A Four Island Photographic Ramble
As independent travellers we had already booked our self-catering accommodation on Mahe and La Digue before we came across SeyVillas.
Earlier in the year we had celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary eating hot dogs in a mobile home on a garage forecourt in Iceland so were looking for a couple of days luxury somewhere in The Seychelles. The The Labriz Hilton on Silhouette seemed to fit the bill and we discovered that the cheapest way to book was using the discount available through SeyVillas…..and lo and behold SeyVillas could also arrange the transfers and a stay at The Maison de Soleil on Praslin as well. We could have saved ourselves a whole lot of effort by arranging our entire two week holiday through SeyVillas. The process became slightly tortuous because of the arrangements we had already made for ourselves, but with seeming infinite patience Valeria came up with different options and suggestions until everything was as we wanted. Unfortunately during the process it transpired that none of cheaper rooms was available at the Hilton so we booked a Deluxe hillside pool villa, hang the expense, 30 years to celebrate! It didn’t disappoint.
Mahe
The first five days were spent trundling around Mahe in a hire car visiting as many beaches and other places of interest as we could fit in. The weather was quite poor with persistent rain arriving most days but enough sun to avoid complete disappointment. Particular high lights were the Jardin du Roi, a day’s boat trip out and around Moyenne Island as well as the profusion of quiet beaches. We enjoyed eating out at Kaz Creole, close to where we were staying at Au Cap.
The amateur photographer’s dream of golden hour (dawn and dusk) photography was largely scuppered by the poor weather, a theme of the holiday, with a couple of notable exceptions!
Silhouette
The time arrived for our transfer over to Silhouette and the quality of customer care was immediately apparent on arrival at the Hilton Reception at Bel Hombre. Two days of blissful luxury followed with total privacy in our pool villa and garden. Lazy breakfasts, happy hour cocktails and glorious suppers pretty much completed the entertainments as the rain had closed the forest walks! Expensive… but for once we felt it was money well spent, we don’t think we’ll forget the experience any time soon.
We headed back over to Bel Hombre and were offered sound advice to delay out transfer over to Victoria Jetty for the trip to Praslin as the surroundings at the Hilton Reception were certainly more comfortable than the wooden bench at the Cat Cocos waiting area. A little more help in how all this worked would have been helpful but once under the wing of the local agent everything ran smoothly.
The views from Maison de Soleil are fantastic and Vincent and his dad are so nice and helpful but the villa is a bit basic (Not helped by having just arrived from the Hilton!). We can’t help thinking with some modest work on the kitchen and bathroom and maybe an A/C unit they would be fully booked all the time. We did enjoy staying here but ate out more than we possibly would have done. Valeria had advised leaving the Hilton until last and she was quite right but it just didn’t fit our schedule.
Praslin
Highlights on Praslin were Anse Lazio and Anse Georgette (of course), a half day trip to Curieuse with snorkelling. We were flagging a bit at the Vallee de Mai but were offered $100 for our umbrella during the daily deluge!
La Digue
We left the care of SeyVillas for our final three nights on La Digue. The beach billed to be the most photographed in the world didn’t disappoint. With the rain pouring down most of the day, despondency was setting in, with heavy hearts we arrived clutching cameras, lenses and tripod. Oh my word….over the next three evenings photographic conditions couldn’t have been more perfect.
Having failed in our attempt to see the critically endangered Black Paradise Fly-Catcher in the nature reserve (having been driven away by mosquitoes) what a delight to see a pair in a tree by the road close to our accommodation. The turtle the day before was another highlight!
An absolutely perfect holiday!
Don’t forget to take
- Waterproof Beach shoes!
- Prescription Snorkel mask if you wear glasses!
- Waterproof camera!
- Insect repellent!
Tips
Don’t expect too much from the supermarkets if self-catering – head to the market in Victoria for fruit, veg and fish.
