Stories and photos by Elsa Dixon
Docking at Victoria, Mahe
Seychelles conjures up images of magical tropical islands, pristine beaches, honeymoon idylls, and luxury hotels. It is all that and more. Seychelles is an archipelago, a chain of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, of which three are developed. While on a recent MSC cruise from Venice to Cape Town, our ship docked for two nights at the port of Victoria on Mahe, the largest of the islands.
As the tugboat led us past lush, smaller islands, we enjoyed the crystal blue sea with seven tuna boats hovering on the horizon. Nearer to the mainland, nine wind turbines stood motionless on two neighboring small islands.
Welcome to Port Victoria
As we docked, a Welcome Center was ready and waiting. We heard the lively strains of a keyboard and guitars and saw two women in colorful dresses swirling to the music, a mix of reggae and African rhythms. UNESCO recently added Seychelles’ traditional Moutya dance to their list of intangible heritage. During the late 1700s, enslaved Africans and French settlers introduced the dance to the islands. Creole is the official language while people also speak English and French. The main religion is Roman Catholicism.
We leaned on the rail for a few minutes to enjoy the warm welcome and appreciate the beautiful view of the island from the port. Clear blue water and green hills formed a stunning background to the gray quay.
Exploring the Town of Victoria
Victoria is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Seychelles. It was a sunny late Sunday afternoon when we disembarked. Floral sundresses and beach cover-ups fluttered in the makeshift shops next to the quay while taxi drivers and tour guides proclaimed their expertise. We decided to do the twenty-minute walk to the center of town. Along the road, wintry Christmas decorations fluttered out of place in the bright summer sun. We zig-zagged through a busy street market selling merchandise made in China. The local population, intent on hunting for Christmas bargains, ignored us tourists.
Being Sunday, almost all the tourist attractions, shops and restaurants were closed. We passed the National Museum of Historywhich houses exhibits of the islands’ story. Seychelles describes its people as a Seychellois Creole nation. Its ethnic diversity stems from the period when, as a British colony, black slaves were freed, and other nationalities such as Mozambique, Malagasies (people from Madagascar), and Indians, resided on the island. The Creole language developed in an effort to communicate. The first recorded landing in Seychelles was of the English ship Ascension in 1609. In 1756, France claimed the islands but the first settlers, 15 white men, eight Africans, and five Indians, only arrived in 1770. In 1794, the French surrendered Seychelles to the British and in 1811, the islands officially became a British colony.
At the end of the street, we saw the silver-painted clocktower modeled on Little Ben, situated outside Victoria Station in London. The town erected this replica in 1903 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897. Next to the Museum, we found Lansiv Café, an outdoor restaurant, the only one open to the public on that day. It was amusing to see beer served in a glass engraved with a Seychelles Giant Tortoise image. We were hoping to see these big reptiles the following day.
Beau Vallon Beach
Early the next morning, Gilly Mein, a driver-guide for Tourism Seychelles, picked us up for a day tour from Port Victoria. We were a little confused since our itinerary read ‘Pick-up at New Port’. We then discovered that Port Victoria and New Port are the same. Gilly has lived on the island all his life and is a very proud prizewinning member of the Lospitalite Lafyerte Sesel Service Excellence Programme.
Gilly took us around the coast along the north point of the island. We passed enchanting villages, with glimpses of white beaches and shimmering blue ocean. Mahe relies heavily on tourism which makes up 75% of its income but prides itself on the industry having a minimal environmental impact. The government controls the number of resorts and hotels tucked away in the lush green countryside.
We were impatient to put our feet on a beach in Seychelles. On our way to Beau Vallon Beach, we passed hidden villas and places of accommodation with interesting names such as Villa Sea Monkey, Tropical Hideaway, Coral Strand, and Treasure Cove.
Buildings boasted bright yellow, orange, and pink colors. Beau Vallon (a beautiful small valley) in northern Mahé is Seychelle’s main tourist center.
We parked near the beach and admired the avenue of coconut palms and takamaka trees, hiding the buildings nearby and providing shade. The clear blue aquamarine water was enticing. The mangrove root system absorbs carbon dioxide and filters pollutants from the waters flowing into the sea, improving the quality of the water.
A vendor was using orange King coconuts, locally known as Coco Rouge to prepare coconut drinks. There was a snack bar, souvenir shop, and watersports operators nearby but the beach was peaceful. There were no hawkers hassling one to buy anything.
Mission Ruins of Venn’s Town
We then headed inland along the San Souci Mountain Rd in the Morne Seychellois National Park to visit the Mission ruins of Venn’s Town. The ruins are situated on the highest mountain in Mahe. Gilly told us that there were no animal predators and no monkeys in these tropical rainforests.
