FREE COPY - Maldivian Air Taxi

ISSUE 19 | MALDIVIAN AIR TAXI Inflight Magazine 

IN THIS ISSUE: 

FREE COPY 

Maldives Resorts USPs | Night Snorkelling | Fly ‘n’ Surf | The Amazing Maldives 

Maldives Paradise Above and Below the Water’s Surface | Extreme Repeaters 

Turtle Conservation Projects Making Waves in the Maldives | A Day in a Cabin Attendant’s Life 

www.maldivianairtaxi.com 

Photo: Sakis Papadopoulos

MADE IN KANUHURA/WOOD 

THE STEPS FROM YOUR VILLA DOWN TO THE 

WATER; A CHILD DRAWING WITH DRIFTWOOD 

ON THE SAND; THE MAHOGANY CLASP ON YOUR 

HEIDI KLEIN BIKINI; THE OLD CHESS SET AT THE 

HANDHUVARU BAR 

www.kanuhura.com 

Kanuhura, The Maldives 4.3° North, 73.3° East

Editor’s 

NOTE 

Welcome to the 19th issue of Inflight. 

As you fly over the beautiful atolls and islands 

of the Maldives, take some time to take a 

deeper look at the country and Maldivian 

Air Taxi. We have presented for your reading 

pleasure, a range of exciting articles by 

writers who have lived and worked in the 

Maldives. 

Adrian Neville has been writing about the 

Maldives since the 1990s. His article on 

resorts’ unique selling points (USPs) over the 

years offers a casual view of how resorts of 

the Maldives have evolved. Along the same 

theme but from a different perspective in 

‘Extreme Repeaters’ by Verena Wiesbauer Ali 

two ‘extreme repeaters’ take us back to the 

days when tourism first began in the Maldives 

and how they view the changes that have 

taken place since. 

Both Rob McIntyre and Mads Wallentin are 

pilots. While Rob has returned home after his 

tenure, Mads is still with Maldivian Air Taxi. 

Mads and Rob offer some unique insights 

into different aspects of their experiences with 

Maldivian Air Taxi and the Maldives. 

With such a unique geography, the 

environment and marine ecology are of 

paramount importance for the Maldives. 

Verena’s second article is about the flora of 

Maldives in ‘Paradise above and below the 

water’s surface”.Sarah Harvey presents two 

interesting articles; one on the serious work 

of turtle conservation in the resorts and the 

other on her very own experience of night 

snorkeling. 

Enjoy! 

Adheel Ismail . Editor 

MALDIVIAN AIR TAXI Inflight Magazine | ISSUE NO. 19 

Published for 

Published by 

Please address all enquiries to: 

Maldivian Air Taxi Private Limited Company 

Ibrahim Nasir International Airport, Republic of Maldives 

Phone: +960 331 52 01, Telefax: +960 331 52 03 

www.maldivianairtaxi.com 

Think Associates Pvt. Ltd. 

3rd Floor, M.Chaandhaneege, 

Majeedhee Magu, Male’, Republic of Maldives 

Tel: +960 334 2640, Fax: +960 334 2642 

Email: info@thinkmaldives.com 

www.think.com.mv 

Lorie Flores, Executive Assistant to General Manager 

Email: lorie@maldivianairtaxi.com 


Contents 

10 

14 

20 

24 

27 

34 

38 

42 

46 

50 

58 

Photography 

Disclaimer 

Maldives 

Route Map 

Maldives Paradise Above and 

Below the Water’s Surface 

The Amazing Maldives; The View of 

a Barefoot Pilot/Photographer 

A day in a Cabin Attendant’s Life 

Maldives Resorts USPs 

Turtle Conservation Projects Making 

Waves in the Maldives 

Fly ‘n’ Surf 

Extreme Repeaters 

Night Snorkelling 

Twin Otter 

Sakis Papadopoulos, Rob McIntyre, Adaaran Resorts, 

Mads Wallentin, Yaasin Hameed, Think Associates 

Cover; Sakis Papadopoulos 

MAT Inflight is published for Maldivian Air Taxi Pvt. Ltd. by Think Associates Pvt. Ltd. 

No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the written permission of Maldivian 

Air Taxi Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2011 by Maldivian Air Taxi Pvt. Ltd. Opinions 

in MAT Inflight are the writers’ and not necessarily endorsed by Maldivian Air Taxi Pvt. 

Ltd. Maldivian Air Taxi Pvt. Ltd. and Think Associates Pvt. Ltd. accepts no responsibility 

for unsolicited manuscripts, transparencies other material. Every effort has been made to 

provide accurate information in the magazine and kindly please contact the publisher to call 

to attention of any errors or omissions in the MAT Inflight. 

MALDIVIAN AIR TAXI Inflight Magazine | ISSUE NO. 19 

Contributors 

Writers 

Adrian Neville has been 

photographing and writing about the 

Maldives since living here in 1993/94. 

He has traveled throughout the country 

documenting island life and is presently 

focused on his new website, based 

around his best selling guide book, 

‘Resorts of the Maldives’. 

Mads Wallentin is an avid aviator 

who joined Maldivian Air Taxi in 2012. 

When not flying the Twin Otter he’s a 

journalist back home in Denmark where 

he does investigative journalism and 

feature writing. 

Verena Wiesbauer Ali, M.Sc., 

is an independent marine biologist, 

environmental consultant and author in the 

Maldives. Specialized in the combination 

of tourism and marine biology as well as 

artificial reefs, she has recently founded the 

company Eco Islanders Maldives together 

with her husband to offer environmentally 

friendly products and services. Contact: 

marinebiology.verena@gmail.com 

Sarah Harvey is a British travel 

journalist and resort reviewer based in 

Male’. She has lived in the Maldives for 

almost three years and is a co-founder 

of Manta-media.com. Sarah is the Editor 

of Travel News Maldives and a regular 

contributor to travel magazines, websites 

and guidebooks. 

Rob McIntyre is a pilot and a passionate 

photographer who combines his careers 

to present magical views of the Maldives. 

In this article Rob presents a collection of 

his beautiful photographs of the Maldives

athuruga beach & water villas 

thudufushi beach & water villas 

superior in style, excellence in value 

enjoy real hospitality 

ari atoll 

diamonds@diamonds-resorts.com 

www.diamonds-resorts.com

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Welcome Aboard 

2012 is the year in which Maldives is 

expecting to have more than one million 

arriving tourists for the first time. This is a 

doubling from 10 years ago, and who can 

be surprised. The beauty, serenity, and the 

uniqueness of this country is clear to all 

who know the Maldives, and will soon be 

for those of you who are visiting for the first 

time. Even with the growing popularity of 

this destination, do not worry about crowds. 

With over 1000 islands, hundreds of resorts, 

most of them being one island - one resort 

concept, Maldives never feels crowded. To 

me it is one of the most peaceful places on 

earth. 

Maldivian Air Taxi has since 1993 been 

an integral part of the Maldives tourism 

development. Earlier, resorts close and far 

from Male were served only by boats, and 

the transfers were often time consuming 

and at times uncomfortable. Today, a 

majority of the resorts in the country are 

served with a door to door (or dock to 

dock) service by seaplanes. Flying with us 

is an amazing way to start your vacation, 

see the beauty of this country from above, 

and then get to repeat the experience when 

it is time to travel home. 

Please do relax and enjoy your brief time on 

MALDIVIAN AIR TAXI 

board. Our fleet of 21 aircraft is maintained 

in accordance with the highest international 

standards, our flight crews are among the 

most experienced in the world, and the 

entire organization is designed to ensure the 

maximum safety and enjoyment of your trip. 

Thank you for choosing a destination served 

by Maldivian Air Taxi. I trust you will enjoy the 

experience. 

Hope to see you back soon again, and 

please do take this issue of InFlight with you 

back home as a memory of Maldives and this 

unique seaplane experience. 

Have a great and safe flight. 

Fredrik Groth 

General Manager 

FACT SHEET 

ISSUE NO. 19 

No. of aircraft: 

21 (including 2 VIP aircraft) 

Take-off and landing per day: upto 200 flights 

Passengers per month: approx. 34,000 passengers 

Resorts being serviced : over 40 (including photoflights/ 

charter flight destinations) 

No. of employees: 450 

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... www.maldivianairtaxi.com 7

MAGIQUES, MERVEILLEUSES, 

MALDIVES. 

Plages pour rêver. 

Croisières de plongée uniques. 

Lune de miel au paradis. 

Hôtels exclusifs. 

Croisières en voilier inoubliables. 

Wellness par excellence. 

Bonheur en famille pour grands et petits. 

Snorkeling à grand spectacle. 

Saveurs culinaires pour gourmets. 

Tombez sous le charme des Maldives. 

Informations et réservations: tél. +41 44 277 47 01 

info@manta.ch · www.manta.ch

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

It is a pleasure to have you on board 

Maldivian Air Taxi. 

