In December 2005 Eve and I once again celebrated my birthday aboard MV Atoll Explorer. As ever Captain Fulhu and his crew and Saeed and Jacky from Eurodivers were ready to give us a great time.

Our one week trip was to take us south on the “new” South Male Atoll/Fotteyo route. My dive buddy for my first two dives and many more during the week was Matthias Bergbauer, a German marine biologist and diving correspondent. Matthias was the perfect dive buddy for me. Not only an underwater photographer, a professional photographer at that, but also great company. Our first two dives were at the Velassaru Caves on South Male Atoll where Matthias and I saw Turtles, Titan Triggerfish, Giant Moray Eels and juvenile Napoleon Wrasse. After these dives and other dives, Matthias kindly reviewed my photographs offering tips and advice.

In the evening I returned to Velassaru Caves for a Night Dive with Saeed and the next day MV Atoll Explorer moved to Lhos Fushi. There, Matthias, Eve and I dived as a group of three seeing Octopus, Scorpionfish, Maplin Puffer and Moray Eels. Later Matthias and I dived Guraidhoo. While the rest of our dive group headed off into a strong current, catching glimpses of Whitetip Reef Sharks and Grey Reef Sharks, Matthias and I covered very little distance, happily photographing Moray Eels, Napoleon Wrasse and Turtles.

The following day MV Atoll Explorer reached Felidhe Atoll for two dives at Kunaavashi and both were rather disappointing. The coral was mostly dead and there were few fish of much note. However the picnic lunch on a desert island was memorable for Matthias’s late appearance. Matthias had failed to read the Atoll Explorer notice board and as a result was a rather lonely diner in an otherwise deserted dining room. Fortunately the MV Atoll Explorer whaler crew transferred Matthias to the desert island where he was greeted by Eve – see “Matthias & Eve” photograph.

The next day we were spoilt with two dives at Fotteyo, a dive site with a great reputation. There we saw Napoleon Wrasse, Giant Barracuda, an Eagle Ray, Yellowfin Tuna and Whitetip Reef Sharks. Now at the furthest point of the South Male Atoll/Fotteyo route we enjoyed one final dive at Fotteyo. This was an early morning dive and we then departed for Thinadhoo where Matthias, Eve and I had an easy dive along a reef wall. We saw little fish life of great interest other than a couple of well-concealed Morays and a Napoleon Wrasse. A third dive of the day took us to Hulidhoo which regretfully was my last dive with Matthias. We were determined to squeeze every minute out of the dive and lost no time dropping down from the surface for what turned out to be a very photogenic dive. We saw numerous Moray Eels and Matthias spotted a rare Flatworm mimicking the appearance of a Nudibranch. In the evening I had a night dive at Hulidhoo with Saeed and a few other divers. Sometimes night dive can be a little disappointing but this was pretty good. In addition to the usual reef life we saw Parrotfish, a sleeping Napoleon Wrasse, Moray Eels, a Lobster and various Puffers including a Maplin Puffer.

At 6.00 a.m. the next day, my 52nd birthday, MV Atoll Explorer set sail for Male. After a particularly quick voyage we reached Male by late morning and we were immediately aboard Vidhuvaru, the MV Atoll Explorer dhoani, for a dive at Manta Point. What a treat for my birthday! Two Manta Rays hovered over the cleaning station and there were other underwater attractions to see, namely Titan Triggerfish, Batfish, a Turtle and on the surface, Dolphins. As I knew from previous trips to the Maldives it is supposedly a local custom to break eggs over the head of anyone celebrating a birthday and then cover them in flour. Once again I failed to escape from Saeed’s clutches! After an initial rinse failed to clean me up, I had to jump overboard for a more thorough wash.

Another wonderful holiday aboard MV Atoll Explorer was coming to a conclusion but at least Eve and I had the consolation of a further week in the Maldives, this at the fabulous resort of Kurumba.