Scattered across the Indian Ocean, the Seychelles is made up of 115 idyllic islands CREDIT: AP/FOTOLIA
Reproduced from The Telegraph by Lizzie Porter
There aren’t many places on Earth where hawksbill turtles feel so unthreatened that they come ashore in broad daylight to lay their eggs. The Seychelles is one place where they do. There she was: a turtle scooping a hole in the sand, then entering the trance that accompanies the egg-laying process. Her carapace swayed as lychee-like ova plopped into the hollow.
Erin, the ecologist with me on the beach, measured the turtle’s shell and checked her tags. The only sounds I could make out were the turtle shuffling leaves, and the whisper of the warm breeze. Half an hour slid by before I moved from my supine position at the back of the beach to dust myself free of fine, white sand.
The Seychelles are one of the only places on earth where sea turtles come ashore in the day to lay their eggs
Unusually, in the Seychelles sea turtles come ashore during the day to lay their eggs
Many of the turtle’s progeny will not survive; only around one in every 1,000 sea turtles makes it to adulthood. In most parts of the world turtles use the cover of darkness for protection as they lay and hatch their eggs – an attempt to address those odds. But in the Seychelles, quiet, protected beaches surrounded by indigenous forest allow them a degree of safety, even in daylight.
Anse Macquereau on Fregate Island, the Seychelles CREDIT: SAKIS PAPADOPOULOS
These granitic and coral islands, around 1,100 miles from the Tanzanian coast, are wilder and less glossily perfect than the Maldives, to the north and east. But they are certainly alluring, with the attractions of surreal rock formations, lush forests and Creole heritage, as well as some of the world’s best beaches and cerulean seas.
I was staying at the Fregate Island Private, 20 minutes by helicopter from Mahé. The resort is certainly luxurious. But as well as private infinity pools and a platoon of butlers, it provides access to some of the world’s rarest fauna and flora, so the need to preserve habitats and landscapes is fundamental.
On the myriad trekking trails that cross Mahé, the scent of cinnamon still hangs in the air, vying with the whiff of ylang-ylang and lemon grass. Terence, my guide, said that there were efforts to remove the rampant spice plants, but it was an ongoing battle.
Mahe is criss-crossed with trekking trails
Mahe is criss-crossed with trekking trails CREDIT: KARL BLACKWELL
There is a careful path to tread over on Praslin, too, a squiggle of an island which is home to forests of coco de mer palm, unique to the Seychelles. Its beaches are also important turtle breeding sites. On the long, languid stretch of sand at Grand Anse Kerlan – bashed by rather less languid waves – guests from the neighbouring Constance Lemuria resort are taught how to recognise a nesting turtle, and are invited to witness – but not interfere with – the hatchlings as they beetle their way to shore.