At Maldivian Air Taxi, we have a wealth 

of experience in this unique form of 

air travel and have carried millions of 

passengers to their dream holiday 

destinations, on excursions and on 

photo flights. We strive to capitalize 

on that experience to make your 

journey with us an exceptional and 

unforgettable one. 

We thank our partners who have 

worked with us to help us grow, 

to become the largest operation 

of its kind in the world. We extend 

our appreciation to each and every 

individual resort and the industry at 

large and the Government of Maldives 

Lars Erik Nielsen 

Chairman of the board 

for their unwavering support to make 

air transfers part of the unique tourism 

product that the country has to offer. 

We at Maldivian Air Taxi enjoy working 

with the Government to increase 

access to transport in the whole 

country for domestic travellers as well 

as tourists. Our objective is to ensure 

convenient, safe and comfortable air 

travel to all the corners of the country 

through the introduction of innovative 

infrastructure and round-the clock 

services, which is unique only to the 

Maldivian Air Taxi. 

We wish you a memorable flight and 

an enjoyable stay in the Maldives. 


................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... www.maldivianairtaxi.com 9 


MALDIVES 

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10 

The Maldives is mesmerising from 

the air, beautiful on the ground and 

awe inspiring underwater. The special 

qualities of this country are the very 

simplest that nature has to offer: blue 

sky, green palms, white sand, turquoise 

lagoon and deep blue sea. All bathed 

in equatorial sunlight. Nothing can 

distract you from achieving the ideal of 

calm, relaxation and regeneration. 

MALDIVes 

Geography: The Maldives is a garland of islands 

dropping across the equator, southwest of India and 

west of Sri Lanka The flowers of this garland are the 

26 atolls that hold the 1,193 islands.These islands are 

spread over a distance of 700 kilometres. Their average 

height above sea level is less than one metre and 

two thirds of the islands are less than half a kilometre 

square. . 

Climate: The temperature across the country varies 

little around the average of 28 degrees Celsius. There 

are two monsoons that determine the weather pattern. 

The northeast monsoon, from November to April, is 

dry and calm; the southwest monsoon, from May to 

October, brings some rain and wind. The south has a 

higher rainfall than the north. 

Population: The population of the Maldives 

has increased rapidly over the last few decades. It is 

estimated to be 395,000 in July 2012. This still makes it 

one of the smallest independent nations on earth. 

Religion: All Maldivians are Sunni Muslims. The 

pivotal event in Maldives history is the conversion of 

the country to Islam by a Persian notable called Abul 

..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

Barakat in 1153. There are some 

fine ancient mosques and carved 

tombstones on inhabited islands you 

may visit. 

History: The islands were 

populated relatively early, around 

500 BCE, by voyagers from India 

and Sri Lanka. Others arrived, often 

shipwrecked, from southeast Asia 

and the Arabian peninsular. Isolation 

ensured a mostly independent 

existence, even under the suserainty 

on colonial powers. The last sultan 

was replaced by a presidency in 1968. 

Culture: Remote island life has 

cradled a strong, self-reliant culture. 

Tuna fishing has always been the 

mainstay of life on the islands. A 

remarkably skillful people, Maldivians 

excelled in coral carving, gold and 

silver smithing and weaving cloth and 

mats. The Thundu Kunaa is still made 

today and is recognised as the finest 

grass mat in the world. 

Language: The language of 

all Maldivians is Dhivehi, although 

dialects are spoken in the south of the 

country. It is an Indo-Aryan language 

closely related to Singhalese. The 

word ‘atoll’ comes from the dhivehi 

word ‘atolu’. The unique script is 

called Thaana and is written from right 

to left. English is the primary language 

of education and it is widely spoken 

throughout the country. 

Capital Island: Male’, the 

capital, with around 150,000 people 

on 2 square kilometres is one of the 



MALDIVES 

...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

Jumhooree Maidan 

(Republic Square) 

The fruit and vegetable 

market 

most densest populated places on earth. It is the centre 

for business, politics, education and health care. 

Economy: In the earliest days, cowrie shells, 

coir rope, weaving and turtle shells were important 

components. Then for centuries tuna fishing and dried 

tuna export was the mainstay. In the second half of the 

last century, into this one, shipping played a significant 

12 

role. Today it is tourism that has 

enabled the country to establish a 

modern, open economy. 

Currency: The local currency is 

Rufiyaa. At the time of publication, 

the exchange rate is pegged between 

Rf 10.28 and Rf 15.42 to a US Dollar. If 

you are heading to a resort, you need 

not worry about local currency as all 

your bills at the resort can be paid by 

US Dollar, Euro or any other European 

currency. 

All major credit cards are also 

accepted at the resorts. However, if 

you are visiting Male’ or any of the 

local islands, you will need to hold 

local currency for purchases you may 

wish to make. 

Education: Maldives boasts 

one of the highest literacy rates in the 

..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

world with 98% of the country’s population being able 

to read and write. Educational standards are among 

the highest in the region and schools follow the British 

system of education. 

Health: The Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) 

in Male’ is the state run general hospital in the country 

providing a high standard of medical care. ADK Hospital, 

also located in Male’, is the largest private healthcare 

facility in the country. A decompression chamber is within 

easy reach of most resorts in case of a diving emergency. 

Business Hours: The working week in Maldives 

begins on Sunday and ends on Thursday. Government 

offices are open from 08:00 to 15:00 hours and the 

private sector from 09:00 to 17:00 hours. Some offices 

in the private sector open on Saturday. Weekend falls on 

Friday and Saturday. 


Communication: Mobile 

telephone services in the country are 

offered by Dhiraagu and Wataniya 

Telecom Maldives. Both companies 

have roaming agreements with 

various operators across the globe. 

All the resorts in Maldives offer 

internet services as well. Some resorts 

offer broadband connections in the 

room while others offer Wi-Fi zones at 

key locations on the island. All resorts 

offer IDD telephone services. 

Shopping: The northern end of 

Chaandhanee Magu is the place to be 

if you are looking for souvenirs to take 

home. A range of batik sarongs and 

wraparounds, wooden handicrafts, 

candles and other knickknacks are 

available from the shops lining the 

street. You will also be able to find 

some souvenir items if you visit the 

neighboring islands near your resort. 

Look out for genuine Maldivian hand 

painted t-shirts and lacquered boxes, 

miniature dhonis and reed mats 

(Thundu Kunaa), if you really want to 

take a piece of Maldives with you as a 

memento. 

Country 

Dialing Code: +960 

Electricity: 240 Volts AC 

Local Time: +5 GMT 


MAT RouTE MAp 

...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

14 

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................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

Adaaran “Select” Meedhupparu 

Alimatha Aquatic Resort 

Anantara Resort & Spa Maldives 

Athuruga Island Resort 

Banyan Tree Maldives 

Bathala Island Resort 

Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa 

Chaaya Lagoon Hakuraa Huraa 

Chaaya Reef Ellaidhoo 

Club Med Kanifinolhu 

Constance Halaveli Resort Maldives 

Constance Moofushi Resort 

Dhiggiri Tourist Resort 

Dhoni Island 

Dusit Thani Maldives 

Filitheyo Island Resort 

Four Seasons Maldives 

at Kuda- Huraa 

Four Seasons Maldives 

at Landaa Giraavaru 

Fushivelavaru 

Heenfaru * 

Huvafen Fushi by Per AQUUM 

Island Hideaway at Dhonakulhi 

Maldives, Spa Resort & Marina 

Kandholhudhoo 

Kanuhura Maldives 

Lily Beach Resort 

& Spa at Huvahendhoo 

LUX* Maldives 

Maayafushi 

Madoogali Resort & Spa 

Medhufushi Island Resort 

Nika Island Resort 

One & Only Reethi Rah 

Palm Beach Resort & Spa 

Ranveli Village 

Rasdhoo * 

Royal Island 

Soneva Fushi Resort 

& Six Senses Spa 

Soneva Gili 

Summer Island 

Taj Exotica 

The Rania Experience 

The Regent Maldives 

Thudufushi Island Resort 

Vashugiri * 

Velidhu 

Viceroy Hotels & Resorts 

Vivanta Coral Reef Maldives 

W Retreat & Spa – Maldives 

Zithali Resorts & Spa Kuda-Funafaru 



...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

Discover more 

of the Maldives with 

Four Seasons 

K U D A H U R A A F O U R S E A S O N S E X P L O R E R 

16 

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................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 


With three distinct resort experiences, Four Seasons makes it easier to discover more of the Maldives. 

Start at Kuda Huraa, a vibrant garden island infused with traditional Maldivian charm, or retreat to the remote natural 

wilderness of Landaa Giraavaru in the Baa Atoll UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. Then swop paradises via 

a complimentary* 30-minute point-to-point seaplane transfer or embark on a marine odyssey between the two on the 

11-cabin, three-deck Four Seasons Explorer. THE ADVENTURE STARTS HERE ... www.fourseasons.com/maldives 

*Guests booking a minimum of three nights at Kuda Huraa and three nights at Landaa Giraavaru will receive complimentary 

seaplane transfers for two between the two resorts. Quote ‘Paradise Twice’ when booking. 

