The Maldives - The Lowest of the Hightest

Ginge Fullen

Unnamed point, Wilingili Island. Highest point Addu Atoll, 2.5 metres. I must be bloody mad. Why bother? Why bother indeed. But at 2.5 metres Maldives' highest point is the lowest high point of all the countries in the world so that in a way makes it interesting enough, plus who, after all, can have set out specially to climb Maldives' highest "mountain"? Yes, I must be bloody mad.

I wonder if this all consuming passion of mine of climbing the highest mountains in countries is becoming, well, all consuming. Flying to a remote island peak to reach a 2.5 metre high point seems crazy but when I started looking into it reaching Addu Atoll in Wilingili Island where the high point supposedly is situated wasn't quite so easy, so finally I did get my teeth into reaching the highest point on the Maldives. Why bother indeed. The answer was easily apparent: "because it's there".

I hadn't really bothered researching the 2.5 metre high point here as I expected it to be a breeze. I soon learned though that the Maldives 1,190 islands span 822 kms from north to south, with only 200 of the islands being inhabited. Addu Atoll was the furthest south of all the Atolls in the Maldives. I found that much information from the Internet but Addu Atoll itself was made up of over 30 islands so as to where Wilingili Island was, I didn't know. From the tourist information leaflets I'd gathered from the airport in Male, the Maldives capital, you were prohibited from visiting uninhabited islands unless you first sought permission from the government run Atoll Islands section. I had chanced my arm I thought and so e-mailed the Maldives Tourist Board asking if their highest point is marked in any way. I got a short answer back saying there are no mountains in the Maldives and signed off with "sun, sea and sand", or some such line. So I was on my own.

Even the lowest mountains as I've found in the past can be some of the most difficult but also some of the most entertaining. Africa's lowest mountain is a lowly 53 metres in the Gambia. Finding a map just indicating the general area of that point was revealed by cosmic chance and a lucky meeting with a fellow Navy man Gambia's Services. I had to home in by GPS to the co-ordinates I had as finding a 53 metre point in a country lying over 50 metres is not really too easy. I made for the village nearest to Gambia's highest point where the 60 school children there took time out and showed me the peak. I'm still not quite sure whether it was Gambia's highest peak or just some lorry load of soil dumped out there elevating it to the highest place in the country, but it was entertainment for the children for the afternoon. This mad Englishman walking around following a bit of plastic and taking photographs.

A diplomatic incident could easily have ensued while I was "climbing" the Vatican's highest point, a 76 metre point on the helicopter pad. I'd gotten a contact with a British Padre studying at the Vatican. He'd signed me up for an official tour of the historic sites within the Vatican gardens which were off limits to ordinary tourists. I joined a two-hour tour with a group of historic religious experts. Most of the group were in their 60s and 70s and we were transported around the state's sights of interest in a small bus. We drove toward the helicopter pad at the far side of the Vatican compound and to my horror drive right past it and 300 metres further on to the next work of art. Well, what to do? The plan was simple. Lose the group and avoid the many security cameras viewing the inside of the Vatican City. With a combination of military stealth gained from my recent Commando training and the look of a lost tourist, I made it to the helicopter pad. Grabbed a gardener, thrust my camera in his hand to take my photo and returned hugging the building walls below the security cameras and then rejoined the unnoticed group of 60 year old historic buffs.

I now stood at immigration in the Maldives airport getting a grilling from them. Normally everybody coming here is a package tourist and independent travellers aren't welcome it seemed. Several fellow passengers had been sent for further interrogation with the head immigration officer. "How long you here for?" the official asked sternly. "Four days," I replied just as sternly. "Accommodation booked?" "Yes," I lied. "Return air ticket?" "Yes." "Why are you here?" I didn't think he would believe I was here to climb the Maldives' highest point and as his hand with the entry stamp was hovering over my passport I said "Tourist". I smiled. His hand came down./p>

I found the section in Lonely Planet for cheap accommodation and as it was late headed over to Male, the capital, straight away. The guest house was cheap for the Maldives. For $20 I was in a room on the third floor. I sighed and wondered again was it all worth it. Here I was on the third bloody floor of a guest house over the three times the height of Maldives' highest point already. I wanted a beer but couldn't get one. Maldives is 100% Moslem and only the package tourist resorts have alcohol. I sighed and went to bed.

