Rihiveli Beach Resort - A Relaxation Retreat @ Kaafu Atoll [Maldives]

In some ways, I am fortunate; it never rained in the six days i was in Maldives and on this fourth day of my journey to this beautiful country, the sun continued to be as charming with not a dark cloud blocking its shine.

Speedboat spent about 30 minutes to reach our next exclusive island resort where we would spend another day as non-resident; Rihiveli Beach Resort!

While we visited the island, the irony was that the residents were on their way out. For all you know, they could be paying Maafushi a visit! 

The sandy walkway leading to the charming jetty - just a note, i didn't bring along my bulky DSLR and opted to carry the much lighter underwater camera; many pictures in this post were therefore taken using the Olympus TG-3.

I think this was the diving centre as i saw quite a few person removing their diving attire and gear. Speaking of diving, i am now uncertain if i should still include it in my bucket list. 

Guess everyone could not resist the above captivating sight; lighting was perfect, the colours were amazing and despite the heat, a light breeze helped to vaporise the sweating pores. 

Juliet (yes, it has a name) - resident bird of Rihiveli Maldives which was used a watermark in some of the resort's printing materials. Curious to know the name of the species? It's known as a crab plover and is a protected species in Maldives. 

Upon arrival to the reception, you would be given a cold towel to soothe the hot skin and a glass of juice (mango and lime i guess) to cool the body. 

Administrative procedure to enter the island as a resident.

Receipt for entrance fee and buffet lunch; as you can see, the killer was the service charge and goods and services tax which spiked the cost to US$110.88 for two persons. This amount excluded the transportation charge paid to iCom.

Bec De Cane - not sure what it means but most importantly, the hut was for our group's usage. By group, i am referring to everyone who took the same speedboat.

It was basic enough with dry towels and a bathroom for you to wash off the sand! Compared this to the more expensive Adaaran which didn't offer anything like that!

Feeling feverish as i was? There's a bed for you to take a nap! As the hut can be locked by key, most of us kept our belongings inside. The only problem was that there's only one key and we had to scramble around a few times to look for the key-holder.

Exploring the island is a must-do for me and a guide was on hand to inform us on the dos and don'ts. For example, don't venture in front of the 48 bungalows so as not to disturb the occupants. From the tone of her voice, it was obvious we were rated second class residents.

Well, it didn't bother me that much since i am only there for a day and we continued our exploration when she was done with her speech. The above was like a totem pole with hundreds of wooden marine fishes inscribed with messages.

Behind it was a pretty large souvenir shop and it offered quite nice stuff at rather reasonable pricing! As you can see, there were specific timings for which the store would be open for business and i decided to leave the shopping till later but for reasons unknown to us, the door remained locked at 4.30pm. :(

A spa was available although i could not find a price list to share with everyone. It was a lazy afternoon and i could not find anyone manning the counter too.

Found this pretty seashell and shocked to find a very much alive hermit crab! Had to use the microscopic function on the camera to capture this incredible experience.

A tennis court and a volleyball court were side by side; the entire place was dead quiet and i doubt the residents would appreciate the noise generated by the games. I could almost see myself retiring in such an island.

This was next to a sheltered lounge and would be a great place to catch the sunset. Those who could not stand the heat can consider chilling out at the lounge where there was a pool table to keep us entertained.

Don't you just love the random display of structures?! Some people call it arts, some people like me would term it as an accessory to beautify the area.

Other amenities include beach volleyball court and a watersports centre.

Take the catamaran, windsurf, water ski but the one thing catching my attention was the indication of high tide; the highest tide at the beach was only 0.84 meters?! That's only slightly above my waist!

I have written enough about this island and it's now time to check out the snorkeling and the two small islands within walking distance from the main island where Rihiveli resort was located.

Not very far; the two islands, known as Sunset and Bird, were only about 400 meters from where i stood. Or so i thought until i started my trek across the shallow water.

It was torturing with the water resistance! I would have preferred to swim over but the water was only about knee level, making swimming an impossible option.

Walking to the deeper end was out of the question too; the body of shallow water stretched for quite a few hundred meters!

