The Seychelles

We flew to the Seychelles from Mauritius and arrived on the largest island Mahé. As we had almost 4 hours before our ferry left for the nearby island of Praslin (Prah-lin), Steve approached the Tourist Information desk at the airport and the next minute had hired a driver for 3 hours. Way to go!!!!

Mahé
Although Mahé is the largest island in the Seychelles group, it is only 27 kms long and 8 kms wide. But it is densely populated. We first drove south, then west along the coastal road stopping every now and again to look longingly at some fabulous beaches, then veered inland through the jungly interior, winding higher and higher, giving us magnificent views of the coast below. It was an exhilarating tour.

First stop was at a rum distillery, the Plaine St André. The main building, which now houses a restaurant,, is a 200-year-old colonial planter's house named after the birthplace of the owner Jean-Francois Jorre St Jorre. The estate produced copra, cinnamon and patchouli, plus a garden of medicinal plants, herbs and fruit trees which remain today. The estate is listed as a National Monument.

In the grounds were the ruins of the old kitchen, built when these rooms were positioned far away from the main house to avoid fires.

And the remains of the old well.

We spotted a pile of sugarcane ready to be pulped.

And here is the finished product.

Driving further along we saw some lovely beaches.

I loved the way the vegetation grows right down to the water.

Just before we veered inland, our driver met some old school mates in his hometown so we stopped and chatted. They were preparing their local haul of fish which they would sell.

But they were also going to have a beach barbecue.

More idyllic beach scenes. Because the island is surrouded by reefs, the sea is always calm here. We were told that, by law, all beaches in the Seychelles are public. The country has also banned all plastic bags and straws. We were always given soft cotton bags whenever we bought something. 

This little girl in her vivid pink dress was so happy she was whizzing around. I was just too late to capture her face full on and her cheeky grin. 

We drove higher and higher into the interior now - dark and thick with vegetation of all types. Our final stop was at a tea house with a magnificent view over the coastline. 

Praslin
Our tour over, we took the hour-long ferry ride north to Praslin (12 kms long, 5 kms wide).
While the books eulogised over the 'peaceful atmosphere' we found it busy, a collection of little towns that really didn't have much charm, and humid. But our accomodation was right on the beach and was very relaxing. Here's the view from our suite. There's the beach through the little gate at the far middle of the photo.

In the afternon we decided to catch a local bus to the other side of the island to what was recommended as the best beach, the Cote d'Or. We chatted to a honeymoon couple from Paris while we were waiting for the bus. I asked them if they understood the French Creole language that everyone spoke and they said that even they were having trouble -  Creole is a phonetic, almost pidgin, version of French, so the pronunciation is often quite different to French French (if you get what I mean). After almost an hour and no bus, they left, but we persisted. The bus finally came, crammed full of school kids, locals and a handful of very noisy Italian tourists. It was a claustraphobic ride with everyone juggling for seats and pushing mightily as they tried to get off the bus. But I ended up speaking with a couple of ladies - one showed me photos of her grandchildren, another told us when to exit the bus, and asked, in broken English, where we came from. So it was a lovely ride after all.

The town itself was typical, with some souvenir shops, cafes, street stalls and apartments, and both locals and tourists wandering along the broad street.

And the beach actually lived up to its hype and was quite serene.

I even broke my promise and bought a bag! I have this thing about bags as great souvenirs, as they reflect the country where I buy them. (I bought 5 in South America once because I couldn't help myself). Anyway, I saw this one and even though I had said no bags this time, I succumbed to its allure. Now it reminds me of sunshine, beaches and lush tropical plants.

We were really looking forward to the next day and the trip to the World Heritage Vallé de Mai Nature Park, a living remnant of the ancient palm forests from the time when the supercontinent of Gondwana split up, leaving the Seychelles between Madagascar and India. 

We caught a local bus that dropped us at the entrance. It had just opened and there were very few people around. There are a number of walks through the forest, beginning with a nice easy paved one.

Not far from the entrance was a group of the famous coco de mer trees. The nuts have the largest seed of any plant in the world and these specimens are estimated to be between 800-1,000 years old. There was a display table with some nut specimens. 

 The photo I was taking.

And here they are on a tree.

We continued on deeper into the forest where it was rather dark with a prehistoric feel.

