Three Months in the
SEYCHELLES
What Could Go Wrong?
SUE BRATTLE and COLIN SIMPSON
THE prospect was alluring – the beaches, the sunshine, three months in paradise! But the reality of life in the Seychelles turned out to be rather different. Sue and I had lived in Dubai for six years, and when it was time to move on we wanted to take a break rather than just heading off somewhere else and finding new jobs. So we took a gap year to travel, aiming to tick off some big items on our bucket list along the way. We’d previously visited the Seychelles on holiday, and felt it would be a great place to spend some time… – CS
Take Care Over Your Home From Home
IF YOU’RE planning an extended stay somewhere then the choice of accommodation is probably the most important decision you’ll make.
There are loads of top-end hotels on the Seychelles, but unless you’re super-rich then these will be far too expensive if you’re staying for a few months.
In hindsight, we should have spent more time and effort finding the right place. We ended up in a semi-detached bungalow across the road from one of the many lovely beaches on Mahé, the main island. When we were viewing it, a little dog poked its head from next door through a hole in the garden fence. Cute, we thought, as we agreed to take the property for three months.
It was only when we moved in that we learned that our new neighbours also had two much larger dogs that were kept chained up in their front garden. One – a huge, aggressive brute – would lunge forward and bark fiercely every time someone passed the front gate, or if it caught sight of our heads above the garden wall.
This didn’t make for a relaxing stay, and reached a ridiculous peak during the Seychelles Marathon. The route passed our front gate, and every time one of the hundreds of runners went by the monster dog would launch itself forward, straining its chain as it raged at them. Perhaps this improved some of their times.
Our neighbours, a pleasant, laid-back young couple, made no attempt to stop this. When we first met them they remarked that the homes we were renting, which had bars on the windows, had never been burgled. We gathered that this was unusual in the Seychelles; at least the presence of the dogs meant the situation was unlikely to change.
Dogs are a nuisance on Mahé. A local couple told us that before independence there was a strict licensing system for dogs, but once the British left this was abandoned. Households often have several animals to deter burglars, and barking from nearby properties can keep you awake at night. Feral packs are a hazard during hikes. A law requiring owners to register dogs has been introduced, though it remains to be seen how effective it will be.
Dogs were not the only animal problem we had – at one point the gardens and roof space became infested with rats. I laid poison, and every morning I’d search for their stiff bodies and then drop them into the bin. This was not how I’d pictured our stay in paradise before we flew out.
There were consolations. The rent was pretty cheap, and utilities bills were low. The house stood in an overgrown patch of land planted with coconut and exotic fruit trees, and every now and then the landlord would send someone to harvest them. We were always given a sample or two.
Behind this patch, the rocky hills covered with vegetation rose steeply, forming a lush green backdrop to our little home. A cow was tethered in a nearby garden.
We lived in an area called Glacis, which is more a scattering of houses than a proper village. I felt pretty safe there, though Sue says she would not have been happy to go out on her own at night – few street lights, dogs and sheer drops off the side of the roads made strolling in the dark a pretty hapless pursuit.
Some of our neighbours were fishermen, who would head out in their little boats early in the morning. There was a small grocer’s shop along the road with an area outside where locals would gather and drink SeyBrew beer. Sometime these gatherings became drunken and noisy.
Further along the road stood a large, imposing house with a vast terrace that overlooked the sea. We had tried to rent it, but it was not available on our dates. We often think how different our time in the Seychelles would have been if we’d stayed there. – CS
About the Seychelles
THE Seychelles mean romance, brides strolling on white-sand beaches, honeymoons and holidays in paradise to many – and that’s all true. The Indian Ocean islands, 115 of them, lie in the middle of nowhere, around 1,500 kms off the African coast. Their history involves pirates (still a problem), and thousands of years of nothing until the French landed there 250 years ago in 1770. A few years later the British took over and as the population grew, so the tiny group of ruling colonial masters grew richer.
