Hyatt thrive

The Maldives is a tiny country with an incredibly small population, yet it’s a bit of a celebrity on the global stage. Certainly everybody I meet when I’m at home in London knows the Maldives. There’s nothing better than someone blandly asking me what I do during a wedding or dinner party. I particularly enjoy watching eyebrows fly up and the look of polite curiosity transform to extreme envy.

Like a siren, the islands captivate travellers with their beauty - the combination of crisp, flawlessly white sandy beaches and blindingly turquoise water. They have the appeal of freshly fallen snow, clearly begging for you to plant your footprints in the sand and splash around in the glossy tranquil waters.

However in recent times, interest in this chain of reefs and islands has been boosted by their vulnerability to climate change. The presidential office has done a good job of highlighting how fragile they are as a nation. The first question I’m asked is usually “are we really sinking?” to which regrettably I have to respond “The consensus amongst the scientific community is that sea levels are rising.” But never one to miss an opportunity to share our beautiful island, I go on to add “so you better come and stay at Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa before it’s too late.” 

The intimidating thing about global climate change is the sheer scale of the problem, where to start when we need the cooperation of billions of people. The answer to that conundrum, in our opinion, is education. At Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa we make a considerable effort to minimise our impact on the environment. From bottling our own water, preventing the production of 100,000 further plastic bottles a year, to reclaiming heat from the generators to warm the bath water. But how useful is this if the island next door doesn’t have a clue and are busy undoing our good work? A number of local people have never left their little 1km² island, they’ve never seen a city, let alone a power station or factory. Yet these are the people will be amongst the first to have their homes and heritage engulfed by rising seas and the other negative impacts of climate change.

Our relationship with the local people has to be very strong, more than 55% of our employees are Maldivian, and a large proportion of those come from the nearby islands. The remote location of Hadahaa rewards us with an exceptional stillness and peace, but it also presents inevitable logistical challenges which require sustainable resources. The more supplies and staff we can source from local islands the better. It’s with this philosophy that we have started to develop a symbiotic relationship with our neighbouring islands. This month we have launched an incredibly exciting community development initiative by the name of ‘Hyatt Thrive’. 

Although a large number of the employees on Hadahaa are from nearby islands, we all live together on the resort. The initial aim of Hyatt thrive was to allow us to continue to contribute to the communities while we are all living away from home. We’ve taken inspiration from the UN and formed a committee of elected ‘Ambassadors’ to represent the different islands. Our ambassadors understand the status of their islands with regards to sustainability and employment issues and are fully aware of the capabilities of the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa team which is a powerful tool for the establishment of a worthwhile educational program such as this. The focus of ‘Hyatt Thrive’ is based around long-term sustainability education, the development of new business skills and other personal development projects that will improve the lives and livelihoods of the local people.

Through better connectivity, shared knowledge and encouragement from all sides, we will create a new situation in which everyone benefits. We can inspire sustainability and environmental responsibility, gather supplies and recruits from nearby islands, while the local communities develop and prosper.  It’s a project we are extremely proud to launch. The level of enthusiasm and support we have received from all in involved is terrific. I’ve come to realise that most people want to help. By breaking the problem down into manageable bite sized chunks, and giving everyone a means to act on their concerns, I am confident that together we can achieve great things.  

Executive Chef Elchin chatting with some local children

The Whiff of Danger

I think it’s true to say that most of us are fascinated by mildly dangerous situations. Testament to this could be the popularity of rollercoasters, in the grand scheme of things, they are pointless contraptions, but nonetheless, you can’t help but enjoy them. Scuba diving is even better than rollercoasters; it’s got the thrill of potential peril, weightlessness and equipment akin to space travel, and best of all lets you into a world full of fascinating creatures and adventures.  It starts to become addictive, imagining what we’ll see today, each dive is filled with anticipation.

For me, the most alluring animals are those that can pull off being exceptionally beautiful, safe in the knowledge that they are extremely poisonous. The Lion Fish is a well-known favorite, adding a twinge of excitement to any underwater escapade. Adorned with fire-striped fins dangling off their bodies in long ribbons, they look more like Christmas decorations than deadly predators. They can usually be found chilling under ledges, twitching their fins provocatively, each fin a hollow tube capable of delivering potent venom. Their wing-like fins can be draped around little fishy snacks, before being sucked into a hungry mouth, or raised as a warning when their personal space is encroached. Luckily the effectiveness of their weaponry allows them to be rather lazy, their embellished features prevents them from swimming very fast, and they certainly wouldn’t waste energy chasing us. All good news, as it means we are able to have a closer look at them in all their glory without the imminent danger of being attacked.

