Weisser family blog

This morning we started with a visit to the market in Victoria. We had expected more fresh fruits and local goods but at least we had fun with local school kids and saw some sharks on sale.

From there we took our car and went up in the mountains to the old mission. At this place we could see some old ruins build up from slaves and even more impressive got a view at the odd dragon blood trees. From there we continued to the tea factory where we stayed and waited for better weather.

Later our way led us to a privately owned waterfall (with enormous entrance fees) where we enjoyed the cool water. From there we made along the West coast to Port Launy. At the coast we stopped at a nice beach and walked to a lonely bay where we stayed the afternoon.

From there we returned to the old mission. This time we were able to see the sea. In the evening we enjoyed the hotel pool and once again the delicious food.

Because of the numerous problems we had with the buses on the Seychelles we decided to get a rental car. So we fixed the contract this morning, packed our stuff and then we started. At first we drove to Victoria to the tourist information and then to the Kenwyn House.

From there we continued on the East coast. There we stopped at the village artisanale. The small village consists of even smaller houses where locals produce and sell local goods. After that we went to the Jardin du Roi. This lovely park is a privately owned property which contains numerous plants from all over the world on a small area. So there we were able to see everything from vanilla plants to Durian trees.

With the car we continued to Anse Takamaka and Anse Soleil. For the Anse Soleil we had to walk for a while as they started to build a new luxurious hotel with new roads. Because of the bad roads we didn’t go to Petit Anse but at least we were able to snorkel at Anse Soleil.

After returning to the hotel we enjoyed once more fresh fish and after the dinner had cocktails at the hotel bar with a nice view of the sea where we were able to spot a turtle at night time.

Our plan for today was to climb up on two of the highest mountains (Copolia and Morne Blanc) on the island in order to enjoy the nice views from the top. So we went straight to Victoria with the bus to the bus terminal in order to take another bus to the starting points of the walks. But after having waited for more than an hour with a shopping break and having seen all different buses but not the one we would have needed we decided to change plans and visited the capital instead.

We started with a tour described in our travel guide which lead us to the most important buildings in town. After our walk we spent some more time at the Pirate’s arms which is said to be the most famous restaurant/pub of the island. From there we returned to the bus terminal. But no more experiments and so we took the bus back to the hotel. But at least we managed to take a different line and thus we were able to enjoy the views at the coastline.

At the hotel we stayed in our air conditioned room for a while but then we went to the beach for a swim and before drinking the rest of the champagne we got to see the reason why the hotel carries its name.

After our last breakfast on La Digue we spent the morning with taking photos of our hotel and the area around. At 10 we got our transport to the jetty. After a short stop to the tourist office we took the ferry to Praslin. There Francis took us to the airport from where we flew over to Mahe with a really small air plane.

At the airport we had to wait for a while before we were able to continue as our driver Ben was a bit too late. But after all he arrived and took us to the Sunset Beach. At the check-in we were welcomed with a drink. We then brought our luggage to our room and headed for the bus stop. After a longer wait we took the bus to Bel Ombre and from there we walked to the Anse Major view point. The views on the walk were really impressive as you always walk along the coast up on the rocks.

Back at the hotel we enjoyed our dinner with live music and in the evening we enjoyed the champagne in our room which was provided of the hotel because we were on honeymoon.

And another day on our bikes. Today we made our way to the Anse Source d’Argent which is said to be the most beautiful beach on La Digue. After having arrived there we walked past the numerous little bays straight to the last one. And there we managed to stay for almost the whole day just lying there and relaxing.

But on our way back (almost at sunset) we managed to visit all the nice spots described in our travel guide. So we had a look at vanilla plants, giant turtles, a coconut mill, the house for welcoming politicians and an old graveyard.

And after enjoying the sunset at the pier we had to hurry in order to get back before complete darkness. In the evening we enjoyed buffet and packed our things.

