Beyond the Mantas: Sharks, Rays, and Unforgettable Encounters in the Maldives
By now, I should hope you have read my first instalment from my recent Maldives liveaboard trip, all about the magnificent manta action we had on the trip. If you haven’t, then you can read it here:
While the manta ray action was, of course, a real standout portion of the trip, that is not to say there weren’t many, MANY more incredible encounters with other amazing marine life throughout the week. Think sharks, octopus, stingrays, eagle rays, and more. Please read on to find out more.
Once again, I was on a trip with The Scuba Place, on one of our most popular liveaboard trips over the years – onboard Sachika with Top Class Cruising and a Best of the Central Atolls itinerary. Like I said in my previous article, this was my fourth time joining Sachika around autumn time for a Central Atolls itinerary.
Things started a little differently from my previous trips, and it was a very welcome surprise to kickstart proceedings. Onboard at around 11.30am and after a welcome boat briefing, my plan was to catch up on the lack of sleep from the tiring journey. However, to my surprise, we were offered a snorkel trip at around 3pm to the Stingray City/Fish Tank area. Alas, never one to miss an opportunity, I had to make sure my nap wasn’t too long. It really caught me by surprise as a new introduction to the trip, and it really helped set the tone for the special week. Let’s start with a bang!!
Yes!! This place can be a bit of a circus, to be honest. Stingrays, honeycomb morays, and an array of fish life are the highlight of the dive/snorkel area, mainly due to its close proximity to a tuna factory. Throw in the fact that a number of day boats visit the area to dump a load of snorkellers in the water, while the fish and ray life are fed from the back of the boat, and it does get a little messy and not ideal, in my honest opinion. I wanted to be transparent about the experience here.
However, it is still amazing to witness so much life underwater, and the number of rays is mind-blowing. Even in the hustle and bustle of the flailing crowds, if you’re smart enough, you can break away and find solace in a quiet patch amongst the mayhem. With so much life underwater, you will be greeted by some special moments. A marbled ray amongst the more abundant whipray species the site is famous for provided one of those moments.
Two positives to being offered this snorkel trip on the arrival day: I got to test my camera equipment and set everything up, and I also felt more comfortable diving down without the worry of having already been scuba diving for a week. A great start to get the juices flowing.
Day 1 provided another welcome surprise and a new adventure for me on this trip. I’m pretty positive I’ve never dived Rasdhoo Madivaru on any of my previous trips. I certainly didn’t dive it last time, that’s for sure.
At first, as we swam along the ridge, I was thinking the worst. It was a very busy dive site, with a host of divers lined up side by side along the edge of the reef drop-off, all looking out into the blue at the shark spectacle that greeted them. It felt like a lifetime passing the line as we caught glimpses of the sharks through the divers.
Then Hassan found us the perfect spot at the end of the line, at a point in the ridge that edged out slightly for an amazing vantage point. I was in awe, and suddenly the worry of the crowds drifted away.
What a spectacle was happening in front of me, as grey reef sharks, which I’m sure numbered close to 50, patrolled the blue on the edge of the reef. Back and forth, back and forth, with the turning point happening right in front of me. At times, edging really close as the anthias danced around them, and a lone whitetip reef shark tried to steal the limelight.
What an amazing dive, and as the other dive groups slowly dispersed, for a brief moment our little group of five had that special feeling of alone time with the sharks.
The following evening saw us descend for our first night dive, back to one of my favourites – Maayaa Thila. This dive has delivered on all three previous visits, and I always look forward to it. But WOW, this time it blew my mind and has certainly beefed up since my last visit.
The usual suspects were around – whitetip reef sharks, huge jackfish, hunting moray eels, and marbled rays – but now we had grey reef sharks, and they were active. I’ve never had them on the dive before, but down at 30 metres they were darting around with the whitetips and jacks in and out of the spotlight, on occasion making a beeline straight for my dome port. Really building the excitement, and I may or may not have let out a few joyous screams underwater.
What a great dive once again, and my most memorable Maayaa Thila night dive to date.
Unfortunately, bad visibility did follow us around a bit on this trip, but it was one of the main reasons we had such great manta ray action. You can’t win them all, as they say.
The next couple of days (Days 3 and 4) probably suffered the most from the bad visibility. I love Fish Head dive site, and four years ago it was a real highlight of the trip in great vis. However, the vis did kind of dampen the experience this time around. Still some great close-up hawksbill turtle and moray eel action, but the vis made it difficult to see the patrolling sharks on the edge of the reef.
Day 3 did provide some firsts once again, though, and a real buzz for me. My first cuttlefish in the Maldives at Hafsa Thila, and if you know me, you know I’m a sucker for a cephalopod. Their changing colours and unique patterns are always so mesmerising.
