet airline host let me know, ‘still no seats, come back 10 minutes before check in closes and we will see if we can fit you on’There I was, waiting in limbo.
When I got back to the counter at 10 to there was another woman in line seemingly in the same position hoping for the same flight! It was the funniest awkward tension listening as the airline host told her there was already one person on standby ahead of her and her trying to persuade that to be changed unknowing that there I was, where I’d been for the past 3 hours patiently waiting for golden news behind her.
As she stepped back and the airline host made eye contact with me she smiled and nodded; at this point I think the other woman realised and we both kinda stood there awkwardly unsure. At that point I was honestly wracking my brain thinking of what I would do if she said ‘only one seat left’ the other woman was travelling with a group and here I was just winging it… I didn’t neeeed to be there… maybe again this was a push back from the universe?
5 minutes past check in the airline lady’s face lit up.
‘We have two no shows!’
The two of us hollered and cheered and hugged with pure joy! When I tell you I was excited to get on that plane that would be an understatement. Christian and his mum were eagerly awaiting the news past security… when I ran round the corner boarding pass in hand it was celebration round two all over again!
We were off!
Fuvahmulah is the third largest island in Maldives Measuring roughly 4.5 km in length and 1.2 km in width. located almost 500 km south of Male it is the only one island atoll in Maldives. Unlike other island atolls, Fuvahmulah is surrounded by deep ocean with no lagoon. The centre of the island holds a marshy swamp that is surrounded by jungle palms. There is one ring road around the island which will take you from the southern harbour to the northern ‘sunset beach’ named Thoondu.
Apon arriving in Fuvahmulah with no accomodation, no SIM card and nothing organised I was introduced to a beautiful crew of scuba divers travelling with the woman I sat next to on the plane. We exchanged numbers and they gave me the contact for their dive guide Ricky who is honestly one of the friendliest humans I’ve ever met!
Christian and his mum had organised a taxi to their hotel who had said they had a spare room. We stayed at the Equator Retreat which is run by the sweetest man and his wife who were extremely generous with their time and helpful organising flights and transfers.
I jumped in with them, saw the room then went to visit my friends Bella and Ewan on the other side of the island for sunset and dinner! I felt like a crazy woman marching down the beach with no idea which way was up, where I was or much conscious call to be there, I just was… completely in flow with my intuition.
It was great to socialise, meet some like minded ocean lovers and have a delicious meal! I went back to my hotel and got a good nights rest ready for the next days mission; find the best dive school!
Under the direction of Bella aka the queen of underwater world and the mermaid behind Immersia Freediving I went to Pelagic Dive Fuvahmulah.
It was here I decided to go free diving with tiger sharks.
The team at pelagic are professional and knowledgeable; the company is owned by water man Ahmed Inah whose passion for Sharks and marine conservation is unmatched. You can feel his love for the ocean and these animals in all that this business is and does.
If you do wish to swim with an Apex predator choosing a trusted local operator that prioritises safety and respect for these incredible creatures is vital. I felt so comfortable and safe diving with Inah at Pelagic and believe his education of shark behaviour and preservation is incredibly inspiring.
The tiger shark dive is located at the entrance to the Fuvahmulah harbour.
On arrival to PDF all divers are given an informative briefing that includes information about the dive site, dive plan, tiger shark behaviour and the sharks that commonly frequent the area. Their team includes knowledgable local guides,
I can’t even describe the feeling the first time I jumped in the water and saw one of these majestic creatures swimming beside me.
Awe inspiring doesn’t do it justice…. It was quite literally breathtaking. The only other time I’ve come close to feeling this way is when I first swam with a great white shark (in a cage) but that’s a story for another time.
when I got off the boat and under the water I couldn’t help but cry tears of love and joy. The ocean will forever have my heart and hold my favourite memories; This being one of them.
Fuvahmulah is a unique destination that holds incredible natural wonder.
This experience would not have been the same if it weren’t for my ‘brother’ Christian and his angel of a mother Karen taking me in and treating me as one of their own. After four months of solo travel this beautiful connection and family dynamic was exactly what my soul needed. Christians creativity and our shared love for underwater world, sharks and photography is what drew us together as friends; his talent and dedication to his craft inspire me and I feel so grateful to have had this experience shared.
A talented videographer Christian has shared with me the beautiful drone and underwater photographs in this blog. He also helped me snap the amazing golden hour palm tree photos.
you can find him and more examples of his work on instagram here.
with love and light,
Asta
xx