 We walked on, the humidity becoming more and more oppresive as we ventured further along the path which by now was rocky and uneven with lots of steep-ish steps, the tall palms towering overhead. I was sweating and mopping my face with my towel every few minutes. I had worn a long-sleeved blouse as advised because of the threat of mosquitoes.

 We came across a number of tiny streams and pools.

On and on we went, resting whenever we found a seat. It was truly providential that we came across two scientists engaged in researching the endemic and rare Black Parrot. It was the breeding season and they were tagging dead trees as potential nesting spots for the birds, so they could go and check later if there were indeed birds in them. We stopped and chatted. They were extremely obliging and told us all about the bird and its habit. They showed us the monitor  they use to put down into the trunks to see whether any birds are nesting there; they played a recording on their phone of the parrot's cry; they showed us photos of how the males change colour when mating. We learnt so much. (A by-product of the meeting was that I had a chance to cool down.)  

By the time we had finished exploring there were far more people around. Here a guide is explaining about the coco de mer tree.

We had the most delicious drink at the cafe before we caught the bus 'home' - an iced lemongrass tea. Steve is intent on making it now that we are home.

La Digue

The following day we took a 20-minute ferry ride to La Digue an even smaller island south-east of Praslin. This is the harbour at Baie St Anne where we arrived.

This island is promoted as calm and peaceful with few cars. One book we read before we went said you hired bikes or there were ox carts to take you around. The reality was quite different. There were numerous electric golf buggies (taxis) buzzing past, not to mention fast-moving buses, utes and trucks, dozens of schoolkids, and absolutely loads of tourists on bikes on the one narrow road that skirts most of the coast. This did not make for a relaxing environment. And the ox carts? I asked about them and were told, 'There's one and that's only used for weddings now'. So much for tourist guides.

Here are some photos around the main settlement.

We discovered a fabulous French bakery and indulged ourselves. This was my treat to myself. 

Luckily, we found that in the late afternoon the tourists were off the road and we had some quiet rides. I loved the freedom, the wind in my hair and no helmet! 

Two children coming home from school.

And a local.

I liked this house nestled within its garden.

All the beaches in the Seychelles are public and Source d'Argent is the most famous, constantly used for fashion shoots. It consists of a number of tiny coves bordered by unusual shaped granite rocks, white sand, aquamarine water protected by reefs. But we could only access it by paying to go through a vanilla and coconut plantation - so much for free access. 

The walk to the beach took us past huge granite rocks, their monster shapes quite intimidating.

And there were so many people there it was difficult to get a good photo. To my way of thinking, this is not the idyllic clean, white sand beach they promote, and very shallow, so not that great for swimming. But the rocks are impresive. This was the northernmost point so less people here. We were told the best times to come are sunrise and sunset.

Another view. 

 One of the little coves.

The estate we passed through on the way to the beach had a vast vanilla plantation. I'd never seen vanilla gowing before so I found this fascinating.

I loved the way the plant crept up and twined itself around the poles.

And there was a lovely old plantation house. You can just see our bikes on the left side of the photo.

There was also an enclosure filled with giant tortoises. They are so ancient looking.

The next day we took a 2-hour tour around the island; Roger was our guide ....

 ... and his boat, the Sombrero.

It was fabulous. Roger pointed out all the landmarks, and told us that most of the beaches have dangerous currents and are not for swimming. It was amazing to see the thick, lush jungle vegetation hugging the hills and descending right to the beach. 

The hillsides and shoreline were often punctated by those distinctive Seychelles rocks.

Can you see the people cycling along the road at the bottom of the photo? 

 This next photo seems to sum up the scenery we saw on our round-the-island trip.

Our last night.

We left the Seychelles to return to Mauritius and on to Perth.
On our last night a flight of birds swooped into the garden of our apartment. There were hundreds of them and they move so fast it was difficult to get a shot of one at rest. I managed after shooting off many photos.

Typically in the bird world, the female is not a fashionista and this one was a dowdy brown.

 And here they are swarming to eat some food the apartment owner threw out to them. I loved the swirly shapes they made.

I later learnt that this was a Madagascar fody - a bird introduced to other Indian Ocean islands and know here as the Mauritian cardinal fody. Not surprisingly, seeing the numbers I witnessed in the apartment gardens, it's a common bird with a conservation rating 'of least concern'. At least that's one bird that is not endangered at the moment. 

The next day we arrived back in Perth.