Happy Thanksgiving! Not a turkey’s favourite day, but not a problem for the gobblers at Siyam World who live the pampered free range life not just with a home on the animal sanctuary, but also able to wander freely around the island (we stumbled upon them at the spa one day – photo at bottom).
Romantic pictures of Siyam World’s white horses ambling on the equally brilliant white sands of the resort beaches have filled social media. But equally impressive is the operation behind the scenes that cares for these horses with a service and comfort rivalling the resort guests themselves.
For starters, each of the 11 horses (including 3 ponies) has its own personal caretaker. I toured their farm which included state of the art sables as well as an extensive set of paddocks and exercise areas. Kanbula, who Lori had the pleasure to ride, had a baby herself a few weeks ago who was being trained in one. The horse farm has its own veterinary clinic with its own dedicated veterinarian, Dr. Nora.
The horses are a mix of Arabian and Indian (working horses) bloodlines so they are well suited to heat of the tropics. This breed is used to competing in 20-60km races across the desert. The horses have access to the paddock early in the morning and later in the day when it is cooler as well.
The horse riding is not a touristy gimmick, but rather a true passion project of the owner. The state of the art facility is typical of many such features in the Maldives where the owner has shared their enthusiasm not just for this amazing destination, but for particular interests they have and which gives the property a touch of the distinction and personality.
Maldives resort feature quite a menagerie of friendly furry friends…bunnies, flying foxes, cats (no dogs though, not allowed in the Muslim country). They wander freely and spoiled with attention from guests and resort staff alike. But Oaga pampers its felines with their very own luxury villas in the design style of the hooman ones!
The Maldives is famous for its underwater menagerie of marine critters, but no resort has as many land critters as Oaga. A range of cute and curious animals can be found across the Maldives islands from local flying foxes and push-up-manic litt’l lizards. Some properties have some domesticate imports like cats and bunnies. But Oaga has an entire petting zoo which includes:
One of the lattermost, named “Kiwi” is especially social with the guests flitting about from villa to villa to see if anyone happens to be munching on minibar nuts (which by coincidence we had, so she became Lori’s best friend enjoyed a prolonged and intimate visit for an extended period).
Maybe another title for this post is ‘Best for Easter’. Actually, Soneva Fushi isn’t the only resort with free roaming rabbits. Kuredu also has rabbits, but Soneva is really the most famous. Only for Soneva Fushi has several folks who have been there have talked to me about the rabbits. They even feature the bunnies on their website (see photo above)…
“Every visit makes you feel like a child again. Cycling round the island, never knowing when you might have to swerve to avoid bunny rabbits or lizard…Nesting turtles and bunny rabbits co-habiting happily on a jewel of emerald green in a vast ocean of turquoise.”
“In 1989, Soneva Fushi’s caretaker, Abdullah, gave his son a little pet bunny. The bunny happened to be pregnant, and cute fluffy little babies were soon born. their great-great-great-great-great-grand-bunnines have made the island their home ever since and are now little mascots for Soneva Fushi. Eva’s sister Amie even wrote a book about them.”
There are also lots of accounts in places like TripAdvisor (“rabbits that are everywhere”) and YouTube (see below).
Happy Easter!
[POST SCRIPT] – When we visited Soneva Jani and their bookseller, we got a copy of “Lost and Found in the Maldives” a children’s story about a couple of Soneva bunnies and their adventure on the island (available exclusively on the resort).