The Seychelles gained independence in 1976, five years after the airport was built. Tourism took off, with 5-star resorts sprouting along the beautiful coastline of the main island, Mahé. In recent years offshore financial services have grown and the Seychelles are now one of the “new (tax) havens” along with Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Mauritius. The government has encouraged foreign investors from the US, Russia and more recently China, and the islands have the highest per capita GDP in Africa – yet poverty is everywhere. Welcome to the paradox that is the Seychelles. – SB
It's Always Beach-O'Clock
THE greatest joy of our time on Mahé was that we lived across the road from a lovely stretch of golden sand called Glacis Beach. I’d make full use of this, going snorkelling most days.
The coral was in a pretty poor state, but there was plenty to see including brightly coloured fish, rays and green turtles. One day I spotted a guitar fish. On Mahé, you’re never far from a beach. If I fancied a change of scene I’d drive a mile or two along the coast to Sunset Beach, where the waters were particularly rich in larger sea life. As well as snorkelling, I also went diving – there are a couple of dive shops in Beau Vallon, and some good sites to explore.
For a busier beach visit we’d head for the large, sweeping expanse of sand at Beau Vallon. This is a popular resort area with large hotels, shops and places to eat. The Boat House restaurant is famous for its Creole seafood buffet. We also liked the Baobab pizza place, and the Mahek Indian restaurant at the Coral Strand Hotel.
If you prefer street food, then you’ll often see stands selling Creole fare next to the beach. Fruit can be bought from roadside stalls all over the island.
There’s a good stretch of highway from the airport to Victoria, the capital, but otherwise the roads are narrow and sometimes have steep drops at the side. We soon became used to the conditions.
You see a lot of giant tortoises in pens around Mahé, though often they’re not kept in very good conditions. The atoll of Aldabra, a UNESCO world heritage site, is the home of these animals. Tourists are often surprised to learn that, though it is part of the Seychelles, Aldabra is 1,120 kms away from Victoria.
Of course, having all those beaches is all very well provided it doesn’t rain. In fact it rains at all times of year in the Seychelles – there’s a reason why the vegetation is so lush and green. We found ourselves on Mahé in the two wettest months of the year, December and January. One particularly extreme downpour swept away a bit of the road from Glacis to Beau Vallon.
When you’re planning a whole year’s travel, it’s impossible to get the weather right everywhere. Even so, sitting at a table in a nondescript seaside restaurant watching the rain lash down was no way to spend Christmas Day. – CS
5 Top Things to Do In the Seychelles
1. St. Joseph’s Church, Anse Royale
DRIVING around Mahé, you’ll notice churches everywhere – big, small, wooden, tin, stone. They tell the story of the battle for the souls of the islanders, mainly descendants of slaves. It raged for decades and, it’s fair to say, the Roman Catholics won. Almost 80 per cent of the island is Catholic, proof that the British attempt to introduce Protestantism (6 per cent) was not a resounding success. I liked St Joseph’s for its beautiful setting, right on Anse Royale beach, and its gorgeous 1930s wooden altar. The building you see now is only around 15 years old, but the parish has been there for more than 150 years. By the way, despite the religious leaders’ disapproval, islanders still consult seers and carry charms to ward off evil, very sensibly covering all bases. As well as other Christian groups, the islanders include Muslims, Hindus and Baha’i. The extraordinary Arul Mihu Navasakthi Vinayagar Temple in Victoria, the only one on the island, is well worth a visit. Take your camera.
2. Le Jardin du Roi
WHEN I say this is 2 kms above the Anse Royale beach, I mean it. The road up is almost vertical, so hold your nerve! However, it’s well worth it; 85 acres of orchards, gardens, and forest packed with plants and spices brought to the Seychelles by French horticulturalist Pierre Poivre in the late 1700s. His name translates as Peter Pepper, and there’s a theory (which I like to believe) that he inspired the tongue-twister: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.” The garden is really an old-style plantation, with the planter’s house now a restaurant serving wonderful food (salads, snacks, Creole and seafood) and selling home-made jams and homegrown spices. There are lots of signposted walks and wonderful views. Take mosquito spray.
