Madagascar and the Seychelles

mars - avril 2023

Une aventure de 31 jours par Julie En savoir plus

17empreintes
4pays
31jours
166photos
0vidéos
29,2kkilomètres
16,0kkilomètres

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Voyageur Madagascar and the Seychelles
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- 4 avr. 2023 à 09:27
- ☀️ 29 °C
- Altitude: 76 m
- Seychelles East Sister Island -4.288012, 55.8689044°17’17” S 55°52’8” E
Jour 30
Grand Soeur and the end
4 avril 2023, Seychelles ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
On our last day I can snorkel. Bob's morning snorkel is from the zodiac. We visit a small private island Grand Soeur, big sister, there are many like this. We walk encountering yet more tortoises.

We snorkel where the granite meets the ocean. Snorkelling in the Seychelles is around granite above and below the ocean. I relish the opportunity to be in the water. Coral bleaching is evident everywhere. Seychelles has only 20% of their coral left. The highlight is a sea turtle trying to extract food from a hole in the sand. Back for the last recap, thanking the naturalist team who have been wonderful and pack before dinner.

We have one more night on Mahe. A damp day so happy we have not gone on the island tour. A good end to a very special trip.En savoir plus
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Voyageur Glad you managed to get the snorkelling in! What a wonderful trip with lots of fantastic photos to remember it by!
06/04/2024RépondreTraduire
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Voyageur Madagascar and the Seychelles
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- 3 avr. 2023 à 09:14
- ☁️ 29 °C
- Altitude: 165 m
- Seychelles Baie Sainte Anne Anse Volbert Village -4.322041, 55.7346444°19’19” S 55°44’5” E
Jour 29
Praslin and Baie St Anne - coco fesse
3 avril 2023, Seychelles ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
We have been told told about a large coconut Coco Fesse weighing up to 20 kg shaped like buttocks. Highly prized for its aphrodisiac properties, to me it looks more like a scrotum. The Coco Fesse jewellery is not for me.

Vallee De Mai park is where we learn more about these unusual palms. It’s a lovely walk. It takes 15 years before they produce fruit, 7 years after pollination usually by green geckos, a coconut forms. We see many geckos. The trees are enormous and grow to be 150 years old.

A gala dinner tonight. The captain introduces his management team, and we thank them. There is a magnificent sunset to end our day and our trip. We can dine with crew members, Giuliana my hero, dines with us a fitting end. Tomorrow will be a hard day saying farewell to this crew we have got to know so well.En savoir plus
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Voyageur Madagascar and the Seychelles
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- 2 avr. 2023 à 10:02
- Altitude: 12 m
- Seychelles Inner Islands La Passe -4.350379, 55.8291244°21’1” S 55°49’45” E
Jour 28
Two visits to La Digue
2 avril 2023, Seychelles
First visit: La Digue Seychelles, a dry landing. As we walked through town the contrast with Madagascar is stark. There were shops, a bank and an ATM. I wanted local currency but had no idea of the exchange rate. I ended up with 500 rupees ($50). There were few banks in Madagascar as its too difficult for locals to open an account, mobile phones are used to exchange money.

Clearly prosperous, tourists everywhere, riding bicycles, guest houses, hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops. After two weeks in Madagascar it was just so different. A tropical paradise, blue seas, coconut palms and white beaches. The Seychelles are just 4° south of the equator so very hot and humid.

We visit a spectacular beach, extremely hot and humid. I couldn’t swim however the water was hot and not refreshing. The volcanic granite rock formations were amazing. Our first sighting of the Aldabara tortoise (the world’s largest) and endemic to Seychelles

