Have a whale of a time in the Maldives

Guests to Hilton’s super-posh Maldivian resort, the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, can now exchange luxury villas and spa treatments for a stay in staff accommodation and the chance to help out with whale shark research.

Volunteers can spend up to four weeks in the Maldives conducting whale shark research and fostering community-focused conservation initiatives throughout the country. They will also be collecting and analysing data and sharing  skills to protect and save these gentle and endangered fish (above).

The volunteer project is run by the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme (MWSRP), a British charity dedicated to protecting and researching this little-known and endangered animal.  Potential volunteers contact the charity and pay for their accommodation during their stay, which is around £1,035 for two weeks, plus flights.

The progamme will run until February 2013 and a typical stay for a volunteer includes three to four days a week at sea, snorkelling with whale sharks and assisting with photographing, identifying and measuring the sharks spotted.

Sponsored by Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, the MWSRP is a leading authority on whale sharks in the Maldives and an active member of the international conservation coalition, the Shark Alliance.

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