Back to the Seychelles

A five day holiday was anounced for all government employees to celebrate Eid Al Adha. We were already prepared and had booked a seven day trip (17-24 August) to the Seychelles.

The Sunset Beach Hotel delivered on both sunsets and beaches but was sadly lacking as a hotel. We did manage to get a room upgrade and have a laugh at the Faulty Toweresque behaviour of the staff.

We were really here to explore the islands and for Sue to walk the trails that she had missed out on after breaking her knee on our last visit, almost three years ago.

Sunset from the bar on our first night.

Anse Major

Anse Major can only be accessed by boat or an hour long coastal path. We took the the scenic path but the catamaran moored off the beach obviously had Sue dreaming of an alternative holiday.

Sundowners

The aptly named Silhouette Island helped frame the fiery sunsets on the rocks below our room. We seemed to be here in time for drinks at the end of most days.

Pointe Du Sud

This deserted beach on the south-eastern tip of Mahe can only be reached by an hour long trek through the rainforest.

In the south-westerly winds that prevail at this time of year, the sea off the exposed beach was far to rough for swimming. It was still a delighful place to have to ourselves.

Beau Vallon Beach

Beau Vallon is one of the most popular beaches on Mahe. It is also home to La Plage restaurant. We had discoved La Plage on our last trip and felt the need to re-visit several more times. This time we also managed to explore the whole of the beach and discovered a fabulous weekly market complete with the best value food in the Seychelles.

Praslin Island

Exploring the Vallée de Mai nature reserve on Praslin was a major piece of unfinished business for Sue. So we took an early morning ferry and headed straight for the UNESCO World Heritage site and the famous coco de mer.

The photos do nothing to capture the magic of this place. You walk through a dense forest of towering palms under a canopy of interlocking fronds. The dappled light makes photography difficult but adds to the tranquility.
We were so pleased we had made the return journey.

Anse Lazio

We had to returm to Anse Lazio – the scene of Sue’s demise when she caught the full weight of our dinghy that was broadsided in a large wave as we attempted to land on the beach three years ago. It would have been a simple exercise in the gentle waves we saw today.

Volbert

We are clearly not cut out for sitting on beaches, no matter how beautiful they are. Once we had snorkelled and discovered that the visibility was really not that good, we got itchy feet.

The beach restaurant had stopped serving food, so it was time to move. Fortunately, the taxi driver who had given us a discounted rate for the whole day, could be heard in a friendly, but very loud, debate with his friends and it was no problem to leave early and head to Anse Volbert, another popular beach closer to the ferry terminal.

We ended up in a beach hotel where we were served the worse meal of our trip. The consolation was the cheeky red fody who was determined that we were going to share some dinner with him.

Glacis Trois Frères

The Trois Frères (three brothers) are the three towering cliffs above Victoria. This path climbed to 700m to give commanding views over the capital city.

It was only a short stroll really but well worth doing. As well as the fabulous views to the horizon there were interesting plants at our feet. The most unusual to us was a variety of carnivorous pitcher plant that grew on the higher slopes.