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
THE TSUNAMI HITS THE MALDIVES
JANUARY  2005
I was at the time running Maldive Travel and over the Christmas period I had over 50 clients in the Maldives at different Resorts.
Had a delightful family from Shropshire Candida, Husband Owen, Gemma 12 Poppy 10 and Beatrice 6 years. Booked them into the Resort NIKA in Ari Atoll. About 35 minutes by Dhoni (local boat) from Nika is  a very big sandbank with only three trees in the middle.  My clients could book to taste a real Robinson Crusoe adventure.

The Mostyn-Owen family had booked Boxing Day. I was in Norfolk for Christmas with my daughter Lucinda and husband John Stapleton. My office closed. When suddenly I got a call from alerting me to look at once at the TV. There was Candida my client being interviewed on TV speaking of their horror of the tsunami.

They had not been there long, snorkeling and enjoying their privacy, when enormous waves started to crash onto the island. Owen who actually knew enough about this phenomenon knew later the waves would be more dangerous than the first, got the children out at once.  
Their only chance of survival was to get to the trees, just one was able to hold Beatrice, they strapped her as high up as possible. They used straps from their bags. The other two hugging onto the tree with their parents round them, the wave coming right up to Candidas face. This plunged back and forth. without that tree they would have swept away.

Nika was suffering  with the water coming into the rooms. But knowing the family were on the sandbank wanted to get a boat as quickly as possible to them. They waited five hours until Nika managed to get a boat. Alas it crashed onto the reef not far from the sandbank overturning. The two fisher men managed to survive.
A second boat eventually was in sight, and to avoid a repeat  the wave had subsided they decided to swim over the reef and were pulled aboard.

Later that day they were flown to Male and put in a hotel for the night. They had  booked to fly to Sri lanka all part of their holiday.
So here I am Boxing night in Norfolk watching MY Client Candida speaking to the world.
With the horror unfolding I drive back early the next morning. The family had arrived in Sri Lanka safely.  I then wrote a brief letter to 50 of my clients asking them if they could donate money send for this disaster.

Within a few days I was receiving size-able cheques.
Soon after, I left for Male, with the donations. Took this to S.H.E. presenting this to Madam Gayoom and Doctor Naila Fidous

Many local island people suffered enormously. Their lives turned upside down. Pray there will never be a repeat.

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