October 26th, 2007
Travel: In search of… A brisk walk in the Seychelles
The Seychelles isn’t just for honeymooners. There’s plenty to do apart from lounging on some of the most gorgeous beaches in the world. In fact, I had to book a wake-up call at 7am each day to fit it all in. OK, I was on the islands for only five days, but had I been there for two weeks, I swear I’d have found more than enough to do.
So, where are we going first?
Well, I had hoped Mahe. But my flight was delayed so I had no time to explore the biggest and busiest of the islands. Instead, we’ll have to start our tour on Praslin, the second largest. This is where most tourists head for, and the majority won’t see much beyond their resort. Who can blame them? My hotel bordered one of the Seychelles’ most prized beaches, Anse Georgette, voted second best beach in the world. But I was determined to be different and went for a walk.
Wait. Only a fool would miss the Vallee de Mai. This prehistoric forest of palms lies at the heart of the island’s national park and dates from the time when the Seychelles, Africa, Madagascar and India were one land mass. Some of its plants are unique, such as the Coco de Mer.
The Coco de what?
The Coco de Mer: a huge nut resembling a woman’s pelvis and vagina. (The male tree, obligingly, grows a penis-shaped fruit.)
Behave yourself. Let’s get walking
Don’t get too excited. Even the walks are pretty chilled out here. The longest route round the Vallee de Mai takes only two hours and it’s pretty easy going, apart from a short climb to take in the wonderful views across the forest to the sea beyond.
I’m hot. Let’s get down to the sea
All right. No time to loiter; the next day I was up with the bulbul to catch a boat. First stop St Pierre, a cartoon desert island consisting of a bunch of rocks and a few palms, and a perfect location for snorkelling.
At last, you got in the water
Eventually. “Who takes size 38-40?” asked our captain, Robbie, a bag of flippers in his hand. The idea of jumping off a boat into unknown depths filled me with dread. I flip-flopped about until everyone had gone overboard. But Robbie had obviously come across cowards before. And so I got into the sea. I rolled on to my back and just stared at the clouds. It felt quite thrilling. I pushed all thoughts of sharks from my mind and returned to the boat for a mask. I had just enough time to swim to the rocks and to regret not having taken the plunge earlier.
Er, the beach?
Next stop, Curieuse. Once a leper colony, later a coconut plantation, the island is now uninhabited except for the wildlife rangers who care for animals and plants that live here. The rangers also have the job of taking hapless tourists around the island’s murky mangrove swamp.
After a quick march past pens of young tortoises, we were off into the bush for a gentle walk up a hill. Finally, we reached our destination, the old leper doctor’s house with its crude but ingenious interactive museum, and a barbecue lunch.
This isn’t the beach. This is another walk
Refreshed, we set off in the heat for the bird sanctuary island, Cousin, a home to more 250,000 seabirds. By the time we arrived we were seriously ready for a dip, but we had an hour of bird-spotting ahead of us.
And so to the beach?
Almost. But first a quick whirl around the neighbouring island of La Digue. The guide books will tell you there’s no motor transport. Of course, this isn’t true, but the roads are clear and bikes are cheap to hire.
La Digue is a favourite day trip for tourists who come in search of paradise as seen on the Bounty adverts. Instead, I cycled through shady groves to Grand Anse, a vast, stunning beach. But the rains came so I gave myself a break with a long lunch before returning to the beach.