L A N D A A G I R A AVA R U 


www.constancehotels.com 

The jewel island.

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Tropical vegetation 

on a Maldivian island in 

Noonu Atoll, as seen when 

flying above it with the 

Maldivian Air Taxi 

Seabirds, like this 

Brown Noddy, brought 

plant seeds to the 

Maldives, attached to their 

feathers 

20 

Maldives; 

Paradise Above and 

Below the Water’s 

Surface 

As you are flying over the Maldives 

on board your seaplane, you will be 

looking down on pristine coral reefs, 

tiny islands that are scattered over 

the vast ocean, sandy beaches and... 

oh! lush green vegetation too! Even 

though the island nation consists of 

about 99% water, we shall focus our 

attention now on the remaining one 

percent: on the flora of the Maldives, 

by Verena Wiesbauer Ali 

from uninhabited “jungle” islands with 

dense vegetation, up to the modified 

resort islands, where most of the 

introduced plant species are found. 

Only a few meters above sea level, the 

coral Atolls of the Maldive Islands are a 

hostile ground for plants with hardly any 

nutrients in the sand and freshwater 

available only during the rainy season. 

Thus, it is no wonder that there are no 

indigenous plants in the Maldives, but 

that all plants arrived from neighbouring 

continents, and even from as far away 

as the Polynesian Islands. They were 

transported either by seabirds, carrying 

seeds sticking to their feathers or by 

sea currents, washing partial or entire 

plants - like the ubiquitous coconut 

- ashore. All plants landing on the 

islands had to be salt-water tolerant 

or capable of extracting freshwater 

from the surrounding seawater like 

the mangroves do. Over time, some 

300 plant species have colonized the 

islands, and an equal number had 

been introduced by man for food, 

timber, building material or simply 

because of their beauty. 

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................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

So where do plants get 

their freshwater from? 

Well, the answer is simple: from 

rainwater, stored in a so-called 

“freshwater lens” in the centre 

of the island. Imagine this as an 

underground reservoir, where the 

freshwater from seasonal rain floats on 

the denser saltwater that is present in 

deeper layers. Before the introduction 

of Reverse-Osmosis plants, which 

produce freshwater from seawater, 

Maldivians dug wells up to this lens 

and got a continuous supply of 

freshwater for drinking, showering and 

cooking purpose. Many people still 

use these wells in their daily lives. 

Plants make the world 

go round 

You will be encountering a lot of 

different plant species on the resort 

island of your choice. Plants are not 

only useful, but they are beautiful too. 

Certainly you will know the Coconut 

Palm (Cocos nucifera), which feeds 

humans, clothes them and provides 

shelter. When you talk to Maldivians 

about “the coconut”, you have to 

be a bit more specific! Being their 

livelihood, the Maldivian language 

uses different words for the various 

development stages of this palm tree: 

Pick up a fallen coconut from the 

ground, shake it, and if you hear 

nothing, you found an unripe fruit 

(Dhivehi: Kurumba), that is, however, 

full of delicious coconut water. If you 

hear the sound of a liquid sloshing 


A “Kurumba“ or young 

coconut. In the opened 

fruit you can see the outer 

fibrious coat, the thin hard, 

dark shell and the layer 

of white meat. The glass 

contains the coconut water. 

Collection of nuts and 

flowers cut from treetops: 

the brown sheath of the 

flowers (Dhivehi: iha), the 

small green fruits (gobboli) 

and the slightly bigger 

yellow fruit (miri) can be 

seen here. 

The young coconut 

seedling grows outsite the 

hard nutshell. It develops 

an edible, sponge-like, 

foamy, light tissue that 

protrudes into the nut, 

filling the entire enterior. 


...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

The Bougainvillea 

(Bougainvillea glabra) 

with its beautiful pseudoflowers 

can climb, aided 

by its thorns over high 

walls. 

The beautiful 

Frangipani (Plumeria sp.) 

produce a fragrant scent to 

attract pollinating insects 

and contain a poisonous 

milky sap. 

The Cat Tail (Acalypha 

hispida) has foot-long, 

pendent, red chenille-like 

female flower clusters that 

bloom in intervals. 

The Fan Flower 

(Scaevola taccada) can be 

found on every Maldivian 

beach and is, besides the 

Coconut, probably the 

most common plant on the 

islands. 

22 

around inside, then you have a ripe 

coconut (Kaashi), good for eating 

the meat contained within the brown 

shell. A ripe coconut, if left on the 

ground, will eventually germinate and 

the young coconut seedling (Mudi) 

climbs out of the hard nutshell and 

develops an edible, sponge-like, 

foamy, light tissue that protrudes 

into the nut, absorbing the coconut 

water, degrading the whole meat 

and supplying the young plant 

with essential nutrients. To prevent 

accidents on tourist islands, nuts 

and flowers are cut from treetops 

overhanging public walks. Then, you 

may get the rare chance to see the 

coconut flower (Iha), or the small 

green (Gobboli) or slightly bigger 

yellow (Miri) fruits. 

Walking along the beach, you will 

find a variety of tropical plants that 

are able to cope up with saltwater 

intrusion: The “Fan flower” (Scaevola 

taccada) or the “Tree heliotrope” 

(Tournefortia argentea), or the much 

taller “Screwpine” (Pandanus sp.) with 

its walking stick-like roots that stabilize 

the trunk, just to mention a few. 

In the centre of islands, particularly 

in resort hotels, you can discover 

beautiful ornamental plants with 

colourful flowers, like the “Frangipani” 

(Plumeria sp.), the “Bougainvillea” 

(Bougainvillea glabra) or the “Cat tail” 

(Acalypha hispida) with its foot-long, 

pendent, red flower clusters. 

In order to identify plants on your 

resort island, you should look for 

flowers or fruits and if the tree is too 

high, you might find them shed on 

the ground. The leaves of many trees 

have a similar size and shape and 

look pretty much alike in the tropics. 

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................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

This plant identification book for the 

Maldives will help you: “Maldives: 

Trees and Flowers of a Tropical 

Paradise”, written by Dittrich P., Galvan 

DF., Wiesbauer Ali V., published by M7 

Print in 2012. Simply ask your resort 

shop or a bookshop in Male’ for it! 

Did you know... 

... that the “Maldives Coconut” 

actually never grew in the 

Maldives? 

Before the 18th century, 

when the Seychelles were 

uninhabited, coconuts 

resembling a woman’s buttocks 

fell from trees in the Seychelles, 

were drifted eastwards to the 

Maldives and there gathered 

from the beaches. They were 

given the name “Maldives 

Coconut” (Lodoicea maldivica) 

and valued as an important 

trade and medicinal item. 

Until the true source of the nut 

was discovered in 1768, it was 

believed by many to grow on 

a mythical tree at the bottom 

of the sea. Now we know that 

the “Coco de Mer” is rare 

and endemic to the islands 

of Praslin and Curieuse in the 

Seychelles, but never grew in 

the Maldives. 

Did you know... 

... that the “coconut” is actually 

not a nut in the botanical 

sense, but a drupe? A nut 

does not have an additional 

outer envelope as does the 

“coconut”! 


The Tree Heliotrope 

(Tournefortia argentea) 

grows preferably in the 

open sandy habitats of 

Atolls, being the species 

closest to the ocean. 

The Screwpine 

(Pandanus tectorius) is a 

tall tree up to 10 m heights 

and forms impenetrable 

thickets because of its 

saw-edged leaves and 

the walking-stick like 

adventitious roots that 

stabilize the slender trunk. 

The first and 

only bilingual plant 

identification guide is now 

available in resorts and 

bookstores in the Maldives 

for retail and wholesale. 


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The Amazing Maldives 

24 

The View of a Barefoot Pilot/Photographer 

Flying barefoot in the Maldives provided 

me with such a unique opportunity. Not 

only from a pilots perspective but also 

from the point of view of a photographer 

For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to 

be a pilot. I think that inspiration must have come from 

my father, now retired, who was also a pilot. I am now 

20 years into my aviation career and to this day I am still 

very much enamoured with aviation especially the Twin 

Otter. I have flown a fairly wide variety of airplanes to date 

from small single engine bush planes in Canada’s North 

Country along with jet aircraft throughout North America 

and even into parts of Africa. With all of this in mind it 

always comes back to the Twin Otter as my favourite! 

There is also another great passion in my life and 

that is photography! Having first picked up a camera 

because of the inspiration given to me by my grade 

seven elementary teacher I have been taking pictures, 

and along with my wife Sophie I have been evolving 

as a photographer. Together we offer professional 

photography services in Victoria BC Canada under the 

name Sophie Photo, www.sophiephoto.com. 

