Limosa - Birdwatching and Wildlife Hoildays Worldwide

Adrift in the Indian Ocean, four hundred miles southwest of the southern tip of India, the tiny Republic of Maldives is composed entirely of coral atolls, protecting a scatter of some 1200 sandy islets. All are small, and most can be walked around in less than an hour. These really are the picture postcard ‘desert islands’ of your dreams, with swaying palm trees, white sand beaches and turquoise lagoons.

Whilst these exquisite tropical islands have latterly become a well-known tourist destination, it is not yet widely realised that the Maldives offer some of the very best whale and dolphin watching in the world. This will be the primary focus of our trip - but there will also be plenty of opportunities for birding, to visit islands, to swim, to go snorkeling and to relax.

Especially exciting is the great diversity of cetaceans found here. On one trip alone we recorded nine species, and an astonishing 18 species have been noted from the boat over the last three seasons. Short-fin Pilot Whales and Spinner, Indo-Pacific Bottle-nosed and Risso’s Dolphins are all common, while Pantropical Spotted and Striped Dolphins, and Dwarf Sperm Whales are regulars, too. Other recent sightings have included superb views of Sperm Whale and Cuvier’s Beaked Whale. With luck we may see Longman’s Beaked Whale; long considered the rarest whale in the world, it is now known to occur regularly around the Maldives.

This most leisurely holiday will be led for us as usual by Dr. Charles Anderson, a professional marine biologist who has lived and worked in the Maldives since 1983. He is the foremost authority on both cetaceans and reef fish in the Maldives, and the pioneer of whale and dolphin watching there. We will cruise through the islands on our specially chartered 30 metre ‘live-aboard’ safari vessel, the MV Ari Queen. With cabins en suite and air-conditioned, she is equipped with a full-time local crew of eight, including an experienced captain, and a dedicated cook who will prepare local cuisine with fresh fish caught from the boat.

Our itinerary will be very flexible, to make the most of cetacean sightings. The outline given should therefore be considered to be a guideline only, not a rigidly structured programme. We will sail past the atolls, enjoying the beautiful scenery and taking our time to watch cetaceans, turtles, flying fish and seabirds such as Black-naped and Sooty Terns, Lesser Frigatebird and two species of noddy. Travelling by day and anchoring early each evening in a sheltered atoll lagoon, there will also be time for snorkeling on the coral reefs and admiring their magnificent marine life.