Day 6 and 7 at the Conrad Maldives: whale sharks, Ithaa, snorkeling - April 2-3, 2014

Trip Index

• Planning and preparing for our epic vacation to New Zealand and the Maldives
• Flying to New Zealand via Honolulu, visiting Auckland and Devonport
• Waitomo Caves and Tongariro Alpine Crossing
• Taupo, Waikite Thermal Pools, to Christchurch
• Mt. Cook National Park
• AJ Hackett Kawarau Bungy Jump, K-Jet boating, hanging out in Queenstown
• Day 1 of Routeburn Track 3-day luxury guided walk
• Day 2 of Routeburn Track 3-day luxury guided walk
• Day 3 of Routeburn Track 3-day luxury guided walk
• Arrowtown, Wanaka, Mount Roy Track
• Franz Josef Glacier
• Tranz Alpine train Greymouth to Christchurch, then to Singapore
• From Singapore to Conrad Maldives Rangali Island
• Day 1 and 2 at the Conrad Maldives: beach villa, overwater spa, Atoll Market, snorkeling
• Day 3 at the Conrad Maldives: water villa, diving with manta rays, meeting new friends
• Day 4 and 5 at the Conrad Maldives: Vilu, Sunset Grill, reef diving
• Day 6 and 7 at the Conrad Maldives: whale sharks, Ithaa, snorkeling
• Returning from the Maldives via Singapore
• 10 hour layover in Seoul and landing safely in SFO

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Whale shark snorkeling is offered a few times a week at the Conrad Maldives resort depending on demand.  I read about the experience on the Conrad Maldives FlyerTalk forum to decide whether it was worth splurging $200 per person on it.  Most people were happy with the outcome, though a whale shark sighting wasn't guaranteed.  Some people saw none, others saw seven!  I decided why not, as we had never seen a whale shark before, and $50 of the cost would be donated to the Maldivian Whale Shark Research Programme.

Wednesday morning, Kaleb and I had a leisurely breakfast at Vilu, then headed over to the main island to board the snorkeling boat at 9am.  We picked up life jackets from the watersports center on the beach as instructed.  There were about 10 guests on board, plus two scientists, a diving photographer, and several crew members.  The excursion was to end around noon.  Before we left dock, each of the scientists gave a short lecture about whale sharks, its habitat, and what they're doing at the research center to study these behemoths.  Then we were briefed on what we needed to do when a whale shark was spotted, ie. get your snorkeling gear on quick and jump into the water straight away!

boarding the snorkeling boat

where we were going

look at how big its mouth is!

It took less than an hour to get to where the whale sharks would be hanging around.  Complimentary water and soda were available on-board for refreshment.

on the lookout

Once we slowed down into whale shark territory, one was immediately sighted!  The boat moved towards the disturbance in the water while the rest of us hurriedly donned our life jackets and snorkeling gear, excitedly awaiting the OK to enter the water.  Then it was time to go, go, go!  When I jumped in, I couldn't spot the whale shark until it was almost too far away as it was swimming very fast.  I swam toward it but the life jacket kept me bobbing on the waves.  Thankfully, one of the scientists grabbed my hand to pull me towards the rest of the group as he had super long fins for powerful propulsion.  I was able to spend a short amount of time following it.  Kaleb got some nice pictures and video; his life jacket was also a nuisance as he wasn't able to dive down closer.  The whale shark eventually disappeared into the depths and we all got back into the boat to search again.

awesome!

1:08 vid of our first whale shark encounter: (click here if you cannot see the preview below)


At first, there were only two boats out there (and it was just us for that first encounter!), but later, more showed up from other resorts or dive centers.  The scientists said that it was good and bad to have so many boats; good that they can all look for whale sharks, and bad since so many people in the water can make the whale shark swim deep to escape the commotion.

We only had an hour left before we had to head back to the resort.  In the meantime, there was another sighting but it was gone by the time Kaleb and I got into the water. (we ditched the life jackets and no one seemed to care, though some reviewers said that life jackets were mandatory)  Finally, just as we were to turn back home, there was a sighting!  Every boat was there so there were lots of people in the water (mostly inexperienced snorkelers kicking everywhere and grabbing onto people) but we were fortunate to have found "Lucky the whale shark" (named due to scars on his body from an unfriendly encounter with a motor boat) as he didn't mind having a bunch of humans invading his personal space.  This time, I knew to look down for him immediately after jumping in, and with no life jacket to impede my movement, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  All of us were experienced snorkelers so we were able to get a lot of time with Lucky by swimming faster than the rest.

so many boats

example of the madness

1:12 vid of our whale shark encounter: (click here if you cannot see the preview below)


Great ending to our snorkeling trip!  On the way back, everyone shared a fruit platter and hydrated with beverages. 

I assume this is Sprite

I should note that not everyone had a good time.  A young lady got seasick and pretty much stayed on board the whole time, once in a while puking in the bathroom.  The boat was a bit rocky in the waves while it slowed down for the whale shark search.  It also didn't help that she wasn't facing forward and kept her eyes focused down to the deck instead of looking towards the horizon.