3. Victoria
WHETHER you’re in a 5-star hotel or a guest house, you’ll visit Victoria during your holiday. About a third of the Seychelles’ 90,000-plus population lives in the capital, and you may pop in there to or from the airport, which is around 8 kms away. There are civic buildings, museums, a great market for fruit, spices, fish, local veg etc, and just the general bustle of a town centre. It’s probably where you’ll buy souvenirs, and the sunhat you forgot to pack. There are modern and well-stocked pharmacies here, plus plenty of cafés and restaurants. Which brings me to my major disappointment. One of my favourite places in the Seychelles was the Pirates Arms in Victoria, a lovely old-fashioned restaurant with good home cooking and a slightly eccentric air. But it’s been demolished! A new building is going up in its place, and I’m hoping they’ll recreate the Pirates. Spend a few hours just roaming around the town, but don’t rush or the humidity will catch up with you. And look up: Victoria is surrounded by moody hills which capture rain clouds and bounce with sunlight. That whiff that you’ll catch now and then is from the tuna canning factory, extremely important to the island’s economy. You don’t need a guide, by the way, it’s very compact.
4. Victoria Botanical Gardens
THESE are in Mont Fleuri, a 15-minute walk from Victoria, and it’s the only time I’ve seen fruit bats in full daylight. They hang from the tropical rainforest trees, and fly in and out. Frankly, we were mesmerised. Other than bats, there’s every exotic flower, spice tree, an avenue of coco de mer palms (you need a license to take one of the giant bottom-shaped seeds home as a souvenir), and giant Aldabra tortoises. I think these gardens are a must-see, but marred for me when I spotted a few rats around one of the ponds
5. Eden Island
THIS is a new-ish resort and marina built on a reclaimed coral reef – and it’s an enormous investment by Seychelles standards. The island is roughly halfway between Victoria and the airport, and residents whizz around on golf carts, picking up their groceries from the only spick and span truly modern supermarket on Mahé. There are cafés, restaurants, shops, a (very good) hairdresser, and all the usual paraphernalia of an upmarket development aimed at people who can afford US$1million upwards for an island hideaway. Many of the villas and apartments are available for holiday rentals, but I notice they get very mixed reviews from travellers. Goodness knows who owns the superyachts berthed in the marina, but it’s fun to buy a coffee and do some people-watching. How do you design a place that can match the natural beauty of the rest of Mahé? – SB
The UAE Connection
UAE flags flutter from superyachts in Victoria’s Eden Island marina. And in April the UAE arranged for a resort hotel on Mahé to be used to accommodate health staff and other frontline service workers involved in combating the spread of COVID-19. A less welcome venture was the construction of a vast palace for Sheikh Khalifa in 2010 on the highest point on Mahé. The building work resulted in the water supply to residents being contaminated with sewage and diesel.
The affair prompted street protests, and compensation was paid to villagers in 2013. However, it continues to rumble on. In September, residents again took to the streets when it was revealed that a second round of compensation would be paid by the Seychelles government rather than those who caused the pollution.
Sheikh Khalifa, 71, has rarely been seen since suffering a stroke in 2014. In the days when he visited his mountain-top palace on Mahé – built on the site of a former US tracking station – he would arrive in the Seychelles with a huge entourage. A local who worked in the car rental business told us that every available vehicle on the island would be hired by his party. – CS
A Troubling Paradise
WHEN you’re offering paradise to your visitors, expectations run very high. We lived outside the 5-star luxury bubble of the high-end hotels that cater for most of the visitors to the islands. We were surrounded by beauty, a memory we’ll treasure forever. We also both found the atmosphere unsettling and spent some time trying to pinpoint why.
On paper, the Seychelles does very well indeed; 3 to 4 per cent unemployment, the highest GDP per capita in Africa, a “very high score” on the Human Development Index. All of which is good.
On the ground, the picture is different. Almost 40 per cent of Seychellois live below the poverty line, and there’s a heroin problem. Drive around the main island of Mahé and you see “Don’t Do Drugs” banners hanging over school gates. People come up to you in the street holding out their hands for money. The islands have one of the biggest wealth inequalities in the world, and it shows.
In the wonderful hotels, it is a sore point among islanders that many staff are foreign. When we were living there, a minister said they needed to go to Mauritius to get the standard of staff required by guests paying 5-star prices. Hotel chains still recruit managers from abroad, and some say it is challenging to train locals up.