I have such an amazing opportunity to combine my 

photography with my flying career. In fact it seems like 

a natural fit; after all the travel offered me through my 

aviation career gives me opportunities I am sure most 

photographers would be very envious of! One of the 

results of this marriage of careers is my contribution 

to Maldivian Air Taxi, not only as a pilot but also as 

a contributing photographer. The other result is my 

photographic blog at www.barefootpilot.blogspot.com, 

which is where I display some of my favourite images 

along with my perspectives of this most beautiful country 

called the Maldives! 

It is rare that I was without my camera 

and as a result I managed to capture a 

wide variety of images from all walks of 

life in the Maldives; from the amazing 

atolls, the many modes of transportation 

along with street scenes in the Capital 

City of Male’, just to name a few of the 

subjects that interest me. 

I hope you will enjoy some of the 

samples of my work selected for this 

issue of Inflight and that they interest you 

enough not only to learn more about the 

Maldives, but also to visit my blog at www. 

barefootpilot.blogspot.com or check out 

my Gallery at www.photomac.ca 

Though I am no longer working in the 

Maldives the images I have captured will 

serve to remind me of its unique and 

fragile beauty! 

I will end by leaving you with a quote from 

one of the most amazing photographers 

that I can think of, Mr Ansel Adams: 

“You don’t make a photograph just 

with a camera. You bring to the act of 

photography all the pictures you have 

seen, the books you have read, the music 

you have heard, the people you have 

loved.” Ansel Adams 

Yours truly 

Rob McIntyre! 

by Rob McIntyre 

Rob McIntyre is a pilot and a passionate photographer who 

combines his careers to present magical views of the Maldives. 

In this article Rob presents a collection of his beautiful 

photographs of the Maldives 

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26 

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................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

A day in a cabin 

attendant’s life 

A very important member 

of the crew in one 

of Maldivian Air Taxi 

seaplanes is the cabin 

attendant. On a sunny day 

with no wind and calm 

water his job seems easy. 

And one might be right in 

that, at least if one forgets 

about the average 700 lbs. 

of baggage that he needs 

to manually load and off 

load at each stop. But then 

also throw in the monsoon 

rain, winds of 30-40 knots 

and 6-8 foot waves – then the cabin attendant’s job 

gets to be a bit more exciting than most other jobs. 

He has to get out in the rain, stand on the float while 

keeping his balance, ready to jump onto the jetty 

or floating platform and secure the aircraft in a tight 

coordinated operation with the captain of the aircraft. 

All the time while the rain is hammering down from 

above, the waves washing over the floats; the platform 

goes up and down like a rollercoaster ride, and the 

noise of the airplane’s howling turbine engines only 

allow non-verbal communication. 


by Mads Wallentin 

They take your hand luggage and stow it in the aft luggage room. 

They jump from the floats onto the dock and tie down the aircraft 

in sun or rain. And they give you a safety brief with a smile before 

takeoff. Meet one of MAT’s cabin attendants. 

“Luckily those days are 

far apart, although we do 

experience them during 

the monsoon season. But 

ninety-five percent of my 

days are pure enjoyment, 

meeting happy passengers 

either on their way to a 

resort or coming back from 

an enjoyable vacation,” 

explains Ismail Raeef, who 

is undoubtedly Maldivian 

Air Taxi’s most experienced 

cabin attendant. 

He has been with the company this 

year for 18 years, joining the company 

when he was only eighteen years old 

in 1994. Today Ismail Raeef – who 

amongst all his colleagues and friends 

is known as just Raeef – has flown over 

16.000 hours as a cabin attendant on 

the Twin Otter. 


...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

He has seen all of the Maldives 

islands from the air, landed at most 

of those where one can land on water 

at, and is not seldom approached by 

a new captain for facts about water, 

platform location or something else at 

a destination. 

“I’m very often paired with new 

captains or with experienced captains 

flying with new first officers. You see, 

this is a team operation. We help each 

other and we teach each other. I, for 

example, teach new first officers how 

to load the planes, take care of the 

passengers when we are loading and 

offloading in rough weather and so 

on,” explains Raeef. 

Early start 

Raeef’s day starts at home in Male’ 

when the alarm on his clock goes off 

at 4 am. A shower, a quick breakfast, 

and ironing the uniform and then he is 

off for the dhoni at 5 am. Maldivian Air 

Taxi has their own staff-dhoni leaving 

from Male’ every morning at 5 o’clock. 

When the dhoni arrives at the airport 

the red MAT bus is waiting to bring 

Raeef and his colleagues over to the 

seaplane airport. Now the time is 

almost 5.30 am and Raeef starts to 

prepare the aircraft he is going to fly 

with on this day. 

“If we are away from the base then 

I will pump the left float free of any 

water while the first officer does 

the right float. In Male’ we have 

dockhands that does this for us, but 

that is something new. A few years 

ago that was also my job,” says Raeef. 

28 

While the captain and first officer check the aircraft and 

its systems, Raeef then checks the cabin, stocks up on 

extra inflight magazines and briefing cards, checks that 

the earplug bag is full, and gives all the extra ropes for 

docking and beaching on board a thorough check to 

see if they need to be exchanged. 

Then the baggage arrives, and together with the 

dockhand, he loads the aircraft and checks that it 

is loaded accordingly to the company’s standard 

operating policy. If there is time, he will then give the first 

officer a hand with the fuelling. 

Now the time is almost six o’clock in the morning and 

the captain gives a short brief to Raeef and the first 

officer about the first flight of the day. 

“It could for example be a flight to Ari Atoll where we 

take passengers from the international flights that have 

arrived during the night to a couple of different resorts 

where we also pick up passengers or staff.” 

During such a flight a lot of baggage is loaded in and 

out of the aircraft. On average Raeef and his cabin 

colleagues handles 8.400 lbs. of baggage during a 

normal day that normally consists of six flights with two 

to four stops en route before returning to Male. 

“It’s hard work but I love it. I’m not the type that can sit 

around doing nothing. I like working and always doing 

something,” explains Raeef when asked if it’s not an 

exhausting job. 

End of the day 

Ask one of Maldivian Air Taxi’s training captains about 

Raeef and they will talk about him with the highest 

regard, except when they are doing training of a new 

captain. Because if Raeef gets impatient and thinks the 

new captain under training uses too much time to get 

the aircrafts nose swung into the platform or dock, he 

will take the rope and pull the aircraft – all 12.500 lbs. 

of aircraft, passengers, baggage and fuel – in and tie it 

down by himself. And as the training captains all explain, 

..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

Cabin Attendants in MAT 

Maldivian Air Taxi has 37 cabin attendants. 

An average working day is 6 to10 hours. 

A work week is 5 days. 


then the captain under training will not 

learn how to dock the aircraft when 

Raeef does that. 

“Hahaha, yes I know. I’m not allowed 

to do that but I sometimes forget if we 

are late for lunch or only have a short 

break,” says Raeef while he laughs. 

As the day is coming to an end around 

5 to 6 pm Raeef will either be back 

in Male’ at the base or he will be at a 

resort for an overnight. On average 4 

to 8 of Maldivian Air Taxi’s seaplanes 

stay at a resort every night. This is so 

that early next morning they can return 

with passengers who need to catch 

the international morning flights out of 

Male. 

To become a cabin attendant one starts out as a dockhand at the base in Male. From 

there one continues through classes of emergency training, evacuation, crew relation 

management, first aid and aircraft handling before being released for flying with an instructor. 

After minimum 25 hours of flying, the new cabin attendant is released for flights by himself. 


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30 

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...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

From the simplest of beginnings the Maldives has 

become possibly the most prestigious holiday 

destination in the world. How did it get there? The 

country’s natural assets have never changed but 

every new resort and almost every resort upgrade has 

incorporated the very latest Unique Selling Point and 

then pushed on to find another unique idea or level of 

luxury to distinguish themselves. 

It was 40 years ago this year that the first resort was 

built, against all the odds. A United Nations body had 

written in a report that tourism wasn’t worth pursuing in 

the Maldives because the obstacles were too big. There 

was no bank in the country, so no access to finance, there 

was no airport to speak of, there wasn’t even a telephone. 

Yet Kurumba manage to open in 1972 and Bandos a few 

months later. 

34 

Maldives 

Resort USPs 

by Adrian Nevielle 

The rooms were built of the best local 

materials available; there were coral 

walls, coconut wood beams and 

palm-thatched roofs. There was a 

bed, a wardrobe, a luggage rack and 

a dressing table. That’s all. Drinking 

water was from collected rainwater 

or a well. The meals were a repetition 

of tuna curry, rice, local fruit and 

vegetables and not very much else. 

As you fly to your destination today 

think back just 40 years to when the 

only way to get around was by sail 

dhoni. Think how long that would 

take to get to your destination. In the 

same year of 1972, the first engine 

was put into a dhoni, much to the 

distrust of the fishermen. It wasn’t 

until 1989 that helicopters came 

along and in late1993 that seaplanes 

made their appearance. By the way, 

..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

The overwater bungalow is probably the greatest and 

certainly the most significant innovation of all. It is fair to 

say that it transformed tourism for the Maldives. 

the telephone system was finally 

established in 1980. Before that all 

communication was by ham radio or 

Morse code! 