The remainder of the day was spent snorkeling in the ocean outside our water villa.  It was best to wait for high tide as the water was so shallow that during low tide, hard coral would be exposed and there would be fewer channels to swim around them.

low tide; coral exposed out there

difference between low and high tide on the pole

our water villa sandwiched in the middle

1:26 vid of snorkeling: (click here if you cannot see the preview below)


39-second choppy video of a cool looking bright yellow puffer fish: (click here if you cannot see the preview below)


After snorkeling and dinner (good ol' freeze-dried meals!), we roamed around our island looking for photo opportunities.  We ended up finding George the heron again!  Or are there multiple Georges?  Hmm...

bougainvillea

this bird is everywhere

Then we headed over to the nearby Quiet Zone for drinks.  It was very dark so I didn't get any pictures.  We settled into one of a few large loungers designed for couples.  Hardly anyone was there so we had really good service.  A small bowl of savory snacks accompanied the beverages.  I could see why a lot of people commented positively on the forum regarding dinner at the Quiet Zone, as it was intimate and romantic.  As we left, the bartender called out to us, "See you tomorrow!"  Just a simple greeting like that can make one feel welcomed and want to return.

Thursday was our last full day at the Conrad.  We had breakfast at Vilu, then a few hours later, we headed over to the main island for our 11am cocktail reservation at Ithaa, the resort's underwater restaurant.  You could have lunch or dinner here, but due to the high price, we settled on the $55/pp cocktail.

We took the dhoni to the main island.  There was another couple with us, maybe in their 50's, being "ugly Americans".  The husband gave his camera to one of the crew and ordered, "Take a picture!" as he posed at the front of the boat.  Then he criticized the mechanics of the dhoni, asking the crew why the bow designed inefficiently, how there was a lot of wasted wood, etc., though he wasn't really expecting an answer.  The wife didn't say anything, but she wasn't exempt, as Kaleb remembered this was the same couple sitting near us during breakfast at Atoll Market on the main island.  She asked their server if he had tried pork; upon receiving a negative answer, said he should because it tasted good, that people should have the right to eat whatever they want. 

Of course, this couple followed us to Ithaa.  We checked in at the Sunset Grill, where we had dinner on Tuesday night.  As we were a few minutes early, we sat down until more people showed up; eventually our group of 8 was led to the entrance.  The husband of the annoying couple was in front of us and as he entered Ithaa, he closed the door right in Kaleb's face!  I don't mean not holding the door, but pushed the door closed.  Even better was that the door had a large glass pane so you could see others outside.  I was glad that we didn't run into them again.

tables over the water at Sunset Grill

Ithaa entrance above water

shoes off

glass table with depressions to float flowers in water

We received our cocktails in the over-water building.  Kaleb had champagne and I had a smoothie.  The hostess also shared a few details about the special glass used for the underwater portion, its thickness, how it was cleaned every day by the diving staff, etc.  Then we headed down into the underwater dining room to enjoy the scenery.

Kaleb and his bubbly

stairs to the underwater room

heading down

even deeper

inside the 14-person underwater restaurant

under the sea

two canapes were also served

fish swimming by

is this on the menu?

24-second clip of the inside of Ithaa: (click here if you cannot see the preview below)


Ithaa was cool because it was an underwater restaurant, but not as awesome for us as Kaleb and I saw so much during our dives.  You could also go to the aquarium and get the same experience.  Perhaps dinner would be interesting...people recommended making reservations at a time while the sun is still out to experience both light and dark (stingrays come out at night) during your 3 to 4 hour meal.

Since we were on the main island, we stopped by the diving center to check out the photos and videos taken by the photographer during whale shark snorkeling.  The material was very good, but as we had success using our own camera, we didn't purchase.

We spent the rest of our last afternoon at the resort exploring the small island and doing more snorkeling starting from the northern tip all the way down until the current got too strong.  I forgot to put sunscreen on my folds of my butt so I was burned yet again. (those lines are still there as of this writing!)


25-second clip of a spotted puffer fish: (click here if you cannot see the preview below)


48-second vid of fish swimming around: (click here if you cannot see the preview below)


Even though I read reviews saying that the snorkeling wasn't as good on the small island compared to the house reef, if you looked carefully and patiently within the beds of coral, you could see many varieties of sea creatures.  I even found an octopus hiding, but I couldn't coax it out to record it.  We had the entire ocean to ourselves so I didn't mind floating idly, getting glimpses here and there for exotic sea life, burning my butt in the process.  Another nice thing...we would just climb up the stairs to our water villa and wash off the salt with the outdoor hand shower before heading into the bath!

We finally had time to go to the complimentary happy hour over at Vilu bar. (offered to all guests on the small island as well as Hilton HHonors Gold and Diamond members)  There was a dedicated menu with several selections of beer, cocktails and wine.  A server also came around with a plated canape.  We arrived near the end of the hour so I wasn't sure if there were a lot more appetizers passed around or just one bite per person.  Too bad we were so busy during the week that we didn't take frequent advantage of this amenity!

tropical cocktails

seared tuna

For the remainder of the evening, we explored more areas on the small island (should have spent more time at the Quiet Zone!) and took pictures frolicking in the powdery white sand with the birds at sunset.  You'd think we had the whole island to ourselves!

at the outdoor yoga pavilion

everywhere there are water urns with ladle to wash sand off your feet

the Quiet Zone pool and the ocean seem to blend together

at the southern part of the island

separated water villas (cost more of course!)

sunset at the northern tip of the small island

chasing the birds away

Tomorrow, we leave the Maldives (boo hoo!) and head back home with layovers in Singapore and Seoul.  Stay tuned!

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