Sharks of course, are also always a pleasure to encounter underwater. The first few sightings never fail to send a dose of adrenaline coursing through the veins. They exude confidence as they elegantly glide above the coral cutting through the water with purpose and grace. Thankfully our location, inside the protection of the atoll’s edge, means the reef is only suitable for the small, unthreatening reef species. But what we lack in size we make up for with numbers. There are plenty of sharks in this area, The Maldives was the first county in the world to put a complete ban on shark fishing, and Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa is in such a remote area that the local shark population is booming. Our house reef is teaming with both black and white-tip reef sharks, it’s not uncommon to see three or four on a leisurely snorkeling trip, even the land-lovers catch glimpses of them from the jetties or water villas. I saw more sharks in one snorkel on our house reef than I did in the entire year I lived in the north of the country. In fact, after a few encounters with our plentiful and friendly reef sharks, their reputation for teeth and a bad temper is long forgotten. When I saw one having a little nap on the seabed this afternoon, it reminded me more of a Labrador puppy than the ferocious beasts you see on film.

Exciting though they are, dangerous marine organisms should always be approached with the respect they deserve. Even inanimate coral, which has no means to advance or attack can be responsible for their fair share of injuries. The thick and bushy coral garden surrounding Hadahaa forms a complete and impenetrable barrier between the blue and beach. The intricate network of skeletons means that the coral is very sharp. Taking care not to touch anything in the water and approaching deadly creatures with caution ensures that we can all enjoy our underwater rollercoaster rides without meeting with a sticky end. 

A beautifully deadly Lionfish (Pterois volitans) 

The House Reef

It cannot be denied that I am a seasoned snorkeler. As a child growing up in the Mediterranean I would run down to the sea every day after school to see how the fish and my beloved octopus were getting on. As a teenager in the Middle East, I would spend months on end in the water. Now, after all this training, I’ve reached the pinnacle of my snorkelling career and gone professional by working as the Resident Marine Biologist and EarthCheck coordinator at Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa. This is why, I believe it means something when I judge the Hadahaa house reef to have delivered the best snorkelling I have ever experienced.

The thing that first strikes you about our reef is the sheer volume of coral, a thick tangle of different species, all tussling for space growing one on top of the other, completely obscuring the seabed.  Thousands of brightly coloured reef fish flash in front of your eyes like jewels, going about their daily lives as eager as children in a playground. The coral itself has a pallet of deep browns and greens, which to the untrained eye may seem plain, but for me is heartening. The darker the colour of the coral, the more algae there is living in symbiosis with the polyp. The Algae photosynthesizes, providing nourishment for the coral in exchange for protection. The polyp itself is usually transparent or only slightly tinted, while its skeleton is made of calcium carbonate making it bright white. This means that a coral with light pastel shades is lacking in algae, and the coral on our reef is teaming with the stuff (as much as 30,000 cells per cubic millimetre). 

On a day like today, there is not a cloud in the sky and the sea is so flat it looks like tin foil. The sunlight glides effortlessly through the water and dances on the reef making even the drabbest rock sparkle and glitter. The water is heavy with fish, merrily nibbling away or surveying their domain. A gentle crackling can be heard, reminding you of the amount of activity that goes on unseen below you. I love to watch the electric blue Cleaner Wrasse attending to the larger fish, flittering over their scales and under gills to rid them of dead skin and unwanted parasites. The client hovers in suspended animation with a look of pure ecstasy enjoying their underwater spa treatment, until the Cleaner Wrasse digs too deep, and without warning, is ushered away with a stern flick of the tail. 

A Parrot Fish enjoying his exfoliating spa treatment

For seven months now I have been examining what lives on the reef and what happens subsurface. Sharing the spectacle with our guests and the look of wonder on the faces of first-time snorkelers is hard to beat. Every day I see something new or extraordinary and with any luck the trend will continue for years to come.