Toni the Maldive Lady
  • Home
  • My Story
    • Married to travel
    • My Cocktail
    • Promoting the Maldives
    • The lady in the loo
    • Rat Story
    • THROUGH A ZANZIBAR DOOR WAY
    • Letters of Thanks
    • Flying with Hunting Clan
    • I MUST FLY I MUST FLY
    • My Maldivian Children
    • Magic Beans
    • THE MAGICAL YELLOW FILE
    • Crown of Thorns
    • 1986 Commonwealth Games
    • My Sandbank
    • My 86th Birthday
    • Classic Wings
    • My 88th Birthday
    • UNDER WATER IRELAND
    • Magic Boat Launch
    • Kenya
    • Commemorative Coins
    • Museum of Mankind
    • Racehorse
    • Guest Speaker of Canberra
    • MY OUTSTANDING AWARD
    • THRILLS and SPILLS
    • Wild reef Child
  • Favourites
  • The Maldive Islands
  • Diving
    • Shark Circus
    • Richard Harley
    • Garlic
    • Yusuff Moosa
    • kuramathi
    • I Dived to Victory
    • Muscat
  • Thalassemia
  • Contact
Kurumba
October 1972 - 2012
Rejoice. The goose had laid the golden egg
 The small island OF VIHAMANAFUSHI  ( Kurumba ) as it was then called, was the very first resort in the Maldives and on October 3rd 1972 received her first guests. I arrived a few years later having been asked to visit the island by Ahmed Mujuthaba, who headed tourism in the country. Kurumba was close to the airport and local dhoni (boats) would ferry guests over. It was wonderfully basic. Simple rooms, no fans, no hot water and sandy floors. A real Robinson Crusoe retreat.

Moosa Sobree was the Manager, a very intelligent man who had been brought in from Gan, a large island at the very bottom of the Maldives, just below the equator. The British Royal Air Force had occupied Gan as a staging post after World War II. The Maldivians living and working  with the British on Gan had the advantage of speaking English and had learnt some of the modern ways needed to converse with tourists.
The early guests fell in love with the simplicity, serenity and the luxury of silence. The abundance of multifarious fish, clean clear water, sugar white sand and the friendly people. The policy of no spear fishing, removal of corals, or shells has paid off as so many reefs in the world today have been gutted. As the years passed, customs and needs started to change, swimming pools were built, air conditioning was installed and a wider choice of restaurants. However the Maldivians involved in those early days had much to learn about tourism and struggled with lack of funds, coupled with having to learn fast what these visitors NEEDED!

Kurumba had her first face lift in 1979. To me she is now beauty personified and has become the Grand Dame of all resorts in the Maldives. The island had cared for heads of governments from all over the world and fronted Commonwealth meetings in her stunning conference hall. There is something for everyone here today.

VOILA! 
On the 3rd October 2012 I was flown out to be part of Kurumba’s 40th birthday celebration. The sun was shining; there was a cool breeze and calm seas. Forty of us divers gathered together to dive Kurumba’s colourful and busy house reef. Pictures were taken along the way and at 10 meters we gathered to pay homage. Back on dry land, we enjoyed refreshments.
Later on it was time for Cinderella to get ready for the Ball. I put on one of my forty National Dresses, the one with pink roses (the rose Fennifemin (check spelling in Dhivehi ), the national flower. All I can say is what an evening it was, sheer nostalgia and most beautifully done. Thirty years with "my little darlings' (this is what I call the Maldivians) flashed before my eyes.  Mr M.U Maniku (Chairman of Universal Enterprises) gave an incredibly moving speech out lining the Kurumba Story, so moving and brave. When they first started out creating Kurumba they were just kids, but with guts and ambition they got their Goose to lay. Lacking funds or knowledge of such an undertaking, nevertheless they battled on and on.  Here we have before us now Kurumba the Grand Dame of the Maldives Islands.  Mr M.U Maniku’s incredible speech brought tears to my eyes. I sat with all the 'oldies’ like me that had been so loyal and by M.U’s side all the way.  They went up to receive an Award of Honor, their faces said it all. We were all together with 'old Mama' (me) bonded together until death do us part.

Picture
Toni the maldive Lady Kurumba

An evening never to be forgotten.

The Maldive Islands


Ariyadhoo, Himithi, Mini Mas,
Gali & Maamigili
Fuah Mulaku

GAAFU ALIFU ATOLL SCHOOL
Gan and Feydhoo
Hanimadhoo & Uteemu
Ihuru
Kuramathi
Kurumba
Laamu  Atoll
Lhaviyani
Niyama - Dhaalu Atoll
Rashdoo & Noonu Atoll
Villingili

Holiday Of A Life Time:
Maldives, Sri Lanka & Dubai

New


SPIRITUAL PERCEPTION - LETTER FROM BENEDICTA

MY ISLAND STORY

On My Way To Happy Days

Passenger Flying Log Book

My Very Good Looking Father

Through a Zanzibar Doorway

Lion Sands

Cape Town

A Night At The London Zoo

Wild Reef Child

Ashley

Flying With Hunting Clan

Love At First Sight

The Queen Mother

Romy Has a Surprise!

GEORGE

My Talk 2018

My Flying Diary

The Maldive Lady, by Jo Foley

LiveWire: First Lady of Leisure

Kunfunadhoo

The Lady In The Loo

First Round The World Flight

Tehran

PHINDA

Rat Story

Visha & Maya

Saint Helena

A Flight of a Lifetime

Diving Bangaram Island
Shark Circus
Richard Harley
Yusuff Moosa

I Dived To Victory
Memorable Muscat
You Must Not Wear Any Weights Or Life Jacket


A Magic Boat Launches

Angkor, Cambodia

Champneys

Country Life

Crown of Thorns

Having A Whale Of A Time

​Hurlingham Club Magazine Summer 2016

Kenya

​KASHMIR 1959

Lady Rose

Love of Skiing

My Magic Beans

My Outstanding Award
My Sandbank
Museum of Mankind
My 86th Birthday
Classic Wings: My 87th Birthday
My 88th Birthday
Magic Yellow File
RACEHORSE
Seychelles
South Africa
The Haute Route
Thrills & Spills - Dhoni Mighili
Underwater Ireland
Welcome To Stanford Bridge
***WEST OF ZANZIBAR***

Helicopter Bride
SCHOOL / FLYING
World Travel Mart
My Adopted Maldivian Family
Life Threatening Thalassemia
Himmafushi - The Young Offenders
Villingilli Orphanage
The Tsunami
Commemorative Coins

1986 Commonwealth Games
Guest Speaker of the Canberra
My Cocktail
Love & Marriage in Sri Lanka


Picture
Flags
Picture

A Maldives Symphony -
My Swan Song:

- Velassaru & Kuramathi
-
Colombo

Contact us