Welcome to the Maldives.... 1192 coral islands!

So I though I should explain a little bit about the country were I am working...

For those of you who don’t know, the Maldives lies in the Indian Ocean just South West of Sri Lanka and India. Spread over 90,000 square kilometers, and stretching about 900km from North to South, the Maldives is actually a country that is mostly made up of ocean, 99% ocean to be precise. So now you know why I came here! A dream come true for a Marine Biologist. The remaining 1% comprises 1192 coral islands which make up the 26 atolls of the Maldives.

So what is an atoll I hear you all asking. The word atoll itself actually originated from the Maldivian language known as Dhivehi. How atolls are formed is very impressive and worth explaining so here goes, i will try and be brief! According to Charles Darwin, the Maldives is part of an underwater mountain range that stretches 2000km. He hypothesized that shifting tectonic plates caused volcanic islands to erupt from the ocean floor. These resulting volcanoes became dormant providing the perfect place for reef building corals to come and grow.  As the volcanoes began to submerge back into the ocean floor, the corals continued to grow upwards towards the light. Eventually all you are left with is an outer ring of coral reef enclosing a shallow lagoon. And that is what an atoll is, fascinating stuff!!! I’m not quite finished though as there is a slight ongoing debate about how the Maldivian atolls were formed. The other theory is that layers of coral reef actually built up on top of the underwater mountains and gradually grew to the surface. As the sea level rose and fell due to glacial melts the corals also grew up with the sea level rise and eroded away when the sea level fell. The highest and hardest corals on the outer edge remained forming rings while the weaker corals in the centre broke down.

Within the atolls are strings of islands and sand banks which have been formed entirely from broken corals which have been eroded over time. Each island has their own unique reef were you can find countless colourful fish and vibrant corals.  Every atoll also has deep channels dividing the outer coral reef ring. These channels were created over the years by tides and storms. Strong currents flow in and out of these channels twice-daily bringing an influx of nutrients and oxygen rich waters which keep the lagoon alive.  Not to mention all the marine animals; turtles and dolphins shelter in the lagoon during the day while manta’s and sharks migrate in and out following the currents and the flow of food.  It’s an underwater haven, another world entirely!

So in a nutshell this entire country has been built up from coral reefs. It is the sixth largest reef system in the world containing 3% of the World’s total reefs!!! Ok enough with the scientific explanations. How can I best explain… the Maldives is simply tropical paradise, if you’re a diver then it’s a place not to be missed. Even if you don’t dive, it’s a place not to be missed! As well as the sheer beauty of the place, it’s a geographical marvel. Out of the 1192 islands only 200 are local islands and 130 are resort islands.  That leaves about 850 uninhabited islands surrounded by 99% water!!! For me it’s like being on a permenent postcard…. That’s what I first thought when I stepped onto one of these small islands were the sand was so white and so fine. I was surrounded by clear turquoise waters and beautiful reefs, and all I could see for miles were other small islands dotted in the distance. It was breathtaking. I couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing or were I was. Unfortunately now after being here for nearly 3 years I am getting quite accustomed to these beautiful views, I almost take it for granted. I have to keep reminding myself how lucky I am to be here! However, beauty may come with a price.... The Maldives is actually the lowest country in the world. The islands lie on average only about 1.5m above sea level with the highest point being only 2.4m!! So the question everyone is asking is will the Maldives still be here in say the next 100 years or will the islands disappear beneath the waves? Will global warming and sea level rise take its toll?? Well that’s a whole other story which I will blog about some other time…….. For now enjoy some of my favourite photos which will hopefully convey the beauty of the Maldives as I see it :) 

Bottlenose Dolphins at Sunset

You can never get bored of watching dolphins. What is it about these beautiful and charismatic animals that we all love. In the past 3 years I have been on many many dolphin cruises. I have been lucky enough to see Spinner, Bottlenose and Risso's dolphins and short-fin Pilot Whales. The Maldives is actually one of the top five places in the world to see cetaceans. Out of the 80 species worldwide, 23 species have been recorded in the Maldives. This includes the largest animal on the planet, the magnificent Blue Whale which is known to migrate past. I have never seen one though! 

The most common and abundant dolphins to see though are the Spinner dolphins. These are the guys we generally see on the dolphin cruise. I have seen them in there hundreds jumping and spinning out of the water. It's a very cool sight. So as you can imagine I was pleasantly surprised, well more like amazed, when on Thursday’s dolphin cruise we stumbled upon a huge pod of not Spinner dolphins but Bottlenose dolphins. I have never seen anything like it before, there must have been between 300 and 500 of them. It's actually very hard to work out numbers of dolphins when there are so many, you kind of have to guesstimate! We were surrounded, they were jumping and swimming around the boat, playing at the front of the bow, it was beautiful and such a rare sight. Normally whenever I have seen bottlenose dolphins in the past, it has always been small family pods of about 5 to 20, not over 300!!!! 

It really was amazing to watch, to be surrounded by these cute and happy faces. Bottlenose dolphins always look happy as their small stubby beak gives them a smiley face. Who could resist that, even I couldn’t stop smiling, no one could! I have never taken video of any dolphin cruises before but as this was such a rare and beautiful sight I wanted to capture it on film and share it with you. Unfortunately my camera battery died but I managed to get a few minutes of footage. Please check out the video here

There is nothing like seeing dolphins in the wild that can't bring a smile to your face, even on a bad day! Enjoy.....

Welcome to my blog "Tales from the Reef"

So here I am, where to start.... I've always been fascinated by the underwater world. When i was younger I loved to read books on sharks, so terrifying but truely wonderful at the same time. The oceans to me were mysterious places and i wanted to know more.... so I followed my dream and after years of study and working in remote beautiful places i finally find myself here, the Maldives, a beautiful country under the sea and above. I have been working here as a Marine Biologist for nearly 3 years and I have seen and experienced so many amazing and beautiful underwater encounters, sharks, turtles, manta rays, beautiful reefs, dolphins, I just never know what I might see next.

This blog will follow my underwater adventures, i will be uploading photos and videos of all the amazing things that i am lucky enough to witness and that i wanted to share with you all. Hopefully you will find it interesting and informative. I am very passionate about what i do and i hope my story will inspire others to follow their dreams.

So here goes...... Enjoy :)