SEYCHELLES SERENA DE
Palm-fringed beaches, bountiful wildlife — these islands are sheer bliss
AN EARTHLY paradise was how boatswain Thomas Jones described the Seychelles when, in 1609, the British merchant ship Ascension was separated from its fleet by a storm and dropped anchor in Mahé. Ship’s agent John Jourdain, who was sent out by the East India Company, wrote in the first known description of the islands: ‘It is a very good refreshing place for wood, water, coker nuts, fish and fowle, without any fear or danger . . .’
Some 400 years later, the same can still be said. But between times, the Seychelles became a cliched honeymoon destination, with a reputation for expense. Then that other Indian Ocean archipelago, chipelago, the Maldives, slightly pushedd it into the frangipani-scented shadows. .
The difference between the two today is that the Maldives is all about the hotels; the Seychelles,elles, the destination, according to Edouard Grosmangin,n, manager of the new Sixx Senses Zil Pasyon resort.
This ethos is echoed every--where on the heavily forested Félicité Island, where Six Senses opened recently. Its 30 villas slope towards the blue ocean, perfectly poised d to catch the sunrise.
The beaches have no sunn loungers, nor signs sayingng ‘ Please raise this flag for ra a drink’. Just a few hammocksocks swinging lazily in the breeze and perhaps a hawksbill turtlee or two coming to lay their eggs. .
The hotel doesn’t compete pete with nature, it allows you tot stare at the ripe mangoes and emerald green lizards from your bathtub or bed.
And the price? Rather less than that of a villa on North Island, where William and Kate honeymooned; or at Frégate, the luxury eco-resort where celebrities arrive by helicopter.
It’s still not cheap, but then private islands tend not to be. There are bonuses, though, such as no room service charges (try the coconut pancakes with lime syrup and mango compote at breakfast). It is also within easy reach of other islands, which you can explore.
Twenty minutes away is Praslin, the second largest island in the archipelago, where the Unesco World Heritage Site of Vallée de Mai was mistaken for the Garden of Eden by British General Charles Gordon in 1881. He thought the suggestive seed of the Coco de Mer palm must be the forbidden fruit. Praslin is also famed fo for its soft white sand. A Anse Lazio, on the is island’s north edge, is co considered by many to be the best beach in the world. Adm Admire it from a seat at little res restaurant Bonbon Plume, where un under thatched umbrellas you can eat octopus curry. On anotheran day, we bicycle around dL La Digue, a slow-paced island opposite Félicité, where not long ago the only mode of transport was ox cart. We pass vanilla plantations and takamaka trees (also the name of the local rum) and swim off the beach of Anse Source d’Argent. The water is translucent and two dogs chase large fish in the shallows. Needless to say, this quarry is too nimble for their clumsy paws. Along the shoreline, giant granite boulders add structural beauty. Kayak across the ocean to the Île Cocos, part of the Marine National Park, where snorkelling reveals powder blue surgeonfish, Moorish idols, parrotfish and the striking oriental sweetlips, with black and yellow stripes and dots that could grace a catwalk.
THERE are plenty of fish to be spotted on the corals around Félicité, but it’s also worth heading inland to see the trees. South African Steve Hill, the resident permaculturist, who eradicated rats and introduced tortoises to the island, has been here for nearly nine years.
He has supervised the removal, across hundreds of acres, of the coco plum, which strangled many native species. In its place he planted indigenous trees and shrubs to encourage birds such as the Seychelles white-eye and fody. As we walk around avocado and mango trees, stop under the shade of the takamaka — and look at the fruit of the bigarade — Steve gives his vision for the island’s future.
Commitment to preservation comes from the top, and is on the school curriculum. Steve believes Félicité can be the Seychelles’ bio- diversity hotspot. Here, nature is the star of the show.