BLOG

It was a normal morning on Lily Beach, the guests arrived for their 2 tank dive trip, totally unaware of the surprise the ocean had in store for them.

First there was a beautiful dive at Kahambu Thila, with lots of turtles, white tip reef sharks, clouds of anchovies and much more. The plan for the second dive was Vilamendhoo Thila; it’s located right next to Lily Beach’s neighboring island and runs in north-south direction. On the west side is a steep drop-off with caves and overhangs from 10-25m. The eastern side is more gently sloping and drops off towards the outer atoll providing some interesting caves and overhangs. There are many large sea fans and a myriad of fish including Batfish, Fusiliers and Snappers. Reef sharks and Eagle rays are often seen and in the anemones, macro fans can find porcelain crabs, cleaner shrimps and also the long nose hawkfish. With a bit of luck at the right time of year, mantas can even be seen, but no one expected to see what the divers saw…

Suddenly, from behind the group, at about 18m, a BIG Whale Shark appeared. The divers cheered under water, while the gentle giant glided slowly past them and then, after a while, disappeared over the top reef into the blue. Whale Sharks are very rare guests at Vilamendhoo Thila, but, as always, anything is possible underwater, even a big surprise like this!

A very successful morning for Lily beach divers.