Spread over one million square km, the Seychelles archipelago is comprised of tiny islands with a total population of just 88,000. While technically Africa, they feel far more Caribbean in flavour. The people are Creole, a blend of French, Indian, African and Asian spanning hundreds of years and many generations, and the three official languages are Creole, French and English (the latter two thanks to colonisation in the 1800s) – with Creole being the most widely used. With their Rastafarian dreads, love of reggae, laid back manner and exotic looks the people made me think most of Jamaica.
The equatorial location makes for an incredibly steamy, humid climate – on any given day there is generally a mix of thundering tropical downpours, low hanging cloud and brilliant blue skies. This translates to lush, verdant, almost teeming plant life – including banana trees, frangipani and hibiscus and the Coco de Mer x-rated palm trees, which I will explain later. The larger islands feature narrow two lane roads characterized by hairpin turns that wind, twist and turn through rainforests. These roads are not for the easily car sick.
Mahe and Praslin are very mountainous, with granite peaks towering above the tree line and giant boulders casually scattered throughout the islands – in people’s yards, by the roadsides and along the beaches. More than 50% of the (very few) inhabited islands are dedicated national parks and nature reserves, so plants, bugs and animals run the show. Regarding wildlife, giant Aldabra tortoises can be head groaning loudly throughout the islands, and lizards and geckos are constantly underfoot – and in your food, since I found a gecko hanging out in my cookie box while snacking one evening. While there are lots of colourful birds flitting around, bats are far more common and can be seen flying overhead at the beaches and heard twittering in the trees after dark. The islands are also rife with massive snails. At first I wondered why there were giant seashells scattered around non-beach areas, then I realized they were in fact giant snails.
We chose to make our home base on Mahe, the largest island (which is still tiny) and from there visited four other islands: La Digue, Praslin, Cerf and Moyenne. Mahe is covered by a comprehensive bus service which makes it easy to explore. The buses are old, blue and slightly rusty (with zero suspension) and barrel along the narrow roads taking the steep hairpin turns at top speed, mowing down passing motorists. Taking the bus was like riding a roller coaster- at times terrifying, but always exhilarating. Plus, at five rupees a trip it was the only bargain to be found in the islands. We did opt to rent a car one day, and driving with these buses turned out to be a pretty intense experience.
We stayed at a little beach front guesthouse in Beau Vallon, a small town three km from the capital city of Victoria. It was a nice area though the food selection was not great. Then again, the food everywhere was ridiculously overpriced and mediocre at best. From Beau Vallon we visited some incredibly beautiful beaches, including Anse Major, Anse Takanaka and Anse Intendence. Most are quite hard to access and include hour plus hikes along lush, overgrown rainforest trails, where a sudden clearing through the trees reveals a beach spreading before you. The beaches were a little different then I expected, and swimming could be challenging thanks to really strong currents and undertow. Many people, including one of the Seychellois prime ministers have drowned or been dragged out to sea. It is definitely the strongest I have yet to feel. Also, the waves are huge, so shells and coral wash up on the shores crushed, unlike in Zanzibar where you find really incredible intact seashells on the beaches. The sand is more golden than white and is not as fine-grained as I had hoped. Because the main islands are granitic, there are massive rocks and boulders strewn on most beaches, some in really outlandish, almost lunar shapes, which makes them totally unique and unlike anywhere else. There is a lot of greenery and plant life since most are surrounded by rainforest, so you feel much more in nature. On the more protected snorkelling beaches, the water is so crystal clear you can see tropical fishes swimming around your feet almost immediately. Medium size crabs skittering across the sand are a common sight, as are massive sea turtles and flying fish that skim across the surface of the water at high speeds for up to a minute at a time. We were lucky enough to see hundreds of the flying fish on a boat trip between islands – they make for an unusual sight, and at first I didn't quite believe what I was seeing.
As Victoria is the hub for all traffic through the island, we ended up there for brief periods on most days. When it rained the hardest – intense, roof crushing tropical downpours - we decided to explore the city since beach visits were futile. It’s cute and clean though not an exciting spot – there are no hotels or nightlife, but this is hardly surprising since no one travels to the Seychelles to see the city. It is still very colonial – there are French and British influences including a miniature Big Ben, an old mission and stone clock tower and typical 19th century tropical architecture. It also has a really nice botanical gardens with giant tortoises and lovely flowers.
We tried to visit Le Jardin du Roi spice garden in Les Canelles, which entailed a 1.5 hour bus trip to the south of the island and then a 1 km hike up a hill so steep, it could have been a black diamond ski run. When we finally reached the top, we were feeling pretty good about our accomplishment in 37 degree steamy heat. But upon arrival, the owner decided she didn’t feel like opening that day…so that was a painful bust. More successful was a visit to the ruins of an old slave school in the Mission just outside of Sans Soucis at the very top of Mahe. From the lookout you could see any number of the islands below and gorgeous beaches and lush rainforest for miles. Down the road we found an old tea plantation and factory, also an interesting spot to visit. And on our last day we lazed around at the Ephelia Resort just past La Misere, set in a mangrove forest with a tiny private beach called Anse L’Islette.
