Maldives: No stress atoll

TAKE a trip a million miles from care as we visit one of the most luxurious resorts in a chain of islands know for being an escape par excellence – the Maldives.

LUX South Ari Atoll, Maldives. Photo: supplied

I don’t know how it happened, but having popped off to powder my nose, I’m now dancing in delight, with a stranger in paradise.

I’m in the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, a country which offers the ultimate in laidback luxury. It has pristine sands, turquoise lagoons and tropical fish that sparkle and shimmer in the sea.

So it may seem odd that I’m about to rave over my resort’s restrooms, which is where I’m presently dancing. But they’re such a joyous discovery - with their sea-dappled walls, wacky music, whales’ tails, photo booth, and life-sized pictures of Kate Moss-style mermaids - they represent to me, the beginning of a love affair. Not with the guy that I bumped into and jived and joked with, but with LUX South Ari Atoll, a resort which - although this sounds well nigh impossible - offers more than just the Maldives.

But I’ll come back to that, later.

LUX South Ari Atoll, Maldives. Photo: supplied

The Maldives is a chain of 26 atolls, 700km southwest of Sri Lanka. The southern isles include Hulhule, home to the international airport in the capital, Male, and Dhidhoofinolhu, where you’ll find LUX South Ari Atoll.

As we approach, by seaplane, the view is stunning: palm-covered islands, each with a cyan-blue halo, float like lily pads on a sapphire sea. Our pilot, wearing flip flops, brings us down. We glide to a halt across the glassy water. At the jetty, staff wave and shout, ‘Welcome’.

GC-MALDIVE AIRFARES GO ON SALE

CATHAY PACIFIC TO FLY A350 FROM BNE

Within minutes, I feel like a glamorous castaway. Our villa, with its palm thatch and courtyard pool, opens onto a powdery, milk-white beach; two loungers, framed by coconut trees, face the ocean.

My husband and I go for a dip, enjoy a rose-pink sunset, and watch the night sky flood with stars.

The next morning we’re sitting, in dazzling sunshine, on the roof of a dhoni, a traditional Maldivian fishing boat, scanning the sea for shadows; I seem to spot them everywhere.

But Tina, LUX South Ari Atoll’s marine biologist, knows what to look for - a shape she describes as belonging to “the biggest smile in the ocean”. We’re searching for (harmless) whale sharks, the largest fish in the world; the biggest recorded is 12.65m long and 21.5 tonnes. White Sands Reef, just minutes from our resort, is one of best places to find them.

Incredibly, we’re in luck...

LUX South Ari Atoll, Maldives. Photo: supplied

“He’s coming towards us!” Tina shouts. “Quick! Get in!” We grab our fins and jump into the sea.

Moments later, a flattened head emerges from the shadows; you can’t miss the colossal “smile”.

The shark’s 4m long, a juvenile. I swim beside it for quite a few minutes, keeping my distance, but close enough to feel part of its world. The spotted giant cruises against the current, sweeping the water for food. Then it disappears, ghost-like, into the deep.

FINDING YOUR OWN WAY ON IRELAND’S WILD WEST COAST

Another day, while snorkelling, I spot a green turtle diving below. Its patterned shell glints in the sunlight, as if a huge emerald has been lost at sea.

Where the reef drops away, I come across parrotfish, powder blue surgeonfish and a shoal of black and white pennant coralfish that sink and rise with the waves. I hold my breath and notice munching sounds; it’s a lilac and lime parrotfish, nibbling at dead coral as it cleans the reef. Occasionally, it excretes a cloud of sand.

LUX South Ari Atoll, Maldives. Photo: supplied

“Kids love it when I tell them they’re walking on parrotfish poop,” Tina says as we return to the shore.

LUX South Ari Atoll is one of the largest resort islands in the Maldives, at almost 2km long. A sandy lane runs the length of it, through palms and frangipani flowers. Beachside restaurants, bars and pools are hidden in the trees.

At one end is the lagoon, the crystal clear water lined with brightly-coloured bean bags. We sit at the bar, a smart take on a laidback surf-shack, and listen to reggae with a bottle of rose from the resort’s exclusive Scrucap selection. A glance at the menu tempts us to try something. We delight in a salmon and red snapper carpaccio and the freshest tuna tartare we’ve tasted. At East Market, an Asian market-style buffet built over the water, we wander among sacks of rice and baskets of beans, to stalls of steaming dim sum and cook-to-order curries and stir fries.

LUX South Ari Atoll, Maldives. Photo: supplied

A joke with chef Pong leads to my husband cooking his own Thai green curry, ladling in coconut milk and flavouring it with fresh lemon grass. Pong, very generously, proclaims it’s “the best he’s ever tried”.

On the sunset side of the island is Beach Rouge, with a beach club vibe, white furniture and red cushions. My twice-cooked octopus is so tasty, I choose it again during our stay, while the kulhimas (traditional fish curry) served on the terrace at the Senses restaurant, is as fresh as the breeze that wafts in from the sea.

The writer travelled as a guest of LUX South Ari Atoll