Hot water was probably the first 

major innovation. And for many years 

afterwards, resorts would advertise 

‘Hot & Cold Water’ . When ceiling 

fans moved to air conditioners this 

was something to shout about. Then 

in-room telephones were something a 

bit special and finally televisions were 

put into the prestige rooms. Of course, 

these have gone from small, wide and 

heavy to 50” wafer thin LED numbers 

with Bose surround sound, which is 

also connected to the blu-ray player 

and iPod dock. 

Bathrooms have been the growth 

area for a few years now. Once a 

small, neglected space at the back, 

they are now luxurious expanses of 

flowering plants, sand and green 

marble, with twin basins, showers 

inside and out, a jacuzzi and plunge 

pool. The amenities have gone from 

wall-mounted soap dispenser to 

Molten Brown skincare products and 

other such premium beauty brands. 

The inside/outside style of resort 



photos: Adaaran Resorts, Maldives

...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

bathrooms derives from the first resort 

rooms that in turn copy the design 

of Maldivian island houses. The 

bathroom of those houses, called a 

gifili, is a fenced enclosure extending 

from the back of the house, with a 

well in the middle from which water 

is drawn using a large tin tied onto a 

long stick. 

When I went around the resorts in 

1996 for the first edition of ‘Resorts 

of Maldives’ a saltwater shower in 

your room was not uncommon. 

Desalination was a major boon for the 

industry and its guests. After sweet 

water in the rooms came sweet water 

in the new swimming pools but I distinctly remember a 

couple of occasions when I jumped into a resort pool at 

the end of a day’s work to be unpleasantly shocked by 

a mouthful of saltwater. Today there is some competition 

to have the biggest pool but this doesn’t seem to me to 

be a great prize in a country that specialises in private 

experiences. 

36 

As for food and beverage, set plates 

of local curry and vegetables was 

superseded by the simple buffet, 

which in turn became extravagant 

buffet spreads sourced from all 

around the world and transported 

in very carefully controlled and 

documented container shipments 

..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

coming through Dubai and Singapore. 

The all-day coffee shop was once a bit 

of a novelty. Now, of course, we have 

Conrad’s and Anantara Kihavah’s 

underwater restaurants. 

It was many years after wine was first 

served that the first wine cellar was 

built in Soneva Fushi - an impressive 

feat in shallow coral sand. Shortly 

afterwards the sommelier appeared. 

Quite a few resorts have a sommelier 

now and some have several, one for 

each outlet, but only a few have that 

latest, greatest, a mixicologist who 

will design a cocktail around your 

selection of spirits, fruits and flavours 

(Constance Halaveli is one). On the 

other hand Niyama now has the 

country’s first underwater nightclub to 

have that drink in. 

Underwater is the new overwater. It is 

the thrilling new idea that has resorts 

feverishly playing off the cost against 

the prestige and instant international 

media chatter. We now have the 

underwater restaurant (that you can 

also book for a night as a bedroom), 

the underwater nightclub and the 

underwater spa. The latter belongs to 

Huvafen Fushi and is the culmination 

of the spa idea that, amazingly, only 

arrived in the country in the late 

‘90’s. It was such a perfect fit for the 

Maldives that it took off like wildfire 

and in just a few years almost every 

resort had one. In the same way, 

waterbungalows took off in the early 

‘90’s, a full 20 years 

after tourism began, 

and quickly spread 

to every resort that 

had enough lagoon 

to accommodate 

them (and a few that 

didn’t). 

The overwater 

bungalow is 

probably the 

greatest and 

certainly the most 

significant innovation of all. It is fair to 

say that it transformed tourism for the 

Maldives. It not only enabled more, 

and more expensive, rooms to be built 

without impacting the island but they 

delivered the lagoon and reef dropoff 

right to the wooden steps off your 

deck. If that deck is entirely private 

and faces the sunset, you are as close 

to heaven as you are going to get 

while still smiling. 



photos: Adaaran Resorts, Maldives

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38 

With clumsy-looking flippers and a 

shell smaller than the palm of your 

hand, it’s hard not to fall in love with 

a baby turtle at first sight. 

Five out of the world’s seven species 

of turtle live here in the Maldives, where 

passionate teams of conservationists are 

working hard to try to make everyone love 

turtles as much as they do. 

One of the most common types of 

turtle found in the Maldives is the 

green sea turtle. You may see one 

if you go snorkelling or diving. Hawsbill 

turtles, Olive Ridley turtles and 

loggerhead turtles are also found in 

the waters here. Leatherback turtles 

are less commonly spotted and 

they are not thought to nest in the 

Maldives. 

While the charms of a baby turtle at 

close quarters are undeniable, the 

odds are stacked against them in the 

by Sarah Harvey 

wild. Up to 50 per cent of all turtles 

never live to see their first sunrise 

and only one in a thousand survive 

to adulthood. Throughout their lives 

they face all kinds of dangers. Sharks, 

groupers and snappers are natural 

predators. Many turtles die from 

accidentally eating plastic bags which 

they mistake for jellyfish (a favourite 

snack). They also get caught up in 

abandoned fishing nets and lines and 

then drown or starve to death. Staff 

at Angsana Velavaru resort alone find 

an average of one turtle per month 

entangled in a net. Then there’s an 

even more direct threat to turtles from 

humans apart from what they discard 

into the sea. Sometimes turtle eggs 

are sold for cooking, adult turtles are 

still occasionally served up as dinner 

and fragile baby turtles are sometimes 

sold as children’s pets. 

Green turtles are officially classed as 

an endangered species and hawksbill 

..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

turtles are classed as critically 

endangered. Turtles are protected 

by law in the Maldives in an effort to 

combat the dwindling population, 

and several resorts have established 

conservation programmes. 

Around ten years ago the team 

at Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru resort 

pioneered a successful conservation 

programme which increased the 

survival rates of baby turtles into 

adulthood from one in a thousand to 

one in a hundred. Still going strong 

today, the Marine Turtle Conservation 

Programme involves a combination of 

strategies, research and education to 

achieve its aims. 

These include identifying turtle nesting 

sites and relocating the nests before 

fisherman can find them. A small 

percentage of the hatchlings are 

raised at the resort until they are big 

enough to be released into the wild, 

giving them a head start free from 

predators when they are at their most 

vulnerable. The Marine Lab team also 

offers to buy turtle eggs at a higher 

rate than the market rate. As well 

as this, they rescue and rehabilitate 

injured turtles. 

Guests and local schoolchildren 

are allowed to visit the baby turtle 

enclosures on the island and in 

the lagoon, where they can find 

out more about turtles from the 

marine biologists. The Marine Lab 

at Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru is led by 

Mirta Moraitis. Her passion for the 

programme and love of turtles is 

infectious. 

“Our project intends to use the captive 

turtles as appointed ‘ambassadors 


of the sea’ to the community and school children of the 

Maldives and to all our guests”, says Mirta. 

“Maldivian children visit the turtles, learn about their life 

cycle and their biological and conservation needs and 

also our mascot, Felly the Turtle. They’ve shown interest 

and concern, which is then taken back into the homes 

of Maldivian people. The kids get so enthusiastic that 

often we’re invited to visit their schools and speak to 

the whole school about what we do here. The Maldivian 

people, from day-trippers to ministers, from hotel staff to 

scientists, have all been involved and touched and will 

carry these memories into every far and distant reach of 

the country and even beyond,” she says. 

Each turtle nest typically consists of up to 180 eggs. 

Only one in a thousand hatchlings survives if nature 

takes its course in the wild. Mirta’s team takes ten 

percent of hatchlings to rear at the resort until they are 

big enough to release; carefully monitoring, measuring 

and weighing them as they grow. By doing this, the 

baby turtle survival rates are increased by a factor of ten. 

The hatchlings start their lives in tanks on the resort 

island, where they are fed a natural diet of fish and 

vegetables for the first five months. Then they are taken 

to a cage in the lagoon where the turtles can grow 

bigger in a semi-natural environment without threats 

from predators. 


...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

After about a year they are tagged on their flippers with 

titanium tags giving the contact details of the resort 

in case they are found by anyone, and released into 

the wild. Previously some of the released turtles were 

fitted with satellite responders and radio transmitters; 

something which Mirta hopes to do again in the future. 

Some of them were tracked after leaving Banyan Tree 

Vabbinfaru to locations as far away as Sumatra, the 

Middle East, Sri Lanka and the Seychelles, Mirta says. 

“It’s proof that they’re surviving,” she adds. 

Mirta and the team also receive many calls about injured 

turtles which people have found on other islands. 

