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With our guests arriving early and with calm seas and perfect blue skies, we set off for the Noonu Atoll full of excitement and optimistic for a great days’ snorkeling.

Over the course of the day we explored 4 snorkel sites ranging from an outreef (outside of the atoll) to an underwater island – all with great visibility and lots of thermoclines (different temperature layers of water – very refreshing!).

We also enjoyed a well-deserved lunch on the spacious dhoni while drifting in shallow turquoise waters next to an uninhabited island – the crew had prepared chicken, fish, pasta and salad while we were snorkelling and getting hungry!

During the day we were also briefly inspected by passing Spinner dolphins that came to ride the bow wave of the dhoni, and from time to time flying fish would skitter away in front of us too.

Whilst snorkelling we found several beautiful Giant Moray Eels, one of the guides spotted a Clownfish nursery with tiny babies in an anemone and we were also lucky enough to have an Eagle ray cruise beneath us for a few minutes on the outreef.

But the outstanding feature of the day was undoubtedly the coral formations.  The table corals were enormous – some of them 2-3m across; and fighting for space as they overlap each other and the multitude of other corals that proliferate in Noonu.  Perhaps Easa Faru, our last stop, was the best of all – some of the table corals had broken in half under their own enormous weight as they were so large – and it was hard to get everyone out of the water, there were suggestions that we should stay for another day…..

And finally, as we cruised through the last channel on our way back into the Lhaviyani Atoll towards Kuredu, we spotted a small pod of whales making their way slowly past the island.  Some of the guests managed to get some great photos as the cameras snapped away.

As we arrived back on the island every snorkelers dream had come true. – a perfect end to a wonderful days snorkeling.