Second visit: It’s Sunday so everything is closed (very catholic). We walk to the cemetery. A beautiful day in a tropical paradise. We see a grey heron and a few skinks. We have forgotten what day it is in Melbourne, when we arrive we see a large screen displaying Lap 58 of the Melbourne Grand Prix, very strange.En savoir plus
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Voyageur lol - I didn’t know the Melbourne Grand Prix has come and gone either!
06/04/2024RépondreTraduire
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Voyageur Madagascar and the Seychelles
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- 1 avr. 2023 à 08:42
- ⛅ 29 °C
- Altitude: 3 m
- Seychelles Mamelles -4.484067, 55.5399914°29’3” S 55°32’24” E
Jour 27
Curieuse and Aride Islands
1 avril 2023, Seychelles ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
Unfriendly waves prevent landing on Aride. The alternative is an excellent Zodiac ride around the island. Large granite cliffs to the beach, alive with birds roosting on rocks: white tailed Tropic birds, Terns, Noddies, Frigate birds. They fly around us sweeping down for fish. The aggressive Frigate birds harass smaller birds until their catch is dropped.

The second island was Curieuse. Another great walk, more encounters with the giant tortoises, curious and interacting with us in the hope of food or a scratch. We saw a breeding program with the baby tortoises. We walked through mangroves seeing very small grey crabs and red mangrove crab very large and very visible.

Tonight we were invited to the bridge to watch the sunset and ‘sail away’ followed by dinner with the captain. Just the six Australians and one staff person. We get very good service and excellent wine. It was a wonderful dinner with an exceptional captain. He seems to be very hands-on often on deck supervising and helping out with the disembarking and boarding.En savoir plus
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Voyageur Madagascar and the Seychelles
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- 31 mars 2023 à 01:31
- ⛅ 28 °C
- Altitude: 11 m
- Seychelles D'Arros Island Airport -5.417396, 53.2968015°25’3” S 53°17’48” E
Jour 26
Remir island
31 mars 2023, Seychelles ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
We walk on a small remote island renowned for its biodiversity and rich underwater life. A pleasant walk and beautiful beach. We see more Aldabara tortoises watching one feed, nothing gets in the way when searching for food. We hear crashing and crunching of branches as the tortoise moves noisily through the vegetation.

We see a diverse range of birds: Noddies, Terns and Stone turners little brown birds which turn over stones. These protected birds see few people so don’t fly away. Bob is able to practice more bird photographyEn savoir plus
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Voyageur Madagascar and the Seychelles
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- 30 mars 2023 à 10:00
- ☀️ 29 °C
- Altitude: 10 m
- Seychelles Poivre Islands -5.773242, 53.3084155°46’24” S 53°18’30” E
Jour 25
Poivre Island south Mahe & my birthday
30 mars 2023, Seychelles ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Today we get an upgrade to a ‘junior suite’. A lovely surprise for my birthday. A larger cabin, walk in robe, larger table and couch, proper chair and a butler. He says he’s there to do whatever we would like including packing/ unpacking and drinks before bed. I did request no singing happy birthday at dinner.

Poivre (pepper) is our first stop. When our Zodiac lands two crew including excursion leader Giuliana, pull it onto the beach. I am greeted with happy birthday sung in French. Giuliana was at my side when I was injured in Madagascar.

We walk around this uninhabited island, a unique experience not a tourist destination. There are no paths, we walk through a coconut palm forest with mangroves. We see many large hermit crabs. Walking is challenging given the ground level vegetation.

Bob organised two bottles of fine French red wine for dinner. Two other Australians we dine with also contribute wine so we drink very well that night. A great birthday.En savoir plus
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Voyageur Wow what a fantastic birthday you had!
06/04/2024RépondreTraduire
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Voyageur Madagascar and the Seychelles
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- 29 mars 2023 à 11:59
- ⛅ 30 °C
- Altitude: Niveau de la mer
- Seychelles English River Saint Anne Anse Mare Jupe -4.613353, 55.5000924°36’48” S 55°30’0” E
Jour 24
Around the islands of the Seychelles
29 mars 2023, Seychelles ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
Back on the Le Champlain and greeted warmly by crew who have had a torrid time with the charter. We found it quite moving and happy to reconnect with them.

Sainte Anne Marie island is a national park, hot and tropical. We walk up a steep path with no steps, boulders roots and in places an unmade path. The view is spectacular. We come back soaked from perspiration. Very large tortoises are everywhere wandering through the forest where we walk. We also see a tortoise nursery and a green gecko.

