private Island

Maafushivaru

Arriving on Maafushivaru after a 25 min seaplane ride from Male we were dropped off in the middle of the sea on a pontoon. A Dhoni (traditional Maldivian boat) was ready to pick us up and at the Island we were surrounded by friendly staff handing out ice-cold face towels and a color-full refreshing Welcome drink.

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Shoeless in the sand and with our snorkelling/diving equipment in our bags we were ready to celebrate Christmas.

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Our new home was an overwater villa, modern and minimalistic, lots of natural light in the room with large windows overlooking the endless stretch of turquoise water.

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A nice sundeck terrace, with stairs straight in to the water, large bathroom with a bathtub overlooking the balcony and the ocean and a shower was installed just in the entrance from the Balcony to the bathroom.

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Maafushivaru means “The Flower Island” and on this small Island you will find 48 Villas, a wine cellar, a library / cafe, a restaurant Gallery Cuisine, a spa and yoga area, the Water bar, a big freshwater pool and a small stage for the different entertainment during the week. Furthermore there is the diving center, a small boutique, a water sports center, and the restaurant 135 Degrees East.

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The Island also have a small sister-island, Lonubo, that is uninhabited and different trips can be arranged to the island.

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Maafushivaru is located on the southern tip of the Ari atoll, so this makes it one of the best places to get the chance to swim with the whale shark. And as we wanted to see the life beyond the beach, we signed up for a few aquatic adventure. The Christmas snorkeling on Lonubo Island, Manta Ray snorkeling trip & not to be missed, Diving with the Whale shark.

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We rented a Kayak and went paddling across the island’s lagoon, crossing over to the nearby Lonubo Island. It almost felt like being inside a picture perfect postcard of the Maldives.

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We did not spend a long time at the Island before that relaxing feeling you get in the Maldives came sneaking up on us so before we knew, we were sitting at the Water bar sipping cocktails with same colors as the ocean admiring the amazing view.

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The Island is surrounded by coral reef, that houses different fish, in all different color, small sharks and sea-turtles. Once you get in the water with your snorkel, there is a world beneath the surface inviting you to see thing from another perspective. We tried to get close up to the black tip sharks swimming in the lagoon, but they were too fast for us.

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Snorkeling in the Maldives is a must try thing to do even if you have not done snorkeling before.

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The underwater life is beyond amazing and what we saw during our snorkeling trips was all from Manta Ray, Sharks, Turtles, corals and fish in all kind of colors swimming around us. And not to forget the whale shark.  

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Early morning on the way to our dive site a school of dolphins decided to welcome us by swimming alongside the boat. At this time both my camera and my phone was downstairs and i had no time to get any of them to capture it on film, so I just enjoyed the view of watching them leaping up and down of the water. What i did get a photo of was the whale shark, but it was difficult to get a clear shot as we only saw it during snorkeling and not during diving. Same for the manta ray as it was difficult following them while snorkeling. You really need to swim fast to try to catch up with them.

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One of the evening we got invited for a complementary dinner at The restaurant 135 degrees East. We were served a fantastic dinner with sushi and teppanyaki. The service was great and the location just amazing.

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On reflection, the fluency of the Maldives is found not on the sun lounger but out at sea, surrounded by crystal blue water. We dived beneath the surface and the ocean and found a Maldives that is much more than just relaxing and eating and left with memories that will be cherished forever.

How to get there:

Direct flight from Singapore to Male with Singapore airlines.

As we arrived late we had to stay over at Male city so we booked one night at Somerset hotel. Hotel provided pick up service from/to Airport.

Check in for the seaplane is at the airport and transport is then provided to the seaplane terminal by bus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Tropical Temptation

When I first moved to Singapore I wanted to take a trip with my son to celebrate his birthday, This was back in 2007 and searching for a place not to far from Singapore I discovered this beautiful little Island called Nikoi.
The Island is located of the coast of the Island Bintan in Indonesia.