I organised the flight south to Gan, the run way island of Addu Atoll easily enough in the morning. This time though I had to take a short two-day package as the whole of Addu Atoll only has one accommodation for foreigners and that's at the resort hotel. You're prohibited from staying anywhere else. So a much hated package trip it was, an expensive $80 a night all inclusive on top of a $240 return flight from Male. The Maldives' "mountain" was proving expensive.

The flight left at midday. I boarded the plane with a stronger will than that of last night and with the same passion and determination to finding this bloody 2.5 metre point as Sherlock Holmes took tracking down a villain.

The flight to Gan takes a little over one hour and looking out of the window of the small plane it is truly picture postcard stuff. I had no doubts now why I was here and a short two day holiday at a luxurious resort and copious amounts of alcohol wouldn't go amiss either. Heading towards Addu Atoll we crossed the equator. The first time in the last two months and the 7 other island nations of Asia that I had already done on this trip.

That morning I'd found out the Wilingili Island was an uninhabited one right next to Gan. So quite easy to get to I thought if I was allowed to. I gave Wilingili the once over on coming into land. Quite a big island, well in Maldive terms, and only around 400 metres at most from the island of Gan. Hopefully this time no surprises as well. Some sources of reference gave the Maldives highest point as 25 metres, quite clearly now I'd seen the island just a misprint with the dot missing, but from my experience in Africa and Europe and in discovering new mountains as countries' highest points, new names to unnamed mountains, mountains not even in the country they're supposed to be in, surprises can come at any point.

I was strolling up Senegal's highest 'hill', 581 metres, late in the day thinking more of my evening meal than anything else, nothing of interest here, just a few baboons that I could hear and in the distance. A quick photo and I could rush back down before dark and see if that nice receptionist is still on back at the hotel. The whole hill was trees and shrubs and near the top I had to grab the machete from one of the two guides and I had to hack my way the last few metres to the top and then came the surprise.

Sat right on the top of Senegal's highest point was a 20 foot high, near perfect square boulder with near smooth, polished sides all around it. The two guides I had happily said "Right, that's it, got to the top," and were all set to head back down again. Meanwhile I'm stomping around swearing my head off. It's getting dark, the baboons are closing in to reclaim their peak and the nice looking receptionist I'm sure will have knocked off by the time I get back down now. Eventually with the aid of the two bewildered and amused locals and a big tree branch I did scramble in a rather ungainly way right to the top of the boulder and so right to the top of Senegal.

I was met on landing in Gan by the manager of the resort. Being out of season and having only five guests he must have been bored. Once settled in, drink in hand, I enquired about the facilities, snorkelling trips out in the boat, 10 o'clock tomorrow morning. I signed up immediately.

Tomorrow came and I was the only customer. Rucksack packed I went down to the beach while the boat driver waded out to the mooring to get the boat. I sat on a deck chair on the beach and waited, the island of Wilingili in plain sight not so far away. 20 minutes later I was still waiting as the boat driver couldn't get the engine started. There was no way I was going to be denied Maldives' highest mountain today and besides I've spent too long in the Navy and small boats to let something as simple as a dodgy outboard engine stop me. I waded out and probably to the boat driver's dismay got the engine started. He would have to take his one passenger out after all. We picked up another local as boat handler and were off in the opposite direction to Wilingili. I pointed back the way. "No, no. Snorkelling good over here." "No, no," I replied, "Wilingili." We turned back, Wilingili it was.