We started off at the pier at around 9. Apart from us just one other couple and a guy from La Digue went on board. The first snorkelling point was Ile Cocos. Like at all snorkelling places we were able to see colourful and impressive fish. But the best thing was our local guy. He was hunting octopus and found a turtle for us to play with. After that we dropped him off and returned to Ile Cocos for a second time.

The next spot was Felicite. There we saw more impressive fish and enjoyed the colours of the sea. After returning to the jetty we went back for the hotel. At the hotel we grabbed some bikes and made a tour to Anse Severe for some more snorkelling. From there we continued to the other bays of the island just to a place where the road literally ends.

On our way back we enjoyed the lovely sunset at Anse Severe and again took heaps of photos. After that just delicious food again and another bottle of wine.

After a long sleep and a real good breakfast with pancakes we decided to rent bikes in order to discover the island. Bikes are the main transportation system on the island. With the bike we drove to Grand Anse which is a pretty wild beach mostly used by wind surfers.

From there we continued to Petite Anse and the followed an almost secret path to Anse Cocos. On our way we found a nice coconut Our aim for this walk was to sit at the beach and have coconut milk. This aim proved difficult to reach but after more than half an hour of hard work we finally managed to open the coconut and enjoy the inner parts.

At Anse Cocos we were pretty much on our one. There we spent the day with reading, chasing geckos and refreshing ourselves in the sea. Because of the currants it was not really possible to swim at this beach. After our walk back we drove to the hotel for a short stop and then went on for Anse Severe.

The snorkelling there was pretty hard as it was low tide and you had to walk for a while through shallow water. But at least Birgit saw a turtle. From there we went back to the hotel for diner and in the evening we managed to write some postcards and continued our diary.

The day started at 9 when Francis picked us up for the transport to the the ferry. We took the ferry at 10 to La Digue. The sea was not too calm but as it took only 15 minutes it wasn’t too bad.

From the jetty we got a 5-minute ride to our hotel Chateau St. Cloud. There we enjoyed the welcome drink and waited for our room to become ready. After that we walked up to Nid d’aigle which is the highest point of the island (333m). The walk was quite funny as Hedi and Jürgen joined us and sometimes it was not really obvious which way to take or better to find any way at all.

On the top we were rewarded with picturesque views around the whole island. And as the view was quite clear we could see most of the islands of the Inner Islands of the Seychelles. The nice weather resulted also in lots of pictures in order to annoy our visitors that want to see pictures of our honeymoon.

After having returned to our room we started again for a short walk through La Passe which is the only village on the island. In the evening we had a delicious four-course-dinner at our hotel before we fell into our beds.

Today we descended early from the Mango Lodge in order to reach the boat for our booked whole-day-trip. At 9 we departed from our local beach with around 20 others to the island Cousin. Cousin is a small island near Praslin which hosts a lot of endemic birds . On our trip we had nice views to some of the hidden beaches around Praslin. After having arrived at the island we were split into groups according to languages. There are different guides that do tours around the island and explain the work they do to maintain the island as it is. And we were lucky as an Austrian girl was doing a semester abroad and explained everything.

So on the tour we saw lots of different birds that already adapted to humans. Therefore we could have close looks at them and we took some impressive photos with our tele. But apart from birds there were some turtles and the world’s biggest centipede.

After that we continued to the Curieuse island. Curieuse was a former leper colony. There we started with a barbecue at the beach before visiting the doctor’s house. From our starting point we hiked to the other side of the island. On our way we saw some colourful crabs and walked on nice board walks in-between mangroves. On the other side of the island we walked straight into the turtle’s sanctuary. There lives a huge amount of giant turtles.

We continued then from the beach where the turtles live to our last stop of the trip. At St. Pierre we were able to jump into the warm water and watch some colourful fish during snorkelling around. After one hour – we were the last to come out of the water, which might have annoyed the others – we went back to our starting point from where we went to our “home beach” for some more sun.

In the evening we ate some ore of our things before we packed everything for the departure.