Our snorkelling guide Nathalia Souza Samper shouted excitedly: “We spotted one! Stand by, everyone!”
I quickly put on my flippers and snorkelling mask, and on Samper’s direction, jumped into the ocean.
CNA Luxury was invited to a five-day-four-night preview of the newly renovated Conrad Maldives Rangali Island and that morning was the highlight of our trip: Snorkelling and spotting whale sharks.
The excursion almost didn’t happen. There were cloudy skies with ominous dark clouds looming in the distance earlier that day. Our guides also explained that sighting a whale shark would be challenging given the lack of sunlight and poor water visibility.
Conrad Maldives, which is a 30-minute seaplane ride from the capital Male’s Velana International Airport, is one of the best bases for spotting the world’s largest fish species. The resort is in the South Ari Atoll, where whale sharks are commonly found, and a 25-minute boat ride, or in our case, a luxury yacht with cabins and bathroom facilities, is all you need to reach the hot spot.
You are guaranteed of spotting one anytime of the year. Well, almost. “We say 95 per cent of the time, just in case,” said Samper, who is Conrad’s resident marine biologist from Ocean Group Maldives.