“Our lagoon cage has one section especially for 

rescued turtles,” says Mirta. “For example, we once 

looked after Holly the turtle, who was found at Holiday 

Island Resort. She was a loggerhead turtle which was 

found entangled in a net. We collected Holly and kept 

her in our lagoon cage for one week because she had 

40 

injuries from where she had been 

trapped in the net. One flipper had 

been chopped off. After a week she 

could dive again, so we let her go. We 

try to interfere as little as possible with 

‘born free’ turtles.” 

The successful programme at Banyan 

Tree Vabbinfaru has been rolled out to 

the company’s sister resorts, Angsana 

Velavaru and Angsana Ihuru. The 

teams have also shared their expertise 

with marine biologists based at Four 

Seasons Resorts Maldives. 

As with the Banyan Tree Resorts’ 

programme, guests and local school 

children visiting Four Seasons Resort 

Kuda Huraa can learn about baby 

turtles at the new Marine Discovery 

Centre. The Marine Discovery Centre 

is the headquarters of the Maldivian 

Sea Turtle Conservation Programme. 

The new centre has much to offer 

children in particular, although adults 

too will enjoy the colourful pictures 

on the walls, 3-D films and interactive 

computers. The marine biologists 

there, who are from Male’-based 

environmental consultancy Seamarc, 

hold regular lively chats about the 

life cycle of turtles and why it is so 

important to conserve them. 

The resort’s turtle project involves the 

rehabilitation of injured turtles and a 

local educational programme aimed 

at discouraging the raiding of nests. 

They offer to buy turtle eggs for more 

money than fisherman can usually 

sell them for, and staff have regular 

meetings with island councillors, egg 

collectors and the general public 

about the issue. 

At the time of visiting Kuda Huraa, 

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................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

there were more than 40 baby green 

turtles and baby hawksbill turtles 

there. The young turtles are kept at the 

resort for up to 15 months. As with the 

Banyan Tree programme, they spend 

the first part of their lives in land-based 

pools (which tourists can visit) and 

then are moved to lagoon enclosures 

before being released into the wild. 

Alban Viaud, head of marine biology at 

Four Seasons Resorts Maldives, says: 

“We rescue eggs from egg collectors 

and relocate nest sites. We release 95 

per cent of the hatchlings. 

“Our research and monitoring 

programme uses photo IDs and 

sometimes GPS tracking too to 

monitor the turtles and their migration 

“Maldivian children 

visit the turtles, learn about their 

lifecycle and their biological and 

conservation needs and also our 

mascot, Felly the Turtle. They’ve 

shown interest and concern, 

which is then taken back into the 

homes of Maldivian people. 

patterns. All of the information goes 

into a database. 

“The biggest turtle we have is currently 

two kilogrammes in weight and 23 

centimetres in length. We hope that 

it will get to 30 centimetres and then 

we can release it. At the end of the 

year we plan to release as many of 

the turtles as possible, as long as they 

have grown enough. We’ll see how 

they grow this year.” 


If you visit a turtle conservation project at a resort, you’re 

likely to find green turtles and hawksbill turtles being 

raised there, being as they are more common than the 

other species found in the Maldives. Each of the five 

species of turtles found in the Maldives has its own 

specific habits and characteristics. Apart from when 

they are babies (when they are omnivores) green turtles 

are mostly vegetarian and feed on seagrass and algae 

in the lagoons. They have short snouts and are usually 

lightly coloured with a yellow hued carpace (belly). 

Hawksbill turtles have a distinctive curved beak like a 

bird of prey, and they use it to probe between corals to 

find invertebrates and sponges to eat. They live on coral 

reefs. Leatherback turtles, the largest of all turtles, are 

usually found in deep water and they seem to mostly eat 

jellyfish. Instead of a hard shell, they have thick ridges of 

skin along their backs. Loggerhead turtles have reddishbrown 

shells and yellow or brown skin. Like leatherback 

turtles, they are also found in deep water and they like to 

eat bottom-dwelling invertebrates. 

If you’re fortunate enough to be able to observe 

one of these graceful creatures in the wild, or even 

as a youngster growing up in the safety of a resort 

conservation programme, it’s likely to be an experience 

that you will never forget. 


Photo: Tropic Surf 

photo: ripping.com.au 

...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

Every night around 7-8 pm all of Maldivian Air Taxi crews 

get a text-message with the next day’s meet-in-time. 

One thing that will make captain Steve Pembo and cabin 

attendant Ibrahim Latheef smile immediately is when that 

message contains the wording ‘Surf Charter’. This means 

they need to bring their surfboards and bathing/swim 

shorts to work. 

“We love surfing and to be able to combine work and 

42 

Latheef barrel riding 

Fly ‘n’ surf 

by Mads Wallentin 

The best day for captain Steve Pembo and cabin attendant 

Ibrahim Latheef is when they are chartered to take guests on a 

’Fly ’n’ Surf’ trip and bring their surf boards to work. 

pleasure by taking guests up in the 

air and out for a search of some of 

the world’s most epic surf spots for 

a paddle, that is our stoke”, explains 

captain Steve Pembo and cabin 

attendant Ibrahim Latheef. 

The Maldives is one of the world’s 

most consistent yet intricate places 

.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 

photo: Tropic Surf

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

to surf. Because of the maze of reef 

passes, varying swell directions and 

changing winds, a world class of waves 

often occurs in secluded hideaways 

where surfers don’t come. 

By chartering a Maldivian Air Taxi 

seaplane, these far away and normally 

difficult to reach surf-spots are suddenly 

accessible. And by going by seaplane, 

one is guaranteed to get some pristine 

surfing. While some surf breaks might 

be tiny, there are those that are six 

feet and pumping, all due to a more 

compatible swell direction. 

“I normally pick up the guests at their 

resort. We load their surfboards in the 

back and takeoff for the search. Upon 

arriving over the surf spot, I circle the 

break at lower altitude for a close 

inspection – if it looks sweet then I land 

the seaplane and taxi close to the break 

-as close as possible where Latheef 

then drops the anchor -so its only a 

short paddle to your own private surf 

spot,” explains captain Steve Pembo. 

Started surfing as 

teenagers 

Both Steve Pembo and Ibrahim Latheef 

started surfing as teenagers. But they had a 


very different start to their surfing lives.While Steve Pembo was 

able to buy a used surfboard, Ibrahim Latheef had to make 

one himself out of a piece of wood. 

Ibrahim is from the Maldives island of Muli in Meemu atoll. 

Since he started surfing at the age of seventeen, his life has 

been about surfing and he dreams of being able to work as a 

professional surfer one day. 

Steve is from the ‘Gold Coast’ south of Brisbane in Australia. 

He started surfing when his parents took him on a surf 

vacations as a teenager. He got his first surfboard at the 

age of sixteen as a birthday present. Other than flying, it’s 

surfing that is Steve’s greatest passion. He even has his own 

company – RIPPING surf threads, at ripping.com.au – that 

makes surf apparel for surfers. 

Both agree that the best way of surfing the Maldives is by 

seaplane. And they both mentioned that Thaa atoll too is 

another spot to go when you want those perfect long straight 

tube sections. But when asked what the spot is called they 

both laughed and said “it’s a secret”. 

“One of the amazing things about going surfing by seaplane 

is that there is no one else around because we keep the 

spots a secret. It’s just our guests and us. And when we land 

it’s always the guest that has the first ride in the ‘untouched 

waves’ ”,explained Steve and Ibrahim. 

No uniform when going home 

During a normal surf charter-day, one will normally be 

flying around two hours of the day and visiting around 

4-6 different surf spots. The wind, tide and waves are 


photo: Tropic Surf

photo: ripping.com.au 

...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

constantly changing. If the waves get too big it is just a 

matter of getting in the seaplane to go to the next spot. 

Either while enroute in the air or when having a break at 

a spot, Ibrahim will serve refreshments and fresh fruit. 

“The best days at work are of course the surf charter 

days. I get to meet surfers from around the world and 

once in a while surf with some of the best surfers in the 

world”, says Ibrahim Latheef. 

While Steve and Ibrahim are surfing with the guests, it’s 

the job of the first officer to stay with seaplane. But he 

too gets a little bit of action as he is allowed a swim to 

cool down from the heat. 

And since everybody is wet and has salt all over them, 

it’s normal that the crew fly the seaplane home only 

wearing their swim shorts and sunglasses. Quite a 

view - which a lot of waiting passengers take photos 

of– when Steve, Ibrahim and their first officer, steps out 

44 

THE SURFING CREW 

Name: Steve Pembo 

Age: 31 

Rank: Captain 

Years with MAT: 5 

Twin Otter hours: 5.000 

Years of surfing: 13 

Name: Ibrahim Latheef 

Age: 23 

Rank: Cabin Attendant 

Years with MAT: 5 

Twin Otter hours: 6.000 

Years of surfing: 6 

Read more about Steve Pembo’s and Ibrahim Latheef’s 

surfing at www.ripping.com.au 

of the aircraft back at the base in Male’, with big smiles 

on their faces. 

If you want to do something out of the ordinary then try 

charter your own seaplane and go surfing. 