Believe it or not; it took us ten minutes to walk across and by the time i reached the smaller island (not sure if it is the bird or sunset), i was in dire need of drinking water.

Nothing much on the island except for trees and a hut that would likely be used for the occasional parties / ceremonies (be it blessings or renewal of wedding vows). 

Snorkeling time! To read more of the snorkeling in Rihiveli, click here.

With quite a number of exclusive resorts to choose from, we eventually decided on Rihiveli due to the high probability of spotting eagle rays, dolphins and sharks! Sadly, we didn't see any of that,

I was adamant to go further away from the islands where i could be closer to the reef edge (likely to be livelier).

The stretch seemed to go forever and it didn't help that i was famished! Lunch was about to start soon and i thought i would have ample time to snorkel after lunch. 

As we trudged through the water, we bumped into our group mates from Singapore! Poor them were feeling the same frustration and exhaustion as we did! Haha.

About to reach the mainland; remembering Alex's rowing skills at Taiwan, i commented to Alex it might be worth the money to rent a kayak later! 

If you realised, i didn't put up many photographs of Alex in my blog recently. He had been identified a few times by friends and family members and the bugger said he's shy! Ass!!! 

Anyway, lunch time! For review and pictures, click here. For me, it was definitely the view rather than the food that was memorable! 

Back at the same area where the two islands were ahead of us; as mentioned earlier, we decided to rent a kayak! Bloody thing was damn expensive although you can use it the whole day.

US$30.85 - with that price, i think i can pay for two adult tickets to Gardens by the Bay conservatories, and stay the whole day too.

Poor bugger didn't realise he would have to do most of the rowing while the older man (me) shall take it easy and relax with the occasional photo taking.

Progress was unfortunately too slow as we heard from the service staff at the watersports centre that dolphins can be seen near the jetty; i had to do my part by rolling up my sleeves (figure of speech since i was wearing a sleeveless tee! 

View of the unexciting underwater world.

Last photograph i took before a fellow group mate commented that one of the two catches to the underwater camera was open. I was pissed as i consciously made sure that the catches were secured before i enter into the water! Click here for the update. 

With my only camera in non-working condition, i was in a super lousy mood. 

Searched for the key holder so that i can change into dry clothes and then lie on the sunbed to calm myself. Quite unlucky if you ask me; first my phone and hen the camera. Sighs.

Thank god i still had my iPad with me! For a moment of time, you can see me at the reception counter as that's the only place with free WiFi.

Killed my time by doing nothing while waiting for 6pm to arrive. By the way, the time zone at Rihiveli is an hour ahead of Maafushi; hence, technically, our tour starts from 9am till 5pm when we would board the speedboat back to our local island.  

I was the earliest! 

Rihiveli beach resort is actually one of the earliest resorts in the region and has a history of more than 30 years. Compared this to the last 10 years when resorts started mushrooming all over the islands after the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. 

Staffers waiting for a new batch of occupants to arrive. Customer service was really good as the service ambassadors would all wait in line to greet each and every one of them. Of course, such dedication is only reserved for full-paying residents. Okay lah, to be fair, save for the gal, the rest were actually really friendly. 

My day ended on a pretty good note. 

Not one but five rays surrounded the jetty! Seeing them gliding so near to us and i can understand why marine enthusiasts are against the proliferation of aquariums. These marine creatures are better off in the wild and free from the constraints of limited space in an aquarium. 

Guess what else did we see? A white Moray eel! 

We waited 30 minutes with no sight of the speedboat. The sun was setting with a spectacular light show and i would not want to go back in darkness! A visit to the reception and a phone call later, we got notification that the speedboat was on its way.

I can bet with you; we must have been forgotten! Nevertheless, we were drawn to nature's performance and with the strong wind blowing against our face, i was in fact enjoying the moment! 

Departing the island at about 6pm Maafushi time! 

Well, we have our money's worth! 

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Location

Southernmost end of the South Male Atoll

Website

http://www.rihiveli-maldives.com/

Day Trip Excursion

Those staying in Maafushi island may approach iCom tours to sign up for the package; the establishment was located near the ferry drop off point. Rate as attached above for your reference.

For my eventful Maldives 

itinerary, click here.