Praslin, the second largest island feels even lusher than Mahe, which is pretty difficult to imagine. It is about an hours sail by catamaran and has one small town, Baie St Anne. Again, it is mountainous and very steep and is covered in thick rainforest. Even the water around Praslin seems emerald coloured – adding to the effect that the whole island is shades of green. From the ferry dock, you can see thousands of tropical fish in the water below. The traffic at the port is a mix of gypsy style Creole ships and massive, luxury catamarans rented by wealthy visitors for island hopping. Praslin`s main attraction is the Vallee de Mai National Park rumoured since the 1700s to be the location of the biblical Garden of Eden. Besides being stunning, the park’s claim to fame is that it is the home of the rare Coco de Mer palm tree. What is so special about this palm tree? Well, it has male and female versions; the male is large and extremely…phallic. The female…cannot even be described politely.
We also took a boat to the tiny, tropical paradise of La Digue, which I loved so much that I am at a loss for words. There are no vehicles on the island other than utility trucks, so all transportation is either by ox cart or rented bicycle. It is populated with quaint little guest houses interspersed with vanilla plantations and rainforests. A reef surrounds the beaches, making the water calm enough for really great snorkelling. Sadly, the coral is no longer as colourful as other spots due to lingering damage from the tsunami and climate change, but the fish are gorgeous and if you’re lucky you might spot a giant sea turtle. There is also a scattering of historically important buildings and of course, an Aldabra tortoise colony. We rode on our rusty old bicycles through the historic park, vanilla plantation and old cemetery to the main attraction, the world’s top rated beach Anse Source d’Argent, and….wow. It was so beautiful, we just stood there laughing for the first few minutes. The whitest sand, the clearest water through which you could see the coral and fish just from standing on the shore, massive palm trees providing much needed shade, and huge granite rocks carved by the tides to resemble giant shells and providing miniature private inlets all along the beach. La Digue is unarguably paradise. One local sat on the beach weaving hats from palm leaves, another sold fresh coconuts, papayas, start fruits and mangoes. We spent much of our time there snorkelling and managed to burn our back sides so badly neither of us could sleep on them for a week. It literally broke my heart to leave and I hope I make it there again some day. Sailing back to Mahe, our boat was accompanied by flying fish for the duration and we watched one of the most spectacular sunsets I have ever seen. It was another one of life’s perfect moments, and I felt lucky bearing witness to something so beautiful.
After eight days of in depth exploration Johannes was exhausted by my travel Nazi antics, so I left him at the hotel and joined a tour on a tiny glass bottom boat to two further islands, Cerf and Moyenne. Moyenne, the only privately owned island in the Seychelles, is held by Brendan Grimshaw, an 86 year old Brit. He bought if for 10,000 GBP in the 1970s, and has since devoted his life to creating a nature reserve and sanctuary. Media refer to him as the real life Robinson Crusoe, which seems pretty apt. On his little island, tortoises rule and have the right of way at all times which is sweet but means that the smell isn’t great. There are also a number of old pirate graves dating back hundreds of years, and the standard accompanying legend of hidden treasure. They suspect it is buried with a pirate but it is illegal to dig up a grave and therefore will remain a mystery.
Surrounding Iles Moyenne and Cerf is the protected St. Anne Marine National Park. Here there is some great deeper water snorkelling which I enjoyed except for cutting my ankle quite badly on the ship's propeller, leading to remembrances of Praslin's fatal bull shark attacks last year. From the boat we tossed bread into the water and watched the tropical fish feeding frenzy that ensued beside us.
We also cruised around Ile Longue, until recently the jail island from which prisoners often swam to Victoria to buy booze and cigarettes. They have since relocated the facilities, realizing that imprisoning criminals in a tropical paradise with full beach access doesn’t exactly discourage breaking the law. We finished our little tour at Ile au Cerf , a small island in the Marine Park with average beaches, where we had a locally cooked Creole buffet lunch. I was sad that on the second last day of our stay, I had finally found the best food – local coconut fish curry, squash salad, papaya ice cream…it was really good.
On the final day we rented a car and drove the circumference of Mahe, and through many of the rainforests and mountain ranges in between. It is impressive how non-touristy the Seychelles have remained. Even Mahe, the hub of the islands is more than 50% protected rainforest. Driving, one passes through many tiny local villages, past beautiful old churches, mangrove forests and of course amazing beaches, many of which feel totally undiscovered and pristine. The locals live well and the Seychelles have the highest HDI ranking in Africa. There are no townships, but rather sizeable, colourful colonially inspired houses with lovely gardens and long, steep drive ways often at 100 degree angles. You will need a good set of brakes to live here!
In conclusion, I loved the Seychelles. It felt really relaxing to be so deeply immersed in nature for ten days. The beaches are spectacular and the rainforests so dense and alive. To visit feels as if you have discovered a secret tropical hideaway, far from mass civilisation. Plus La Digue might just be the most beautiful tropical island in the world. However, to travel here is really, really expensive. The tourist board has carefully selected a target market of honeymooners and wealthy Europeans in an attempt to retain both exclusivity and stop the environmental ravages that accompany mass tourism. The value for money isn`t great – you pay Euros for most items and even by Euro standards they are expensive. And there is no justification for the terrible state of the food (Ile au Cerf excepted). But if you have the money and feel like travelling to islands that are literally thousands of miles from anywhere, these would be the ideal place to come.
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