The Air Seychelles flight left Joburg just before 11pm. The plane was a big airbus 380 with pairs of seats by the windows and 4 in the middle. The symbol for the airline is the Fairy Tern and during the week I was to learn that birds feature importantly in the Islands.
The flight lasts about four and a half hours but because the Seychelles are two hours ahead we only arrived at 5h30. I was surprised that it was pitch dark as we flew in. As the islands are quite close to the equator the days tend to be 12 hours long. It became light as we collected our cases and changed money to rupees.
The granite hills overlooking the airport began to emerge from the morning drizzle and cloud.
A rainbow appeared and several Fairy Terns were flying amongst the trees. I was surprised that the cars drive on the left hand side.
The group of 14 (largely unknown up to this point!) started to converge on a "Jill Salt" sign and I noticed that, as on last year's Whale Trail, Francis was the only man! This time his partner Gill had joined him.
We piled into a minibus for the short ride through Victoria to the Hotel Coral Strand in Beau Vallon and helped ourselves to the buffet breakfast whilst our rooms were being prepared.
The dining room is alongside the beach and we couldn't wait to get unpacked and head for the Indian Ocean. The rain cleared away and we spent the rest of the day relaxing and catching up on lost sleep.
On Sunday a taxi picked us up after breakfast and dropped us at the end of the road at the small village of Danzil.
We followed the path along the cliff tops to the beautiful bays at Anse Major and were accompanied by a security guard. I'm still not sure whether he was self appointed or operating in an official capacity. We passed a building site for a new hotel and several luxurious houses. Unlike in Spain there appears to be plenty of active building going on in the Seychelles. We spotted Seychelles bulbuls and blue pigeons and the orange headed Fody as we made our way through the forest. The vegetation was lush and we saw cashew nuts and wild vanilla plants
We walked back to the hotel, passing the Hilton Hotel on the way.
Jill had planned a tour of the island of Mahe for Monday accompanied by a very knowledgeable guide. Our first stop was Victoria, the capital where the bus dropped us off alongside the Hindu temple and market.
In the market Egrets were standing on the fresh fish counters.
We saw the Victoria clock tower and Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals.
Back on the bus we started to wind up the hills towards the Mission school, with spectacular views over the island.
In the Mission school were several giant mahogany trees with spectacular roots.
Our next stop was the spice garden known as Jardin de Roi.
All sorts of spices were growing and the flowers were spectacular. There were enclosures of giant tortoises.
After lunch we called at the craft market and then made our way back to the hotel for our final night on Mahe before leaving or the next biggest island of Praslin.
Yvonne had requested that we all dress in white for one evening and black fr our final evening. Tonight was our white evening.
On Tuesday we were taken by bus to the harbour at Victoria to catch the high peed inter island ferry, the Cat Cocos.
It was interesting watching cargo being unloaded onto small trucks, most of the populations' requirements have to be brought in to the islands.
After a travelling at high speed for a thrilling hour and sighting many Noddys and some flying fish we arrived at the harbour at Praslin. We could see our accommodation nestling on the hillside to the left of the harbour - Chalets Cote Mer.
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Location:Indian Ocean
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