Seychelles - Island Beauty

 

After my first visit to the Seychelles in 2010, it was time go back for another trip to the Indian Ocean archipelago, this time staying on Praslin island and visiting La Digue, after having seen Mahe and the capital Victoria during my last visit.

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Island Paradise

The Seychelles probably represent some of the most stereotypical island beauty features there are.

Island Transport

The best way to get around! We took the trip from Mahe's airport straight to the hotel.

Praslin Island

We stayed on Praslin, the second biggest island of the Seychelles. Its most famous beach - Anse Lazio - in the foreground, seemingly voted one of the Top 5 beaches in the world.

The Raffles

The hotel is located on the north eastern side of Praslin, with its close to 100 villas nestled along the hillside.

Room Views

The Raffles has some gorgeous ocean view villas.

Night Views

The clear skies and lack of light pollution make for good stargazing, but no Milky Way this time of the year.

Tastes Good

Someone must have spilled something here...

Kiln

An old furnace from the early 1900s, now serving as Tortoise home at Raffles hotel.

Giant Tortoise

The Seychelles giant tortoise is clost to extinct in the wild; there is only one large population of more than 100000 in the Aldabra Atoll.

Climbing

Giant tortoises are not made for climbing obstacles, but they can find their way around.

Orientation Issues

Can't say I observed any effort by this misguided tortoise's colleagues to correct the situation.

Warning

The roads aren't in the best condition, but at least there are attempts to make drivers aware.

Out of Order

Temporarily or permanently?

Green Roads

The Seychelles are full of greenery - and not so full of proper roads like this one.

Private

Not sure what the Teddy on top of this sign is meant to represent.

Souvenirs

Didn't manage to visit this souvenir shop.

Anse Lazio

Referred to as one of the Top 5 beaches in the world (don't ask me for sources), I took the 30min walk from the hotel. Worth it? Yes. Top 5? Maybe...

Sunset

The beach doesn't get to see the actual sunset as the sun disappears behind the peninsula to the west, but the view is nice enough.

Fame

Owing to its Top 5 fame, there are always a few boats in the bay and a few dozen people on Anze Lazio.

Inlet

Like many beaches on the island, some water inlets run into the forests from the beach - tides and waves generate some beautiful colours in the process.

Sunset Colors

The typical granite stones in the water make for beautiful scenery on Anse Lazio.

Moon

I was lucky to see the moon rising as the sun was setting, just peaking through the red and purple clouds.

Bat Attack

As sunset approaches, you start to see the large Seychelles fruit bat in the sky - at least half a metre in width.

MS Europa

This cruise ship anchored between Praslin and Curieuse islands for a day.

Islands and Islands

The Seychelles consist of around 115 islands, 45 of which are the typical granite islands the country is known for.

Le Digue Island

We visited Le Digue, which is the third largest of the country's islands with a population of just over 3000. This is the local pizza and burger joint.

Beach Bar

The famous beaches are frequented by quite a number of tourists, and the locals surely have found ways to monetize their presence.

Beach Bliss

Postcard material around every corner.

More Beach Bliss

Did I already meniton the postcard material?

Greenery

The hot and humid climate classifies the island nation as tropical rain forest.

Granite

The country is famous for its granite rocks sprinkled around the beaches, but less than half of its islands actually feature them, the others are coral islands.

Old Cemetary

The old cemetary is an eerie location with the dying tree in the back. Watch for the new (and more colourful) version a few photos down...

Origins

The group of Granitic Seychelles are fragments of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana.

Rocky Religion

90% of the population are Christian, the majority of which roman-catholic.

The Elusive Flycatcher

Sadly, less than 300 are still in existence in the wild, and the island of Le Digue houses most of them, except a few pairs which were moved to another island to preserve the species. It took half an hour of wandering in the nature reserve to spot this male.

Houses

The island features some beautiful houses of different styles.

Phone Booth

Showing off the lack of football taste that is or was once present on the island...

New Cemetary

More colorful for sure, although its worth mentioning these flowers aren't real.

Houses

More of the local architecture.

Island Lifestyle

Stress didn't seem too common.

Fishing Circle

Marine life is abundant and fishing is the largest export of the country.

Transport

Given that I have just completed my up to 12m skipper license, I thought it would be a good idea to bring the new boat along.

Yacht

Just kidding, this is mine.

Baby Shark

Small reef sharks live around the rocks until they grow into adults.

Ray

And occasionally, smaller rays also pass by.

Leaping Blenny

Funny little creatures that live on the rocks perching out from the water, walking and jumping with help of their fins if danger approaches. They are able to breath outside of water.

Leaping Blenny - Large version

It's bigger cousin, captured under water with an iPhone XS (as are the few other underwater photographs).

Coral

Some snorkeling around the beach was enough to spot a few beautiful corals.

Coral World

A variety of stony coral colonies.

Marine Flora

I think this is some type of Gorgonian or Sea Fan.

Smile

The most common fish roaming the shallow waters on the beach.

Unknown Fish

Anyone knows the species?

A point of view.

A crystal ball can't always predict the future, but it can give you a different perspective of the present.

Toys

Glass balls are an interesting tool for photography... if you don't overuse them.

Physics

One point to note - be very careful when using a crystal ball in direct strong sunlight, the refraction can immeditely burn whatever you put the ball on, including your hand...

Home in a Hole

A crab village.

Snails

An early morning rain triggered this guy to come out from hiding.

Sunrise

Worth getting up for at 5am.

The Red Fody

A common bird in the Indian Ocean, this one took a bath in the pool.

Feline Friends

Cat photo can't be missing. This mum was hanging out in the hotel grounds with her two kitten.