Kuredu – truly a paradise island

12:16pm Friday 17th June 2005

• Print
• Email
• Share

WHEN my husband suggested going to the Maldives to celebrate our coral wedding anniversary my first feeling was one of consternation.

As a lover of active holidays, what on earth was I going to find to do, stuck for two whole weeks on a tiny flat island?

However, I felt he deserved some peace and quiet after a hard year so, armed with several hefty books and magazines, I stepped off the plane at Male and was completely won over first by the lovely Maldivian people, so friendly and helpful, and then by the glorious colours of the land and seascape.

I have never seen so many shades of blue before, from the palest pastel through several shades of turquoise to the deepest aquamarine. All this splendour contrasting against pure white sand and lush tropical green vegetation. Yes, this truly was paradise!

Kuredu Island and Sangu Resort is one of the larger islands situated in the Lhaviyani atoll, a four hour boat ride from Male so, not being the best of sailors, we decided to take the seaplane transfer run by Maldivian Air Taxis. What an incredible start to a holiday. Noisy granted, but only 45 minutes and more than compensated by breathtaking views and the thrill of landing on the water!

The island is three kilometeres long and approximately one kilometere at its widest point. It has a long pure white sandbank at the western end giving views of glorious sunsets over the Indian Ocean.

The philosophy of Kuredu Island is "no news, no shoes" and there is something incredibly liberating about throwing off your shoes immediately you set foot on the island, knowing that you won't need to put them on again until you leave. Everywhere is fine white sand, including the floors of the bars and restaurants. At night you have the surreal sensation of walking on what looks like snow, only its warm!

As this was a special anniversary we fulfilled a longheld dream of occupying a water villa standing in the crystal clear waters of the lagoon. Simply but elegantly furnished, these villas are well equipped with everything you need, right down to beach towels. From the sundeck you can watch all the different kinds of fish that come and go. There were black tipped reef sharks, manta rays, triggerfish, unicorn fish, needlefish and shoals of silver mullet. During the day we were often visited by a huge triggerfish we nicknamed George. He would pop his head out of the water and grin at us, showing his fine teeth, and would make a smacking noise with his lips like a luvvie's kiss.

Although I can swim I have never snorkelled successfully before. During countless family trips to the Med I had always stayed on shore and watched my family having a great time. I tried it once and sank like a stone. My husband says its impossible to sink when you're full of air but, believe me, I did. However, just prior to our trip I decided I would never get a better opportunity to see a myriad of tropical fish so I logged onto a website called www.dive90.com looking for snorkel masks and discovered a wonderful invention called a snorkelling vest similar to a life jacket and it opened up a whole new world for me.

When I first put it on it took a few minutes to learn to trust it but then I was away, floating along in the lagoon, marvelling at the sheer variety of beautiful coloured fish that were literally swimming all around me. Learning to put my feet down again was quite funny, resulting in my flipping over onto my back like a turtle, but I soon got the hang of it. With flippers on I was off like the Man from Atlantis. I even managed to snorkel right out to the edge of the lagoon, which was at least a mile out. The amazing colours of the coral were fantastic as were the electric blues, reds and yellows of the fish.

One incredible sight was a huge shoal of tiny silver fish being coralled and patrolled by a dozen black tipped reef sharks. Every time a shark ploughed through the shoal it would part like the Red Sea as if all these fish had one single mind. When a shark made a rush at them thousands of these fish would leap out of the water and splash down again like a shower of sparkling raindrops. Fortunately none of these sharks was bigger than about three feet and they were very timid so no need to fear any "Jaws" scenarios.

One of my main concerns before arrival was being surrounded by honeymoon couples, and this is certainly a fantastic place for them. However, there were plenty of people of all ages and you could be as sociable or as private as you wanted to be. Normally it takes me the first week of a holiday to unwind but here I was virtually a zombie by the end of my first day. I can certainly recommend island life as a cure for stress. With no newspapers, radio or TV you can forget about all the world's troubles and completely relax.

There is a TV lounge for those who find it completely impossible to cut themselves off, and we did pop in there early one evening just to check it out and, to our amazement, they were showing an old Watford FC match.

We read books, listened to CDs, took lots of photos, including some underwater shots and generally lazed around on the sundeck or the verandah. It was very hot and the air conditioning in the villa was most welcome as the heat does not vary more than a few degrees day or night.

The most energetic thing we did the whole fortnight, apart from daily snorkelling, was to paddle canoes around the lagoon. However, there are plenty of things to do such as scuba diving, windsurfing, boogie boards, parasailing, volleyball and a weekly football match between staff and guests, played on a sandy pitch. The Maldivians adore football and, as most of them are very slim and active, they ran rings around most of the tourists, playing barefoot. Evening entertainment includes live music, crab races and theme nights.

There are sunset cruises, island hopping excursions and even, for the more adventurous, a Robinson Crusoe trip which involves being dropped off on a deserted island for 24 hours the ultimate in privacy. Kuredu has a wonderful spa which offers wonderful relaxing therapies and even a nine-hole golf course and driving range which they say is the only one in the whole of the Maldives.

Apart from the marine life, island wildlife includes large fruitbats and beautiful pure white gulls with very long tails which I first mistook for parakeets. Herons, sandpipers and a type of thrush with an eerie call like a chattering monkey were also prevalent. One thing I did not see much of, thankfully, was insects although we did use a fair amount of mosquito repellant just in case.

The Maldives are a Muslim country with very strict laws on alcohol, drugs and nudity, which are forbidden. The Maldivian people have no problem serving alcohol to tourists but, although all the bars and restaurants are very casual, you are not allowed to wear swimwear in them. As long as you respect these few rules there is no problem and the staff really are very friendly and show great interest in other people's way of life. Tipping is very common, and welcome, as the average wage is very low by European standards. The islands are virtually crime free.

On our last night, on our return from the bar, we found our bed had been beautifully decorated by our houseboy. Every night he had pleated the top sheet into a different art form but this time he added frangipani flowers and leaves in beautiful patterns. It seemed a shame to spoilt it by getting into bed.

We took the all inclusive package, although this is not quite the same as those we have had in other resorts, as bottled water was not included, but everything is clearly explained on arrival and we can thoroughly recommend this island to anyone who is tired, stressed and feeling a little jaded. If it wasn't for the family, we would have been very tempted to stay forever in this paradise.

We travelled with Thomas Cook but you can also book direct through www.kuredu.com.

• Print
• Email
• Share