Where We're Going, We Don't Need Roads...

When I got to the Maldives, I couldn't help but think of the Back to the Future quote: "Where we're going, we don't need roads." From the moment my plane landed on the tiny island next to Male, I did not see a car. In place of standard taxi cabs, boats are waiting to transport you to your final destination (recommend learning how to swim before traveling here).

Life in the Maldives revolves around the ocean. Not only does it act as their super highways... but it also provides them with sustenance and is their primary source of income (tourism, fishing, etc..). What's ironic is that the same thing they cannot live without, may someday destroy their way of life. When talking with the locals, there was a consistent concern about global warming and the rising oceans. I hope that such a beautiful place like the Maldives never goes away... but I am glad I was able to visit the islands while they are still afloat.

Malolo Lailai - "The Island"

Being on the island of Malolo Lailai made me feel like I was in an episode of "Lost"... as soon as you left the confines of the resort, you were in the wilderness. The only sounds were the wind blowing and the birds chirping. It felt like "Others" were going to jump out of the bushes and attack me.

Malolo Lailai is a beautiful and mountainous island surrounded by amazing coral reefs. Hiking trails cover the island and there are many hidden coves and beaches that you can journey to. There is also a relatively large local population that lives on the bigger island (which you see in the distance in picture 2). In this case, the "Others" were extremely friendly and helpful. Hope to come back some day!

Fiji Watercolors

Sunrise Hike at Malolo Lailai

I took these photos on my last day in Fiji. I had woken up before the sun in order to go on one final surf mission. However, the wind was blowing the wrong direction, it was raining, and the swell had dropped... so I decided to not go. As I was walking back to my villa (to go back to sleep), I noticed a break in the clouds... and it looked like the sun might peak out. Therefore, I decided to grab my camera and go for a hike. The cool thing about the island of Malolo Lailai is that it is one big hiking trail and you can basically go wherever you want (granted you have the energy). I started at the base of a beach and climbed over a little mountain to a clearing I spotted the day prior. From what I saw, it looked like a good spot to watch the sunrise over the big island of Viti Levu (which you see in the background). I'm not sure if these pictures do it justice... but the sunrise was spectacular. I would have liked to go surfing one more time prior to my departure, but this was a pretty decent consolation prize. Hope you enjoy!

My Fijian Adventure - Exploring the Ocean

About a mile out to sea (from Malolo Lailai Island in Fiji), a sandbar forms between two reefs at low tide. I decided to take a kayak, my camera, some snorkel gear, water, and A LOT of sunscreen with me to this amazing spot. I started my journey around medium tide... so the sandbar had not shown yet. However, I scouted out the spot the day prior (when I was passing by on a boat to go surfing) and had a pretty good idea where it would form. A mile paddle on a kayak is relatively easy in calm seas... but I had a lingering fear that my camera would fall out and get destroyed. Therefore, I went a bit slower than I otherwise would have (and wrapped my camera up in several plastic bags, a camera case, and a backpack).

When I floated up to the spot, a sliver of sand had started to show (as seen in the top image). It was incredible to be in the middle of the ocean with no one else around me... and no sounds other than the ocean and an occasional boat. As the tide continued to drop, the sandbar continued to grow... at its biggest, it's about a half mile in length. However, like anything in the ocean, it's constantly changing... and by the day I left, it had shifted a couple hundred meters to the south.

Surrounding the sandbar are coral reefs... and just outside the reefs, the ocean depth drops rather significantly. This made for some incredible snorkeling! (which is why I brought the snorkel gear) I did some free dives down to the ocean floor and was surrounded by hundreds of colorful fish. It was a pretty rad experience.

In the second image (with sailboat), you can see how shallow the ocean is in this area. During low tide, boats coming to/from the island had to take a much longer route to avoid the reefs. If I had wanted to, I could have walked all the way to where that sailboat was.