Venn’s Town is an important reminder of a period in Seychelle’s history when slavery was abolished. During 1876-1889, the philanthropic Church Missionary Society ran a school for children of liberated slaves in this unique place, teaching them vocational skills such as carpentry and handicrafts. The site commemorates the birth of formal education and Christianity for those children who then had a great impact on the formation of the Creole Seychellois identity.
There are traces of the foundations of five buildings on the site. Mission Lodge is known as an excellent lookout point. A plaque reminds one that on 20 March 1972, Queen Elizabeth 11 had tea in this gazebo, paying tribute to the island’s colonial past. Four years later, in 1976, Seychelles gained independence and became a republic within the Commonwealth. We spent a few minutes admiring the magnificent views of the south-west coastal areas, the mountains, and the dense virgin woodlands below.
Le Jardin du Roi
We traveled along a narrow winding road to the southern point of Mahe, making a sudden right turn up a steep hill to reach Le Jardin Du Roi (the King’s Garden), a famous spice garden modeled after the French Garden Designs of the 18th Century. The Georges family has owned this 86 acres plantation for five generations. Micheline Georges, the manager, welcomed us at the restaurant and suggested that we stroll the gardens before having lunch.
We stood quietly for a few minutes, admiring the panoramic view of the forest and the Aquamarine waters of Anse Royale below. The garden offers various circular trails crisscrossing this working plantation, part nature reserve, part botanical garden, and part spice plantation.
We followed the Garden Walk through nutmeg trees, citronella bushes, vanilla, and allspice areas, veering onto the Medicinal Plants Path where rare Seychellois plants grow.
Gilly crushed the leaves and pods of exotic spices for us to smell and introduced us to various trees, such as the breadfruit and Jackfruit. The restaurant uses fresh produce and spices from the gardens in all their food preparation.
The Garden Walk led us to the tortoise pens where we saw the Aldebra Giant Tortoises endemic to Seychelles. According to UNESCO, there are only 150,000 left, some in captivity on other islands in the Indian ocean. The tortoises compare in size to the ones found on the Galapagos islands and weigh between 250 and 350 pounds. Stretching out on their heavily scaled legs and sticking out their very long necks, these tortoises are impressive!
We did not do the rainforest trail shaded by the endemic Seychellois coco de mer trees, but we did see some specimens. The trees are dioecious, meaning male and female flowers grow on separate trees. Since natural pollination is not very successful, Jardin du Roi pollinate some females by hand. We found a good specimen of its giant nut, commonly called sea coconut, at the entrance to the restaurant.
The restaurant is situated at the top of the lush hilltop and is famous for its variety of fresh food, flavored with spices from the plantation’s garden. One can also buy the estate’s preserves, jams and spices at the little souvenir shop next door. We could not wait to sample the Seychellois Creole cuisine. Our meal did not disappoint. Our server set down one fragrant bowl after the other, curried chicken, lentils, vegetables, potatoes, and saffron yellow rice, followed by caramelized bananas and homemade vanilla ice cream.
The museum in the Creole Planter’s House in Le Jardin Du Roi offers a glimpse into the local history, traditions, culture, and agricultural practices. One can enjoy old photos, household equipment, and utensils.
South Mahe
We took a scenic drive down to the lower Southern point of the island where the waves seemed to be bigger and the seas rougher than in the northern part. Heading back up the west coast, we drove along a very narrow double lane with no shoulders and hair-raising drops on the left side. At last, we crossed to the center and Gilly made a surprise stop at Roche Caiman, a wonderful lookout point from where we had a panoramic view of the harbor, our ship, and other islands.
From this vantage point, we also saw Eden Island, a private residential marina development boasting a range of luxury apartments, villas, and maisons. Besides the Eden Blue Hotel, Conference Center, and Plaza, there is a range of restaurants, shops, and entertainment facilities. Bordering Eden Island is Roche Caiman, formed through a reclamation project.
Seychelles is determined to control the impact of tourism on the environment, trying to regulate the number of tourists and hotel rooms. Most beachside resorts blend into the jungle backdrop and hotels put measures in place to have their own vegetable gardens and reduce plastic and energy use. After two glorious days here, we could not help but feel dazzled by this largely unspoiled, magical tropical island in the Indian ocean.
Come See the Magic of The Seychelles
The Seychelles are indeed a tropical paradise full of beauty, history, and magic.
Thanks to Tourism Seychelles for sponsoring this tour. All opinions are those of the author.
TourismSeychelles @visitseychelles