We certainly found customer service to be an alien concept; you can get your change almost thrown at you in shops. Probably our worst experience was using the local Emirates airline office in Victoria; we’ve always found Emirates’ service to be tip-top. We wanted to fly from the Seychelles to France – but that wasn’t to be. The surly woman dealing with us tied us in knots. We knew the flights were available, but she just wanted to be unpleasant, and she was. We didn’t get our flight.
Another day, I was bashed in the arm and side by a huge SUV as I walked back to my car. The driver carried on, but her passenger must have noticed I was in some distress and she stopped. Without asking if I was OK or showing any concern, she asked me how much money I wanted. She shouted a lot, I called the police – and they never came.
It’s too early to say what damage coronavirus has wrought on a country that gets 70 per cent of its hard currency from tourists flying in or arriving on cruise ships. According to the African Development Bank Group, the service sector – mainly tourism – contributed more than 80 percent of GDP last year. The government seems to have handled the crisis well, with 11 cases and 11 recoveries, and are now COVID-19 free.
We wonder whether, like everywhere in the world, this pause will produce any benefits for the Seychelles. Somewhere blessed with so much natural beauty should thrive, but that will happen only if the wealth trickles down through society. If you’re thinking of seeking paradise, we’d recommend either a traditional holiday in one of the Seychelles’ many hotel resorts… or go to Mauritius. – SB
NOTE: We paid for this entire trip ourselves.
5 Things We Learned
1) IT’S worth repeating that your choice of accommodation is vital, so take plenty of care over it.
2) Check what the weather is usually like at your hideaway during the dates you’ll be there. And don’t believe tourism sites that describe somewhere as an “all-year-round” destination.
3) Find out what the rules concerning driving licences are in the place you’re visiting. In the Seychelles, for example, you can drive on a driving licence from your home country for only three months from the date you arrive.
4) In the Seychelles, check for warning notices before going into the sea. Strong currents and tides on some beaches can sweep swimmers out into the ocean.
5) Make sure you slather on insect repellent when you go out, as you can be badly bitten if you’re not careful.
May 2020
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LET'S KEEP IN TOUCH!
Three Months in the
SEYCHELLES
What Could Go Wrong?
SUE BRATTLE and COLIN SIMPSON
THE prospect was alluring – the beaches, the sunshine, three months in paradise! But the reality of life in the Seychelles turned out to be rather different. Sue and I had lived in Dubai for six years, and when it was time to move on we wanted to take a break rather than just heading off somewhere else and finding new jobs. So we took a gap year to travel, aiming to tick off some big items on our bucket list along the way. We’d previously visited the Seychelles on holiday, and felt it would be a great place to spend some time… – CS
Take Care Over Your Home From Home
IF YOU’RE planning an extended stay somewhere then the choice of accommodation is probably the most important decision you’ll make.
There are loads of top-end hotels on the Seychelles, but unless you’re super-rich then these will be far too expensive if you’re staying for a few months.
In hindsight, we should have spent more time and effort finding the right place. We ended up in a semi-detached bungalow across the road from one of the many lovely beaches on Mahé, the main island. When we were viewing it, a little dog poked its head from next door through a hole in the garden fence. Cute, we thought, as we agreed to take the property for three months.
It was only when we moved in that we learned that our new neighbours also had two much larger dogs that were kept chained up in their front garden. One – a huge, aggressive brute – would lunge forward and bark fiercely every time someone passed the front gate, or if it caught sight of our heads above the garden wall.
This didn’t make for a relaxing stay, and reached a ridiculous peak during the Seychelles Marathon. The route passed our front gate, and every time one of the hundreds of runners went by the monster dog would launch itself forward, straining its chain as it raged at them. Perhaps this improved some of their times.
Our neighbours, a pleasant, laid-back young couple, made no attempt to stop this. When we first met them they remarked that the homes we were renting, which had bars on the windows, had never been burgled. We gathered that this was unusual in the Seychelles; at least the presence of the dogs meant the situation was unlikely to change.
Dogs are a nuisance on Mahé. A local couple told us that before independence there was a strict licensing system for dogs, but once the British left this was abandoned. Households often have several animals to deter burglars, and barking from nearby properties can keep you awake at night. Feral packs are a hazard during hikes. A law requiring owners to register dogs has been introduced, though it remains to be seen how effective it will be.