The Maldives is not only fantastic for relaxation and 

tranquillity, it also contains some of the most secluded, 

yet intriguing surf spots. 

HoW To SURF THE MAlDIvES 

April to November are the best 

months for surfing in the Maldives. 

All types of waves can be found 

due to the steady supply of swells 

rolling in from the Indian Ocean. 

Maldivian Air Taxi arranges most 

of its surf safaris together with 

Australian company ‘Tropic Surf’. 

They have a base in the Maldives 

and can supply both instructors, 

film crew for recording the perfect 

ride, and arrange the stay at a 

resort. They put together tours, trips 

and stays that are tailor-made to 

your surfing experience. 

Read more on www.tropicsurf.com.au 

.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 

photo: Tropic Surf

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

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43 inseln 

Mit JAHN REISEN können Sie die herrliche Inselwelt der Malediven 

entdecken. Jede Insel ist einzigartig – sicher ist auch Ihre persönliche 

Trauminsel dabei. 


...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

Extreme 

Repeaters by 

“We have already booked our 

next holiday to the Maldives, 

as we do every year,” tells me 

Kurt with a big smile on his 

face, looking at his wife Assi, 

“though we have to say that 

the country has changed a lot 

since we came here for the 

first time”. 

The couple from Germany are 

exceptional visitors to the Maldives. 

If you talk to repeating guests, they 

have usually returned five to six times 

and experienced different island 

hideaways. Not so for Kurt and his 

wife Assi. They haven’t just been here 

many times – they have come and left 

in fact for 64 times to date, with their 

next holiday already booked. When 

the couple invited me to their villa near 

Frankfurt, I got the chance to find out 

what made them return to the island 

nation over and over again. 

“We arrived in the Maldives on Air India 

via Colombo for the first time in 1977, 

which you have to imagine is more 

like a ride on a military plane rather 

than a modern passenger liner. There 

was no big choice of resorts to stay, 

so we thought of trying ‘Club Nature’ 

46 

Verena Wiesbauer Ali 

(Farukolhufushi) for our holiday in paradise. It was 

‘paradise’ indeed since guests took off their clothes as 

soon as they arrived,” Kurt begins. 

Wait, wait a moment... no clothes in the Maldives? 

Many times I heard that even naked sun bathing is 

prohibited in Maldives! He must be joking. Assi noticed 

my sceptical look. “Back then,” she said, “things were 

different from now. The staff on the island was clearly 

distracted by the customs on the island, but the concept 

was successful and tourists kept returning to the island.” 

I was shocked. “I didn’t know life was so relaxed back 

then... ”I was confused. “It was relaxed for tourists, 

but never for locals,”Kurt interrupted me, “and the 

government tried to minimize the cultural exchange 

between locals and tourists, but sometimes...,” he 

started giggling and looked at Assi. They confused me. 

I knew they were trying to hide something. “Just say 

what you think, I need to know everything,” I demanded. 

“Well, our German friend working at the dive school 

back then had to smuggle certain magazines into the 

country for staff that was expecting them like vultures. 

Most of the magazines, however, were confiscated at 

the airport in the 1980s ( even newspapers like Spiegel 1 , 

Stern 2 , but also Neckermann catalogues 2 ” ).The whole 

picture was clear to me: with no internet available 

those days, locals had to find other means to get the 

forbidden items into the country. 

“Did you visit Male’ back then?” I wanted to know. “Yes 

of course,” they replied simultaneously, “you would see 

only a couple of cars and there was enough space to 

take a nice walk through the streets. The scene was truly 

that of a typical Maldivian village, with beautiful women 

..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

in their long skirts and men in sarongs. 

Apart from some old ladies, hardly 

any woman was wearing a veil at that 

time, and people seemed to be happy 

and enjoying life. Male’ was a beautiful 

place.” That sounded quite different to 

the loud and crowded concrete jungle 

Male’ I got to know just about ten 

years ago. 

“However,” Kurt continued, “we 

thought of trying another resort for 

our next visit and landed in Kurumba: 

60 Bungalows, no air conditions, a 

wonderful lagoon and a fantastic 

house reef. It was paradise. Kurumba 

was a jungle resort at that time; we 

had lizards in our bungalow during 

the day and geckos at night that ate 

annoying insects and spiders. Assi 

got furious when she found staff killing 

the lizards and geckos because of 

the guests! Every day we went for 

breakfast, we passed by President 

Mohamed Ameen Didi’s graveyard 

and greeted him with ‘Hello Mr. 

President’.” Mohamed Ameen Didi 

was the first President in the Maldives 

and was well known for his efforts to 

modernize the country, which included 

the advancement of women and of 

education in the Maldives. When his 

health deteriorated, he was brought 

to Vihamanafushi (now “Kurumba 

Maldives”) where he died and a 

funeral was held for him in 1954. 

“How about water?” I wanted to know, 

“Were there freshwater showers 

at all? And which kind of water did 

you drink?” Assi recalls, “We had 

showers, but these were brackishwater 

showers. Whenever it rained, 

especially us women were happy 

because we could wash our hair in 

freshwater. Ear infections among 

guests were common at that time. 

We remember Lankanfinolhu island 

having seawater showers, and no 

one had ear infections. There were no 

desalination plants like now, imagine! 

Drinking water was either boiled for 

us, or imported in bottles later. “ 



...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

“So have you always returned to Kurumba?” I wanted to 

know eagerly. “No,” said Kurt, “when Kurumba became 

a first class resort, we had to flee from the European 

luxury that we were offered. We wanted to stay in 

the traditional Maldivian backpacker’s resort, so we 

moved to Fesdu in Ari Atoll. It was only reachable with 

a Japanese ship on a five hour’s boat ride. I remember 

when we came to Fesdu the first time, there was no 

glass on the island - just like nearby Kuramathi, which 

we visited in 1981. Back then, Kuramathi had only 21 

palm-thatched bungalows, can you imagine?” 

I had to take a minute to think. Kuramathi, also situated 

in Ari Atoll, with only 21 bungalows on such a huge 

island? Unimaginable. Now, I think there are nearly 

300 guest bungalows, but people still love it. I always 

have good feelings when I think of Kuramathi – the first 

Bio Station was opened there in 1999 by my favourite 

lecturer at University Dr. Kikinger. Fesdu without glass I 

could not imagine either, since Fesdu has been taken over 

by the Starwood hotel group some years ago and is now 

also one of the top hotels in the Maldives. “For some years, 

we combined our stay in Fesdu and Nakatchafushi to see 

other resorts as well,” continued Kurt. 

Oh yes, I know Nakatchafushi and its Underwater Spa 

very well, or let’s say: its renovated version, branded 

“Huvafen Fushi”, since I worked there myself for some 

months. “I dived and filmed a lot in Nakatcha. I think 

over the years, we saw everything spectacular in the 

Maldives that you can imagine– the only creatures I have 

not seen is a Blue Whale and a Sunfish”. “How about 

the Crown-of-Thorns outbreak in Nakatcha?” I wanted 

to know, since I remember that Nakatcha is said to have 

been affected severely by the coral-eating venomous 

starfish that destroyed entire reefs in the Maldives. 

“Oh,” Kurt sighed, “you wouldn’t believe it. The outbreak 

of the Crown-of-Thorns starfish was a direct result of 

the Giant Triton snail that has been overfished for the 

souvenir market. So the Crown-of –Thorns multiplied 

and came to our reefs in masses! On one afternoon 

alone, we fished 600 of them with hooks. It was a 

disaster, entire reef patches turned white because these 

beasts were feeding on the corals. The ecosystem was 

completely out of balance. However, on the other hand, 

48 

we saw schools of sharks that you can 

only dream of – Reef sharks, Nurse 

sharks, Grey reef sharks, Sand tiger 

sharks in great abundance! We could 

literally see their decline over the years 

and believe me, we dived a lot... I don’t 

understand why fishermen hunt such 

ancient creatures just for the fins.” 

“That’s always the great dilemma, 

Kurt,” I replied,“because economy 

is given the priority over ecology, but 

let’s hope the best now that a ban 

on shark fishing in all atolls has been 

imposed in 2010.” 

“We could observe this just too many 

times, Verena,” Assi continued, “when 

we dived with Prof. Hans Hass, his 

wife Lotte and Irenaeus Eibl-Eiblsfeldt 

from Kurumba in the 1980s, they have 

already expressed their concern over 

the environment.” 

“What?” I interrupted them, “You 

met Prof. Hans Hass?” I know 

that Kurumba is still a hot-spot for 

celebrities, but I would push all the 

pop stars, actors and actresses, 

presidents and sheiks I have met 

..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

in my life from the jetty if I could only 

have a chance to meet Prof. Hans 

Hass, world-famous diving pioneer 

and probably one of the most famous 

marine biologists ever. 

