[Maldives] Trip Report : FEB. 09-16, 2019, Deep South Equatorial Route from MALE to GAAFU Vol.2

[#Maldives] Trip Report : FEB. 09-16, 2019, Deep South #Equatorial Route from #MALE to #GAAFU Vol.2

We are on the special route, which goes through #Male, #Vaavu, #Meemu, #Thaa, #Laamu and #Gaafu Atoll, near the Equator! This trip is only held once a year!

The day 3, the 1st dive of the day was at Dhiyamigili Out in th Thaa Atoll. We searched for hammerhead sharks but there was no sign of them.  The visibility was great. The sharks we encountered with were Silky Sharks! The 2nd dive was at Graidhoo Corner. We drifted along with the reef by the nice ocean current. Beautiful Corals were very nice here to see. One of our dive groups ran into a Whale Shark! Unfortunately I didn’t get the luck. The 3rd dive was at Vadinolhu Kandu in the Laamu Atoll. At the place where the currents meet, big number of Bluestriped Snappers and Anthias were gathered.  Napoleon and Bigeye Trevallies were also seen. We could observe endemic species near the reef. Macro is good too in Maldives.

The day 4, we finally reached to the Gaafu Atoll! The weather wasn’t great, cloudy, and there was a strong wind as well. However, it didn’t affect to our diving. The 1st and the 2nd dive of the day were at Villingili Kandu in the Gaafu Atoll, which was the only channel point in the atoll. There were more than 3 dozens of Grey Reef Sharks we got to observe!  A big school of Yellowback Fusiliers getting attacked by the Grey Reef Sharks, Turtles and Napoleon were seen as well. The 3rd dive was at Kooddoo Shark Point. Although many sharks were expected to encounter, only a few of them showed up. What was wrong with them?? The air temperature was 26-33 deg.C. The water temperature was 26-28 deg.C.  The 3mm wetsuit was recommended. To be continued…