Conservation volunteering in the Maldives – part 4
The final part of my story of an amazing two weeks on a
beautiful island in the Maldives, where I volunteered as a research assistant
for the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme.
Tue 24th February:
I got up early to see the sun rise and watch herons on
the lagoon. The sea was slightly rougher again when we set off. Once again we
saw a hawksbill turtle not far from Dhigurah. There were lots of vessels around
Maamigilli all looking for whale sharks again, but there were none around. We
took the ‘environmental variables’ again, at three regular sites, using the Secchi
disk to measure the visibility and an apple to measure the strength and
direction of the current.
Grey heron taking off
We recorded 26 vessels and two turtles (the one I
spotted was actually a piece of cardboard, I was told). We returned to the
island just past Maamigilli, to drag snorkel along the reef. I saw a white-tip
reef shark, a large moray eel, two parrotfishes having a fight and lots of
large shoals of other fish. I was getting cold when the boat stopped and once
on board again I began to feel sea-sick for the first (and only) time on this
trip. I lay on the bench seat as we returned to port.
Wed 25th:
Before setting off, the researchers calibrated the lasers
on the camera used for whale shark measuring. We cruised a short way to a
snorkelling site known as the Arches. The visibility was good and it was
teeming with fish. There was a group of pipefish and several anemones with
attendant clownfish, and shoals of vivid yellow snappers.
Laser camera set-up for measuring whale sharks
Blackfoot anemonefish on their anemone (photo: Katie Hindle, MWSRP)
We continued to
Maamigilli and recorded all the vessels, cruising on for another hour or so.
Only on the return did we see the first and only hawksbill turtle of the day.
On the way back to Dhigurah we stopped again to snorkel at the Arches. There
were dolphins around when we arrived. The researchers could hear their high
pitched calls, but with my old ears I couldn’t. This time we saw a pair of
morays, looking menacing. The winds were lighter today and the sea state
calmer, so I had no problem with sea-sickness. In the evening, Katie and I
wandered about looking for fruit bats. There were plenty around, but they are
difficult to photograph.
Menacing moray eels
The endangered Maldivian fruit bat
Thu 26th:
We had a 10am start today, so I had some extra time to photograph
lizards and try to record the calls of the Asian koel (a type of cuckoo).
The Oriental garden lizard has a very long tail
The males are more colourful
Calls of the elusive Asian koel
When
we set off in the dhoni it was a bit rough at first, but soon calmed down. The
wind dropped and it became extremely hot on the roof of the boat. As usual,
there was one hawksbill turtle on the way to Maamigilli and lots of vessels to
record when we arrived. Shameel thought he’d seen a whale shark, so I hurriedly
got ready to go in the water, but it was a false alarm – just a shoal of fish.
We had a snorkel anyway, though the water was rather deep. There were large shoals
of shiny blue fusiliers, a big grouper and two octopuses. We continued on for a
while, then turned around, heading back to Maamigilli. Three spinner dolphins
passed while I was having lunch.
Black-saddle coral grouper
We reached the harbour at Maamigilli and went
to a café for a while before Katie took me to the terminal building to check in
for my scenic flight in the ‘Flying whale shark seeplane’. The flight only
lasted 20 minutes, but it was wonderful to see the reefs and islands from the
air in such a small plane. It’s also a good way to spot whale sharks, though
there were none around on this occasion.
Part of South Ari atoll from the air
Dhigurah island from the air
The flying whale shark
We returned to the boat and set off
for the Arches snorkelling site. Just before we got there, we spotted some
dolphins splashing around. One kept waving its tail in the air, then smashing
it into the water. There seemed to be at least four groups of dolphins, of
about 10 in each group. We continued to the Arches and snorkelled. The current
was strong and I kept being swept off the reef into deep water. Katie towed me
back each time, her huge freediving fins being much more effective than my
short ‘travel’ fins. That was my last day on the dhoni, so I said goodbye to
the captain and crew, who have been wonderful.
An aggregation of dolphins
Crew man Alam was always there to help me back on the boat
(photo: Katie Hindle, MWSRP)
Fri 27th:
Shameel has returned to Male on an early morning flight. I’d
hoped to photograph the crabs digging out their holes this morning, but the
tide had not covered the old holes, so there was very little activity.
I walked up the track through the forest, photographing a few lizards, then went onto the beach to continue the walk to the southern tip of the island. There is only a narrow channel through the sand bank separating Dhigurah from the next island.
I walked half way back and stopped to have a swim. I didn’t expect much marine life in the lagoon, but there were sand gobies and reef-top pipefish. Wherever there was some coral, it was occupied by a selection of reef fish. I returned to TME for lunch, then went back to the beach in the afternoon, with the GoPro on a pole, to film the pipefish. The gobies retreated into their holes when they saw the camera and refused to come out while it was there.
Later I attended another beach clean organised by TME guest house. We were driven in the truck to the point where we finished last time. Once again there were about 30 people taking part and we cleaned about half a mile of beach. 95% of the rubbish here is plastic water bottles. There really must be a better way of supplying drinking water, like getting it out of a tap perhaps.
Stalk-eyed ghost crab
I walked up the track through the forest, photographing a few lizards, then went onto the beach to continue the walk to the southern tip of the island. There is only a narrow channel through the sand bank separating Dhigurah from the next island.
The southern tip of Dhigurah
I walked half way back and stopped to have a swim. I didn’t expect much marine life in the lagoon, but there were sand gobies and reef-top pipefish. Wherever there was some coral, it was occupied by a selection of reef fish. I returned to TME for lunch, then went back to the beach in the afternoon, with the GoPro on a pole, to film the pipefish. The gobies retreated into their holes when they saw the camera and refused to come out while it was there.
Wobbly video of the Reef-top pipefish
Later I attended another beach clean organised by TME guest house. We were driven in the truck to the point where we finished last time. Once again there were about 30 people taking part and we cleaned about half a mile of beach. 95% of the rubbish here is plastic water bottles. There really must be a better way of supplying drinking water, like getting it out of a tap perhaps.
Plastic water bottles line the beach
Sat 28th:
I spent the day wandering around, taking the last photos
of streets, lizards and beaches. Women were out with wheelbarrows, sweeping the
streets and cleaning the town. Katie said goodbye at lunch-time, as she was
going to a conference on the next island in the afternoon. She gave me a whale
shark photograph with messages of thanks from Shameel and herself, which was
very kind of them. At 6:30 the guest house manager took me by car to the
harbour where I got a speedboat to Maamigilli airport. Katie was back from her
conference, so I met her at the harbour (and got another hug!). It’s been an amazing
two weeks. Thank you Katie and Shameel, Alam and the Captain, and all at TME
guest house for giving me a wonderful holiday.
Maldivian sunset
Maldives Tour Operators including water sports
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