“Back to the story,” Assi tried to destroy 

my day dreams meeting Prof. Hass, 

“When Nakatchafushi was upgraded 

with a freshwater pool, it was time to 

move back to Fesdu. We generally 

refuse to stay in resorts that have 

swimming pools or water bungalows, 

since we’ve got the best pool in the 

world just around the island. So we 

returned to Fesdu for the following 

ten years, where we got to know your 

husband. He allowed us to eat the 

hot curries from the staff canteen and 

always reserved a table for us outside. 

The other guests were so jealous!” 

My husband told me a lot about his 

time as a manager in Fesdu which 

surprises me over and over again. He 

says guests back then were happy 

with the same breakfast – toast, butter, 

jam, bananas and a coffee – every 

day! When they had to catch a flight 

departing from Hulhule’ airport in the 


morning, they were sent on a motorboat in the middle of 

the night on a four to six hours ride, depending on the 

weather. Without mobile phones and only Walky-Talkie 

systems available on the boats, at least four islands in 

range were involved in monitoring the safe journey of 

the boat up to the airport. But guests liked it, and kept 

returning again and again, just like Kurt and Assi did. 

“However,” continued Kurt, “when Fesdu got upgraded 

in 2006, we had to move again and stayed two times 

in Makunudhoo and in Eriyadhoo, where we had our 

best beach barbecue ever. For the last six times, we 

have stayed in Angaga which means for us: no water 

bungalows, no swimming pool, no golf-cars, only sandy 

floor where we can walk barefoot. That’s paradise for 

us. We wonder for how long they will keep it that way? 

Our 65th trip to the Maldives is already booked, no 

matter what!” 


...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

50 

Night 

snorkelling 

by Sarah Harvey 

Underwater 

adventures by 

torchlight 

We stood on the beach 

clasping our torches as 

twilight gathered around us. Okay, 

so we really are going to do this, I 

thought to myself. 

I’d been snorkelling plenty of times 

before but never actually tried it after 

sunset. The idea of being underwater 

in the dark seemed ever-so-slightly 

eerie to me but I was excited about 

giving it a go and discovering what 

happens on the reefs at night. I’d 

heard that the reefs come alive with 

a different cast of characters to those 

you usually see during the day. I’d 

also seen beautiful footage in nature 

documentaries of coral blooming at 

night but never experienced it firsthand, 

which was another attraction. 

So there I found myself, standing on 

the beach at dusk; waiting to plunge 

into the inky ocean. 

Fortunately I had the advantage of 

having a marine biologist from Male’based 

environmental consultancy, 

Seamarc, as a guide. Hopefully 

we’d see some lobsters, shrimp, 

scorpionfish, pufferfish and maybe 

even the resident lemon shark, she 

had told us during our briefing at 

the Marine Discovery Centre at Four 

Seasons Resort Maldives Landaa 

Giraavaru. 

As we waded into the lagoon at Four 

Seasons, I was relieved that our guide 

had two back-up torches with her in 

case the waterproof torches we each 

..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

had failed and we were plunged into 

darkness! We set our torches to a 

medium level of brightness; too bright 

and we’d blind the fish, too dim and 

we could accidentally bump into some 

scorpion fish. This is something you 

definitely want to avoid, being as the 

remarkable-looking creatures pack a 

nasty punch of poison in their spines! 

We slipped under the black water, 

gently kicking our fins. I shone my 

torch around me in every direction to 

test how far I could see. Visibility was 

at least a few metres but so far all I 

could identify was the bottom of the 

sandy lagoon and the dim torchlight 

of the other snorkellers ahead of 

me, everything else was blackness. 

So we pressed forward into slightly 

deeper water, following the soft beam 


of light coming from our guide’s torch. Within minutes 

we reached the house reef where we discovered some 

pretty table coral and staghorn coral, much of which 

was growing on the cobweb-shaped frames which are 

used to propagate coral. (To do this, they attach tiny 

coral nodules to the frames and eventually the coral 

grows to entirely cover the frames. The final result, with 

frames established several years ago, is surprisingly 

natural.) 

Corals ‘bloom’ at night, stretching their feeders out to 

absorb nutrients from the sea. It seemed like the coral 

was moving in slow motion, its tiny fronds delicately 

waving in the water. It was almost hypnotic to watch. 

Nearby, an ethereal-looking red feather starfish also 

gently swayed its feeding arms. Our guide then spotted 

some movement and beckoned us to come closer to 

watch a scorpionfish hunting. The incredible crimson, 

orange and brown striped creatures usually hide away 

in crevices in the reef during the day but come out to 

hunt crustaceans and small fish at night. Also known 

as firefish, they have a serious sting in their spectacular 

venom-coated spines. While they’re not aggressive, they 

will erect their spines if they feel threatened so it’s best 

to have a healthy respect for them. 

We carried on paddling and found a lobster lurking 

in a crevice, its antennae conspicuously poking out 

above the rocks. Lobsters are omnivores and eat fish, 

worms, mollusks and even other crustaceans. He 

definitely wasn’t going to come out of the crevice in 

a hurry to meet his curious guests, and neither was 

a banded cleaner shrimp nearby, but just a stone’s 

throw away was a plump little pufferfish conspicuously 

sleeping on top of one of the coral frames. It could 


...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

52 

seem almost reckless for such a 

little fish to be sleeping on its side 

in such an exposed position on the 

reef, but it wasn’t so much a case of 

foolhardiness but rather that pufferfish 

are one of the most poisonous 

types of vertebrates in the world, 

so becoming dinner for one of its 

neighbours wasn’t really a concern! 

And speaking of dinner, the thought 

of a lemon shark lurking nearby 

somewhere in the darkness was 

on my mind a few times during the 

guided snorkelling trip. Of course this 

was foolish because lemon sharks 

aren’t particularly interested in people 

at all but they certainly look a bit 

more serious than the baby blacktip 

reef sharks commonly found in the 

lagoons here, so it was with a certain 

amount of trepidation as well as 

excitement that I occasionally shone 

my torch into the void behind me in 

case I may have caught a glimpse of 

him. 

In the meantime, we spotted a moray 

eel hiding on the sandy floor of the 

lagoon and several colourful parrotfish 

sleeping amongst the rock crevices. At 

the briefing we had heard that several 

species of parrot fish secrete mucus 

from their mouths to create a bubble 

cocoon to surround themselves while 

they sleep. This is thought to help 

prevent predators like sharks and 

moray eels from detecting them or 

perhaps it gives them an early warning 

system if the membrane is disturbed. 

It was only 8pm resort time, which was 

perhaps too early in the evening for 

them to have made the bubbles on this 

occasion, our guide suggested. Oh 

well, something to look out for on my 

next night snorkelling trip, or maybe 

night diving trip, I thought to myself! 

And as for the resident lemon shark, 

we never did see him that evening, 

although I wonder if at any point he had 

observed us craning our necks with 

excitement as we combed the reef and 

marvelled at his neighbours… 

Many diving centres at resorts and also 

city-based diving schools offer guided 

night snorkelling trips or can organise 

them on request. 

We recommend that you only try night 

snorkelling without a guide if you’re 

an experienced snorkeller and have 

checked the weather conditions, 

current and tide. Ideally take a friend 

and a back-up torch and tell someone 

when and where you’re going, for your 

safety. 

..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

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56 

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...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

TWIN OTTER 

The first de Havilland Canada aircraft flew in 1925, 

piloted by none other than Geoffrey de Havilland. This 

first aircraft was called the ‘Moth’ and was quickly 

followed by many variations – all of them highly 

successful. However, in the early ‘60s, pressure was put 

on de Havilland by the US Army to come up with a safer, 

twin-engine version of the aircraft, and thus the Twin 

Otter was born. 

The Twin Otter proved to be an immediate success, 

proving immensely popular for short-haul commuter 

transportation. It replaced many aging piston aircraft 

that had come on the commercial scene after World 

War II and it was common to see the Twin Otter flying 

regional routes around the world. It is our belief that 

MAT’s success in the Maldives and the consolidation of 

our reputation as a safe and reliable seaplane operator 

in a relatively remote country is primarily due to the fact 

that the Twin Otter is the most ideal small aircraft to an 

aviation environment such as the Maldives. 

58 

At first the Twin Otter was most 

popular for short-haul commuter air 

transportation. 

It was not until the Twin Otter was 

forced out of urban routes by newer, 

larger capacity aircraft that it returned 

to it’s primary role as an aircraft that 

can take off and land in a very short 

distance. This proved of immense 

value to the operations in the 

Maldives, where seaplanes are now 

the primary source of travel for tourists 

visiting resorts located in atolls far off 

from the international airport. 

The fleet of planes operated by MAT is 

at present making the company one of 

the largest seaplane operators in the 

world. 

..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Palm Beach Resort & spa 

Maldives 

Palm Beach Resort & spa - Phone: 00960 6620084 Fax: 6620091 reservation@sportingholiday.com.mv 

www.palmbeachmaldives.com 

Sporting Vacanze S.p.A - Phone: 0039 645410410 Fax: 0039 645410340 sportingvacanze@sportingvacanze.it

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