A Private Paradise

IF A BEACHFRONT vacation is on the cards for your year end break, you might want to put your money on the Maldives. Or more specifically, the brand new InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort.

A 40-minute flight by seaplane from Male, the resort sits on the southernmost tip of the Raa Atoll, near the Maldives' only UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. This is one of the few places in the world where visitors can snorkel amongst manta rays and dolphins. Maria Anderson, the resort's inhouse marine biologist says December is a good time to visit as the chances of manta ray sightings are high during this month.

She adds that the Raa Atoll is known for its ''exceptional diversity of fish life whether it is reef fish or schooling pelagic fish, and the healthy reefs.