DJs, dives & dad-bonding in the Maldives

17 May 2015 - 02:00 By Johnny Morris

Johnny Morris hones his dancing and scuba skills - and reconnects with his teenage son - on an Island escape "This is deep house and the crucial thing is to synchronise your BPMs," explains DJ Moudy. With one headphone cupped to his ear, the beat maestro from Saudi Arabia is teaching my son the art of keeping a dance floor swaying with a smooth segue from trance music (150 beats per minute) to deep house (130 bpm). The surprising thing is that we're not in a Brixton basement or a bubble club in Ibiza but on the tiny island of Dhidhoofinolhu in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Ben is training on Club 17's sound system at the Lux resort in the Maldives, and even with his embarrassing father shaking his booty, the place still feels pretty hip and happening.story_article_left1The common perception of the Maldives is of a dreamy but dull set of tiny islands best suited to honeymoon couples and exhausted romantics. Some of the fresher resorts, such as Lux, see it differently and are striving to widen their appeal to families and young adults. And it's so far, so teentastic, with my 15-year-old son - now turntable-savvy - enjoying a new way of sharing a holiday with his father.For such a small island (1.6km long and 200m wide), Dhidhoofinolhu provides us with a surprisingly full agenda. Next up is a crash course in the resort's newest watersport: flyboarding. Imagine a pair of boots with a built-in jetpack that allows the wearer to hover or fly above water like Ironman in a swimming costume. The magic boots are connected by a long hose to a jet ski, providing enough water pressure to launch the boarder up to 15m into the air. That's the theory anyway.Walking along the jetty towards the dive centre, we spot another guest embarking on his first flyboarding lesson. He is a game student but hasn't mastered his balance and is being repeatedly ducked under the waves by the thrust of the flyboard. I swiftly volunteer Ben, rather than myself, for a solo session. After several salty dips, he fights back and manages to hover 2m or so up in the air, wobbling like Bambi on ice. A few more body corrections and he completes a full 360-degree manoeuvre around the jet ski. Not quite Ironman but certainly Shimmyman. The resort's instructor, Usamath Mohammed, explains that if guests have the stamina to get through the first 10 minutes of splashing and sinking, then most crack flyboarding.mini_story_image_hright1The next few days are a whirl of activities, including a Chinese treatment at the island's extensive spa. It's Ben's first spa experience and he loves the jacuzzi, hates the paper pants, has mixed emotions about the masseurs' attention and is horrified by the Olympic rings left on my back by ancient Chinese Zhengliao cupping. Later we play pool, watch a film under the stars and do a lot of buggy-hopping, looking for a secret coconut stall (found it) and a prize message in a hidden bottle (failed this). Best of all is an introductory class in freediving, where we learn a breath-holding technique that increases our underwater time by 60 seconds.This comes in handy for the night snorkelling session on our final evening at the resort. Floating in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, exam pressures and arguments about the PlayStation drift away. I feel reconnected with my son.We were now ready for our next Maldivian adventure - a three-day open-water diving course in the Unesco World Biosphere reserve of the remote Baa Atoll.mini_story_image_hleft2As we step off the seaplane at Landaa Giraavaru, the atmosphere immediately feels more adult and sophisticated than the fizzy fun of the Lux resort. The wide, palm-lined boulevard leading to the airy lobby of the Four Seasons resort introduces a grander tropical island. Mature beach gardenia and lantern trees create a natural green network, concealing the coral-rendered beach villas. Ben and I home in on the bale (a traditional hut) with its inside-out living room, complete with table lamps, armchairs and a spiral staircase leading to a loft room without walls.The theme of quiet maturity continued in Landaa Giraavaru's Marine Discovery Centre. As well as a dive school, it has a well-established turtle conservation scheme, a coral reef regeneration programme and a pioneering manta ray research project that leads the world in studying the flying giants of the sea. It's the ideal base from which to embark on my first underwater dive.Ben had prepared by attending a weekly BSAC course at our local swimming baths and after three months was familiar with the equipment and disciplines of diving. I chose the busy father's route and opted for the Four Seasons online Padi course, which allowed me to work through dive theory at home without wasting precious time on the idyllic island.story_article_right2Inevitably, I came unstuck. "I cannot do it," I mouthed and signalled that I needed to get to the surface. We were just 4.8m down and our gracious instructor Bella was demonstrating how to take off a mask underwater. Seeing her face without her usual smile and surrounded by bubbles had sent me into a panic. Bella adapted quickly, however, and shifted our training to a shallower part of the lagoon.We were soon back on track. After three practice dips we did our final qualifying dive off the nearby uninhabited island of Milaidhoo. Adrift in an explosion of bannerfish and surrounded by a seascape of anemones, I was too distracted to worry, although I was glad that out of the corner of my mask I could see Ben monitoring my progress. After half an hour we were back on the boat. Ben explained that he was making sure I was safe. "I hadn't realised how fond I was of you until I saw you struggling in the practice sessions." Quite a moment for a parent. As dive buddies, we had taken the first steps towards mutual support and respect.At the resort Bella congratulated us on passing our open-water course and Ben dashed off to the watersports centre for a jet-pack lesson. I went to Café Landaa for the biggest breakfast it could muster. Holidays with teenagers are great, but you have to know your limits. - © The Daily Telegraphsub_head_start Plan your trip sub_head_end• Lux Maldives costs from £210 (R3 800) per night for a Beach Pavilion room. • The four-night learn-to-dive package at the Four Seasons Resort Landaa Giraavaru costs from £3 138 (R57 200) per person, staying in a beach bungalow with pool, including breakfast and return seaplane transfers for two. The package includes a Padi open-water dive course for one person...

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