About 400 metres out in the crystal clear blue water off the island of Wilingili the boat men started getting the anchor ready. "Further in," of course I say. We go a little further and again they prepare to anchor just off the shore. Now I'm not here for snorkelling as you've guessed. In fact I've no snorkelling gear at all. My day sack that I have with me contains my camera, GPS, towel and water. I gesture for them to beach the boat and not sure if they will. I make sure my water tight canoe bag is done up with my camera and GPS in it and get ready to swim for it if necessary. There was no need though, we beach the boat in the fine powdery sand of Wilingili Island and tie up to a felled coconut tree.

"Just going for a walk," I told the boatmen, "I may be some time," I added for effect, although I don't think he will have heard of Captain Oate's quote as he walked to his death in Antarctica on Scott's expedition. In fact the boatman didn't speak much English at all. The young boatman named Soldier joined me so we set off north on Wilingili Island searching for Maldives' highest point.

Damned flat is all I can say. I certainly wasn't going to get any surprises here. But I did find a surprise on Wilingili. The surprise was just how damned beautiful and remote this island is. The most southern Atoll in all the Maldives, nothing further south until you hit Antarctica thousands of miles away.

We walked along quite good tracks and passed a makeshift camp. Some workers were here collecting coconuts as well as other building what Soldier said was some staff quarters. Other than some ruins of a couple of buildings probably from when the British military were here in the 60s and 70s, Wilingili was beautifully deserted.

I climbed 2, 4, 6, 7 metres high, enough to scare myself and stopped climbing before I reached the top of the coconut tree. I'd just done it for a photo opportunity now wished I hadn't. Not that I'm not averse to a bit of climbing. I'm not sure what grade I climb at: but I climb what's in front of me but that's with good protection, friends, bolts or ice screws, here I had none and the sticks tied across and up the coconut tree were precarious in the extreme and climbing in sandals didn't make it very much easier. Back on terra firma and we continued our stroll around the island.

As the whole island is covered in coconut trees, getting GPS co-ordinates wasn't possible until we first reached the most northern end. We came out on to the tiniest of beaches where I could get a GPS reading. I was fairly interested in what height I would get but could get no reliable reading. 300ft, 500ft, 50ft, the GPS didn't know what to make of the situation. After nearly 2 years on mostly high, identifiable and some quite big name mountains, the GPS wasn't playing ball. 2.5 metres or around 7 to 8 feet. I felt the GPS must be saying "You must be taking the piss, Ginge Fullen." I put the GPS away and wrote in my diaries "no reliable reading".

We walked back down south along every possible path on the island in the two hours or so we were there. Near the centre we did come on a little surprise, a small lake mostly fresh water from the heavy rains they'd had here recently. At one point we crossed the island near the middle to the far side, at its widest point maybe, 300 metres or so. This is where the higher ground was and right in the middle stood a massive tree, well the diameter of it was massive, the trees themselves, even the coconut trees, don't top 10 metres I reckon. Soldier said the tree was over 200 years old and given its size I could easily believe that. Coming back the same way I'd now say here where the biggest tree stands is where Maldives' highest point is. As to the 2.5 metres I disagree with. I at least guesstimate 3 metres, maybe as high as 3.5 metres.

Who can say if this point is the highest? In fact I'm now wondering as to who surveyed all the 1000 plus islands in the Maldives and came up on an unnamed point on Wilingili. As Sherlock Holmes said, "some mysteries are best left unsolved". Well, I'm not quite sure he said that but it adds a little more impact than me saying it.

I retired to the bar, my mission in the Maldives complete and with my 103rd country climbed, a need to celebrate and an even bigger need to make a dent in the bar bill as it was all inclusive.

I left the Addu Atoll the next day flying out right over Wilingili Island and the Maldives' highest point as we did so. The next luxurious hotel resort in the Maldives is due to be built next year. The place? The remote, idyllic, and relatively untouched Wilingili Island.

Soon you will be able to sit in luxury by the swimming pool maybe, sipping pinacoladas on Maldives highest mountain. The adventure in life as is more and more the case, getting less and less. I for my part enjoyed this adventure and visiting the world's lowest highest country's mountain and I didn't even have the pinacolada either … it wasn't on the all inclusive.