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So to get to Nikoi we had to take the ferry to Bintan. At the immigration we where meet by the staff from the Island. A car was waiting for us and took us to another part of Bintan Island and from there we where transported in a small Speed Boat to the Island.

Arriving at the Island we had to get off the boat on the beach as the only pier was under construction and not suitable for dropping us off in a small Speed Boat. This made the feeling of being on an adventure more complete. With little information about the Island upfront, we where both exited how this weekend would be.

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On the beach we where meet by the staff for a welcome drink and then shown to our Chalet that would be our home for the weekend. The Chalets are mostly built from old washed-up wood. The Chalets are open with no glass and being right at the beach you fall asleep to the soft sound of the waves.

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At the time we where there 6 Chalets had been completed and new one where under construction. The Chalets is built to have natural ventilation and with no air condition installed. Mosquito net are installed above the bed and you really feel like being in a tropical paradise.

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Arriving late and just in time for dinner we where introduced to the other visitor at the Island as everyone where seated at the long table for dinner. As the Island was newly opened the only visitors was another group of 5 people and the 2 of us. Then another 2 persons where expected to arrive the next day.

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Our plan for the Saturday was to explore the Island and as it is a small Island, It did not take us long. To walk around the Island took us around 30 min. Walking around the Island we got to walk through the mangroves and we ended back up where they where building the swimming pool close to the Chalets. Most of what you can do on the island is water sports, relax in the sun or play games as there where no Internet and no TV. They also have some climbing on a big rock on the island for the one interested in that.

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We went to the beach and spent some time there and tried out the kayak. Our plan was to try to paddle out to the rock looking like and Ipad, but dark clouds was getting closer and the waves got bigger and a tropical storm was about to hit the Island.

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It started to rain heavy with thunder and lightning so we went back to our chalet to relax before dinner.  During dinner it was still raining heavy with thunder and lightning and suddenly the lightening stroke and hit the Island Generator. It felt like something strong hit the ground and the light was shut down. The feeling of sitting in the open air just covered with a roof above us with no walls and feeling the forces of the nature was a strange feeling and a bit scary as we where very close to where the lightning stroke. I think we where all in a kind of shock after this and kept talking about how close it was so the dinner ended up a bit different then it started. The rain stopped and the weather changed. The Generator was fixed and electricity came back on.

The staff had noticed it was Aleksander’s birthday as we had to give a copy of our passport on arrival, so they surprised him with a cake and the evening was celebrated with Cake & Drinks.

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The next day we had to return back to Singapore so the first group where leaving just after breakfast and we where leaving just after lunch.The staff on the Island where down on the beach to wish everyone a safe trip back and thanking them for visiting the Island.

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As in this tropical climate you never know when the rain will come and and when it comes it comes fast with heavy rain so just before we where to take the boat back the rain started again. This time without the thunder and lightning and lucky for us as we where going to spend about and hour in a small speed boat to get back to Bintan.

Even with the tropical storm hitting the Island with the lightning cutting the electricity the weekend had been fantastic and I was planning to return to this Island at a later time and so I did in 2011.

This time It was not so easy to book a stay at the Island as it had become more known to people and special to people living or visiting Singapore, so I was lucky and managed to book a stay for a weekend and here I was back on this beautiful Tropical Island.

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The Island had not changed much but had a few upgrades, so the small speed boat was changed out to a larger one with cover. A new jetty had been built, the rest of the Chalets was completed so now there is a total of 15 Chalets that has different sizes and the swimming pool had been completed.

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A Lizard is out for a walk and was trying to take a swim in the pool.

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The sunset is still amazing and they still make the fire at the beach in the evening.

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The Island is not the place if you need to be connected to Internet or need a TV, but if you are looking for some days just feeling the peace and quiet this is the perfect place. It is still a tropical temptation even do with a little less Robinson Crusoe touch to it.

To book your stay at Nikoi Island you can log in to: http://www.nikoi.com