First nights are special wonderful food - steak with foie gras, lobster followed by crème brûlée and washed down with wonderful French red wine. I realise I have seriously under packed for formal dinners. Need to check out op shops more carefully.En savoir plus
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Voyageur Madagascar and the Seychelles
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- 23 mars 2023
- 🌧 29 °C
- Altitude: 5 m
- Seychelles Port Glaud Île Thérèse -4.660181, 55.4042134°39’37” S 55°24’15” E
Jour 18
On land in Mahe (23 - 28)
23 mars 2023, Seychelles ⋅ 🌧 29 °C
Mahe the Seychelles’ main island is small, very spectacular tropical paradise. Uninhabited until discovered by the Portuguese, Arabs, French and then English. The local language is Creole, with French and English.
We stay five nights at the Constance Ephelia in a large room with balcony and fan overlooking gardens. The place to sit in the afternoon.

With a car and driver we explore the island, seeing most of the southern part stopping for the views. We stop in Victoria the Seychelles capital, visiting a market. Always fascinating to see where people shop. Fish is the staple food, so there are many small stallholders selling fish. Small white herons know this is the place for an easy meal. They sit pecking fish undeterred by stall holders waving them on.

We visit the gardens, tranquil, and extensive. Wherever we go there are Aldabra tortoises. Hearing grunting noises we go inside their enclosure and see a male doing his best to engage with a female. Tortoises are voracious feeders and kept in enclosures lest they eat everything. One of the World’s largest coconut palms is a feature, twice the size of any other palm. We walk around the gardens finishing at the café for ice cream and something to drink.

The hotel covers 2 ha with five restaurants, despite this they are all booked the first night so we must eat at the buffet, not great quality. The other restaurants are much better. Wine and food are expensive. Small electric vehicles take us around. The picturesque beach is close, there are two swimming pools, a tortoise enclosure and an ecological walk through the mangroves is possible.En savoir plus
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Voyageur Madagascar and the Seychelles
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- 19 mars 2023 à 23:59
- 🌙 27 °C
- Altitude: 63 m
- Madagascar Diana Region Mahatsinjo Nosy Hara National Park -12.239567, 49.01254712°14’22” S 49°0’45” E
Jour 14
Nosy Hara
19 mars 2023, Madagascar ⋅ 🌙 27 °C
Nosy Hara is at the northern tip of Madagascar. Bob snorkels, for me a zodiac ride seeing spectacular, massive limestone cliffs and coral in clear water.

In the afternoon we search for the world’s smallest chameleon no more than 1.5 cm, brown, colour of the leaf litter in which it lives. Our guide found both an adult and a baby .5cm in size. Hot, humid but worth the walk. Saw tiny frogs, geckos and a very vivid banana slug. Locals have arrived in boats. They greet us playing music, dancing and with goods to sell. The island is otherwise uninhabited.En savoir plus
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Voyageur Madagascar and the Seychelles
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- 18 mars 2023
- ⛅ 29 °C
- Altitude: 18 m
- Madagascar Nosy Tanihely -13.482931, 48.23685813°28’59” S 48°14’13” E
Jour 13
Nosey Tanikely / Nosey Komba and lemurs
18 mars 2023, Madagascar ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
On these two small islands there are more lemurs and chameleons. Much to our surprise lemurs were everywhere. When they hear voices they know bananas are near. We are given banana to encourage them to jump on our shoulders they are light and gentle. So funny to watch as they peer down on us with curiosity. The males are less forthcoming knowing the females will chase them away.

A delightful walk albeit hot and humid to the top through a line of colourful shops and small stalls. On the beach we see chameleons, very brightly coloured, iridescent green ( male), the female is orange.

People are encouraged to support the lemurs resulting in a booming tourist trade. I have local currency with so few opportunities to spend the local Madagascan Ariary. I still have €12 worth, I buy a necklace and earrings. These islands were a trip highlight.En savoir plus
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