I then switched up to macro for Fesdhoo Wreck and got my first-ever robust ghost pipefish in the Maldives. I was seriously rusty with my macro photography but managed to get a few shots off, along with some spearing mantis shrimp. I must admit, though, if it wasn’t for the ghost pipefish, I’d have loved to have my wide angle on for the wreck. We had some great vis on the dive, and there is so much amazing coral and fish life on the wreck and nearby reef. A really, really nice dive.
While the vis was difficult at times, as a photographer it can be quite enjoyable to try to get some more moody, underexposed shots, using the strobes to bring out some intense colours. Day 4 was a good day for this, with some curled-up anemones providing intense colours, especially at Kudarah Thila, a fantastic dive inundated with snappers, and one that would be incredible in better vis.
Before moving on to Day 5, which started with some super-friendly hawksbill turtles on both morning dives at Broken Rock and 7th Heaven. The bad vis was not causing too much of a problem when the turtle basically comes and leans on your dome. It was also my first close-up action with a friendly baby eagle ray, one of my favourite ray species, but also one that makes photography testing.
We then had some amazing visibility at Kunaavashi Kandu. While we saw plenty of sharks, a Napoleon wrasse, a marbled ray, and a small school of barracuda on the dive, it was the vis everyone was talking about afterwards.
I don’t think you could complete a Central Atolls itinerary without a trip to Alimatha Jetty. My usual trips have started with this dive on the very first night. This time, we finished the night diving of the trip with it.
It’s always a fun dive with guaranteed nurse sharks and stingrays in big numbers. However, it does get a little crazy under there, especially with the number of divers between all the other dive groups. A sudden change in current speed added to the madness about ten minutes into the dive.
Thankfully, after a short while, our group found a nice little spot on the sand away from the crowds, with a little less current hitting us. Sharks continued to pass by, and I even got a nice close-up of a blacktip reef shark as well.
A little tip from me, though: pick your travel/dive company wisely. Some bad practice was definitely witnessed underwater, and it wasn’t our dive boat/group.
The trip finished with a bang – a really big BANG!! The last day of diving created those scream-underwater moments to seal the trip in style.
Dive 1 at Miyaru Kandu started with sharks in the deep, before shallowing up to find a number of octopus on top of the reef. I’ve already alluded to the fact that I’m a sucker for a cephalopod, so finding a few octopus coming out from their little hideouts to explore the reef is always a special treat. A hawksbill turtle tried to vie for my attention, but the octopi had my heart.
Dive 2 at Kandooma Thila was THE dive, though, creating one of the best moments of the trip. A dive that started quite deep once again, hooked on watching the grey reef sharks and a few eagle rays patrol outside the reef. Which was great, no doubt, but I’ve always wanted that close-up eagle ray action.
We left the crowds and drifted along the reef. More close shark passes again got the juices flowing, before the grand finale. There they were, as Hassan pointed frantically ahead in excitement. I was a little way off and couldn’t quite make them out at first, but I knew it was special.
Then my eyes adjusted to the magnificent sight of a school/fever of eagle rays swimming in our direction. So graceful as they swam gently into the current. An incredible ten minutes ensued as I became part of the school, swimming amongst them at times. I wasn’t the only stranger in the school either – we noticed one lone mobula ray also swimming amongst them.
What a truly special moment with one of my favourite ray species, the eagle ray, and their adopted mobula.
With my late flight on Saturday, meaning I could fit one more dive in, it was time to try Hulhumale Wall close to the harbour where we ended the trip. A site known for its potential for large shark species and the amazing guitarfish.
I had high hopes for the dive and was really hoping my luck would continue. Unfortunately, while the dive was still super exciting with huge numbers of stingrays and, once again, another eagle ray feeding in the sand, I didn’t really get the close-up shark action I was hoping for, nor did I see a guitarfish for the first time.
I did, however, see spinner sharks for the first time in my life – a new shark species to add to my list of ones I’ve shared the water with. Although it was a fleeting glimpse, and as a photographer, I always feel gutted when I’m unable to capture them.
Honestly, I’m starting to sound like a broken record when it comes to this Best of Central Atolls trip onboard Sachika. It really is getting better and better every time in terms of overall interactions and enjoyment. I honestly don’t know how it can, though, as it’s always been so good.
It’s well known that things do get better over time, as experience plays a major part. The crew’s ability to make minor adjustments to improve the overall experience can’t be underestimated. It helped to improve the dives and get us in the right place at the right time.
What a trip. And hey!! We have this trip running next November. Who’s in????? Get in touch for more details and come dive with me!!!!
Come Diving With Me:
www.thescubaplace.co.uk
sean@thescubaplace.co.uk
Instagram: @greatwhitesean
