 |
The Seychelles
Click here for a few suggestions from our
extensive portfolio of hotels.
 If
your image of perfection is a vast crescent of powdery white sands
overhung by casuarina trees and dotted with granite rocks, then The
Seychelles, a collection of 115 islands sprinkled across the Indian
Ocean, basking in a constant temperature of between 75F and 85F all
year, fits the bill perfectly.
It’s a place where time is of little consequence, where it’s easy to
fall into a relaxed and easy frame of mind and end up spending your days
on just one of the big three islands, Mahe, Praslin or La Digue. That
would be a pity though, because the other islands lapped by warm,
turquoise seas, have their own attractions and are worth the ‘plane hop
it takes to visit them..
Bird Island for instance, a sanctuary for one and a half million
sooty terns, has as its oldest resident and star attraction, a giant
tortoise called Esmeralda (said to be between 150 and 200 years old)
with a shell of more than 1.8 metres in length. Tiger cowries and crabs
shuffle across the sands as you take the 45 minute walk around the
island. With The Lodge as the only accommodation on the island, no shops
and no organised entertainment, a 2/3 day stopover is probably long
enough unless you are a serious bird watcher.
Praslin just 15 minutes. away by ‘plane has an amazingly rich
variety of plant and animal life and could be a blueprint for the
perfect tropical island. When General Charles Gordon (he of Kartoum
fame) first visited Praslin over 100 years ago he thought he had
discovered the Garden of Eden when he saw the famous coco de mer,
a massive nut whose shape bears a striking resemblance to the female
pelvic region - pubic hair included - and provides plenty of innuendo
for guides and locals alike.
Mahe, the main island, about one-quarter the size of Singapore,
is a good place for walkers and hikers, but beach buggies and hire cars
are available for those who prefer a motor tour on the well-kept roads.
The Seychellois drive on the left by the way. Victoria, the sleepy
little capital has few landmarks: a miniature Big Ben Clock Tower on the
main street, the Anglican cathedral, the colourful markets, and the 100
year old Botanical Gardens with an excellent collection of orchids.
 Even
more relaxed than Praslin is La Digue, where bicycles and
ox-carts are the only transport permitted on its 10-square Kilometres.
With its 1930’s English suburban-type housing, giant tortoises and
magnificent beaches, this seemed to me more like the Garden of Eden than
Praslin.
In the last few years the Seychelles has gone all out to attract the
discerning traveller who is now spoilt for choice when it comes to 5*
accommodation. From the new 47-villa Banyan Tree Resort that
towers above the beach, to the cluster of mahogany villas with open-air
bathrooms and gazebos which is Lémuria, (with Nirvana in the
shape of a millionaire’s home away from home - a Villa built on a craggy
headland with its own beach, jacuzzi, massage suite and a sunken
office) you will be spoilt for choice. North Island, the newest to
be opened up, has 11 huge ‘haute couture’ rough and smooth chunky wooden
villas each with its own pool, gazebo, internet access and 24-hour
butler, for low-impact tourism. The original eco-luxury, accommodation,
and some still say the best, is on Frégate Island where no more
than 40 guests are on the island at any one time to share 16 luxuriously
appointed villas with access to 7 beaches.
It can’t all be perfect I suppose, and if I had a complaint it would be
that the food, away from the top hotels, is disappointing. Creole food
has mixed parentage, ‘French Cuisine with curry’ best describes it. Of
course, you can ask the restaurant to leave off the sauces when you tire
of the creole taste, or, you could try the fried fruit bat and
end up thinking that the creole sauce is a gourmet delight!
And if you must get active, visibility in the waters around the islands
is just about as perfect as it can be for viewing the incredible
collection of various coloured reef fish that move around continuously
in the living corals. But be very careful of the currents. Maybe
they represent the snake in the Garden of Eden?. There’s no evidence
that General Gordon ever swam here, but if he had, he would surely warn
you to never swim alone.
Click here for a few suggestions from our
extensive portfolio of hotels.
|
|
