NZTiger

The last full day of our holiday dawns, and after an early breakfast I'm down at the dhoni by 8:15. Today we have 3 crew, 1 instructor and 3 divers! it's almost like a private dive. The wind has got a bit blustery overnight so we have to pick our dive site carefully as the current and waves can make visibility a bit dodgy. We arrive at Angaga Thila after 30 minutes of somewhat choppy sailing (I couldn't wait to get under the waves and stop feeling queasy !) (by the way, according to Wikipedia Thila is a village in Yemen which is a bit disconcerting as I've been diving round them @30 metres all week, according to wookieepedia it's a small planet in Star Wars - but I digress ) (I think it means pinnacle ... read more

Well, just when you thought a rest day would be dull with nothing to write about, along comes a dastardly cone snail to spice the day up! During one of our perambulations along the surf Sue bends down to pick up an interesting shell when she realizes it's occupied. Luckily she did as I recognised it as a cone snail. I won't bore you with details (but if you're interested then google away!) Basically they harpoon their prey, injecting a deadly poison to boot! This can be (depending on species) deadly to humans too (1000 times more powerful than morphine - at least you won't feel anything !) it's also known as the cigarette snail because that's the only thing you'd have time for before you expired! Suffice to say we looked more closely where we ... read more

Where was I?... oh yes, moonlit dinner. We chose the Mandhoo restaurant associated with their dedicated spa villas. As they are so quiet we could choose the time and table so we sat overlooking the lagoon as the full moon rose over the island, it's light dappling the water in front of us as we ate an excellent meal washed down by a cheeky Austrian white. (am i painting a picture here?) As I was only diving in the afternoon the next day i could look forward to another lie in. The morning was spent on the beach then it was off to the dive boat. The dive site was only 15 minutes away so no time to sun bathe on deck. I spent another hour diving a thila i hadn't been to before. The highlight ... read more

Dawn breaks as the alarm goes off and another day beckons. It's dive time again and I've got an hour to get ready including breakfast before I have to meet the dive boat. On board today we have 5 divers, 2 instructors and 3 crew. Normally at this time of year it would be double the amount of divers & instructors but the hotel is unusually quiet (political unrest in Male and the general world recession has seen occupancy slip to 50% whereas it would normally be 85+ at this time of year). From a selfish point of view I don't mind as the dive sites have all been quiet as well, we've not seen another dive boat anywhere near us. The first site is called 'Ali Thila' and we dived on the site for nearly ... read more

Natures a wonderful thing. Today was spent on the beach and snorkelling (a rest from scuba) Not much to report apart from observing the local heron (George) in co-operation with the local black tip shark who, between them were coralling small fish up against shore line and as the shark dived in for a snack the fish would panic and throw themselves on the beach where George would gratefully Hoover them up! Marvellous to watch. Snorkelling was great too and because of the light some good pictures were taken. Bar snack followed by early night for tomorrow we dive! Bon nuit.... read more

An even earlier rise on the fourth day as I'm diving on two sites this morning. Here's hoping for a good trip... Wow! what a fantastic experience that was! Two great dive sites and some great encounters. The first was a 'Thila', full of coral and loads of under sea wild life, including a turtle who posed for his picture. The second dive site was called Rangali Outside which was situated on the reef which protects the two islands on which we're based. I managed a full 60 minutes which for me is something of a bonus as I'm not good when it comes to air consumption which shortens the dive time. I got some great photos including an 'Oriental Sweetlips' but the best was the Manta Ray which joined us. As luck would have it ... read more

Dawn arrives as the alarm clock goes off at 7:15 (yes I know we're on holiday but the dive boat waits for no man) Still time for a decent breakfast (but I don't recommend vanilla yoghurt and all bran - it's an age thing !) Then off to catch the boat for the first proper dive. 45 minutes later I'm leaping off the side of the dhoni and descending to the wreck of the MV Madivishu. A great dive with plenty to see including a 4 foot shark and my first ever frog fish. It was also the first time with my camera so and I hope to have pictures with this blog shortly (if I can work out how to load them !) I'm back at the resort by 12:30 and the rest of the ... read more

Who invented happy hour? whoever it was was a genius! Tanqueray and tonic (large) very refreshing. Next morning saw us up early so much so that we were the only ones in the restaurant. After an excellent breakfast (including prawn dim sum and smoked salmon - wouldn't work in the UK but somehow does out here) I visited the dive centre and booked a check dive for the afternoon then hit the beach. Check dive went OK apart from the fact that I'd forgotten how to put together my kit - very embarrassing! I also signed up for the Nitrox course for the next day. This included a wreck dive (don't tell my Mum!) Rest of day spent on the beach followed by happy hour and an excellent meal in the Mandhou restaurant. Tomorrow up early ... read more

BA flight left on time nice seats, plenty of leg room. (You can tell I'm getting old!) Listened to remastered Pink Floyd whilst doing crossword (another bad sign ). Food surprisingly good then a film (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) good but those back seat screens never do a film justice. Slept on and off for a few hours then before you know the light is pouring through the window and breakfast is served. Landed 10 minutes early and for once passport/baggage is not a tortuous queue and we're landside in less than an hour. As before the Conrad staff were waiting for us as we came through customs and within 10 minutes we'd been checked in for our water taxi and were on our way to the lounge to wait for the final leg of the ... read more