Reethi Beach Resort may not have been as luxurious as Maalifushi by COMO, but what it lacked in ridiculously amazing luxury it made up for with some absolutely insane snorkelling opportunities.
The house reef starts about 2 metres from the beach and plays host to an incredibly vast array of marine life. Over my four days spent at Reethi, I was exposed to so many amazing creatures. I wanted to snorkel all day, every day!
I have snorkelled with parrot fish before at several different spots in the Philippines – but the parrot fish residing here were larger than any I had ever seen before. They came in so many colours and varieties, it was amazing! But what was even more amazing than their appearance was the sounds they made.
These amazing fish have big teeth – and use them to grind away at the coral which they then consume! Anything non-edible is then excreted as sand. The sound that they make as they grind at the coral can only be described as a ‘crunch’. This crunching sound is incredibly clear and loud underwater – so much so that I could often hear the parrot fish before I saw them!
There were hundreds, possibly thousands of these little blue fishies. About the size of my hand, they travelled in schools and were totally unphased by me. I held out my little camera in front of me and they were even coming close enough that I could have reached out and touched them!
I still cannot get over how utterly blue and clear the water was – check out the way these fish are reflected up onto the surface of the water!
The coral itself wasn’t incredibly brightly coloured like some reefs (stay tuned for my posts about snorkelling in Timor-Leste for some ridiculously colourful coral) but despite the lack of colour, this is a thriving reef. There are more fish than you could imagine and the anemone gardens are able to sustain many different species of marine life.
I love the way this little fish looks so suspicious of me.
This next photo gives you a little idea of just how close this reef is to the shore. This is where the coral ends, and immediately you can see sand getting shallower and shallower as it leads up to the beach. Whenever I entered the water I would only be able to go in as far as my hips before I put on my flippers because if I walked any further I would have been stepping directly onto the coral!
Check out how incredibly shallow the water is here!
I eventually took a breather to try and untangle my hair from the snorkel mask (RIP to about 20 strands of hair) and upon coming up to the surface, was treated to this glorious view.
It certainly isn’t the type of water you can find at just any old beach. The colour, the clarity, it is all pretty much perfect. Safe to say, I was a very happy little vegemite.
I was able to get up super close to these anemones and check out the little fish families that house them. It was pretty incredible!
My Maldives travel buddy Kate did not join me for the first snorkel. She has been cursed with some rather hindered eyesight and cannot see anything without her glasses. She also cannot wear contact lenses. Therefore, she had resigned herself to not being able to participate in any underwater activities. I initially suggested a prescription mask but she was sure it would not work as she had tried these in the past.
I found her floating around in the beautiful shallows and she looked so much like a mermaid! I really wanted her to come snorkelling with me and experience the gloriousness of the marine world.
You may look at this next photo of me and think “oh god girl – you need to get a tan pronto!” To that I say – this is me with a tan! Hands down the brownest I have ever been and I still look like vanilla icing! This Australian girl was definitely not made for the warmer climates – but I am slowly adjusting.
After showing Kate all the photos I had taken underwater, she kept saying how amazing everything looked! I encouraged her to go and at least try on a prescription mask and after a while – she decided to give it a go – with awesome results!
Before long, she was in the water excitedly exploring this amazing Maldivian reef!
This is just the beginning of the exploration of the Maldives underwater – and the marine life got better and better every single day! My new posting schedule is Tuesdays and Fridays (Aussie time) so make sure you come back on Tuesday for more fish, coral and even a pufferfish!
T H E L O W D O W N
Getting to Male: There are many different routes flying into Male, flights with Air Asia from Kuala Lumpur are some of the cheapest
Trans Maldivian Airways: This is the largest seaplane company flying to destinations in the Maldives
Getting to Reethi: Access is by seaplane or domestic flight – costs for return flights are $450 USD and $330 USD respectively
Reethi Beach: One of the most affordable resorts in the Maldives, basic rooms start at $165 USD per night
Snorkelling: Snorkel gear hire at Reethi is just $12.99 per 24 hours
Camera: Nikon Coolpix S31 – cheap, cheerful, waterproof and easy to use!
Threads: My cute bikini tops are by Aussie label Tigerlily Swimwear
Remember: To get into that water! It is an amazing world down there
Don’t forget to add me on Snapchat and Instagram – @wwellend – for more foolishness and travel adventures!