Dogs were not the only animal problem we had – at one point the gardens and roof space became infested with rats. I laid poison, and every morning I’d search for their stiff bodies and then drop them into the bin. This was not how I’d pictured our stay in paradise before we flew out.
There were consolations. The rent was pretty cheap, and utilities bills were low. The house stood in an overgrown patch of land planted with coconut and exotic fruit trees, and every now and then the landlord would send someone to harvest them. We were always given a sample or two.
Behind this patch, the rocky hills covered with vegetation rose steeply, forming a lush green backdrop to our little home. A cow was tethered in a nearby garden.
We lived in an area called Glacis, which is more a scattering of houses than a proper village. I felt pretty safe there, though Sue says she would not have been happy to go out on her own at night – few street lights, dogs and sheer drops off the side of the roads made strolling in the dark a pretty hapless pursuit.
Some of our neighbours were fishermen, who would head out in their little boats early in the morning. There was a small grocer’s shop along the road with an area outside where locals would gather and drink SeyBrew beer. Sometime these gatherings became drunken and noisy.
Further along the road stood a large, imposing house with a vast terrace that overlooked the sea. We had tried to rent it, but it was not available on our dates. We often think how different our time in the Seychelles would have been if we’d stayed there. – CS
About the Seychelles
THE Seychelles mean romance, brides strolling on white-sand beaches, honeymoons and holidays in paradise to many – and that’s all true. The Indian Ocean islands, 115 of them, lie in the middle of nowhere, around 1,500 kms off the African coast. Their history involves pirates (still a problem), and thousands of years of nothing until the French landed there 250 years ago in 1770. A few years later the British took over and as the population grew, so the tiny group of ruling colonial masters grew richer.
The Seychelles gained independence in 1976, five years after the airport was built. Tourism took off, with 5-star resorts sprouting along the beautiful coastline of the main island, Mahé. In recent years offshore financial services have grown and the Seychelles are now one of the “new (tax) havens” along with Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Mauritius. The government has encouraged foreign investors from the US, Russia and more recently China, and the islands have the highest per capita GDP in Africa – yet poverty is everywhere. Welcome to the paradox that is the Seychelles. – SB
It's Always Beach-O'Clock
THE greatest joy of our time on Mahé was that we lived across the road from a lovely stretch of golden sand called Glacis Beach. I’d make full use of this, going snorkelling most days.
The coral was in a pretty poor state, but there was plenty to see including brightly coloured fish, rays and green turtles. One day I spotted a guitar fish. On Mahé, you’re never far from a beach. If I fancied a change of scene I’d drive a mile or two along the coast to Sunset Beach, where the waters were particularly rich in larger sea life. As well as snorkelling, I also went diving – there are a couple of dive shops in Beau Vallon, and some good sites to explore.
For a busier beach visit we’d head for the large, sweeping expanse of sand at Beau Vallon. This is a popular resort area with large hotels, shops and places to eat. The Boat House restaurant is famous for its Creole seafood buffet. We also liked the Baobab pizza place, and the Mahek Indian restaurant at the Coral Strand Hotel.
If you prefer street food, then you’ll often see stands selling Creole fare next to the beach. Fruit can be bought from roadside stalls all over the island.
There’s a good stretch of highway from the airport to Victoria, the capital, but otherwise the roads are narrow and sometimes have steep drops at the side. We soon became used to the conditions.
You see a lot of giant tortoises in pens around Mahé, though often they’re not kept in very good conditions. The atoll of Aldabra, a UNESCO world heritage site, is the home of these animals. Tourists are often surprised to learn that, though it is part of the Seychelles, Aldabra is 1,120 kms away from Victoria.
Of course, having all those beaches is all very well provided it doesn’t rain. In fact it rains at all times of year in the Seychelles – there’s a reason why the vegetation is so lush and green. We found ourselves on Mahé in the two wettest months of the year, December and January. One particularly extreme downpour swept away a bit of the road from Glacis to Beau Vallon.
When you’re planning a whole year’s travel, it’s impossible to get the weather right everywhere. Even so, sitting at a table in a nondescript seaside restaurant watching the rain lash down was no way to spend Christmas Day. – CS
5 Top Things to Do In the Seychelles
1. St. Joseph’s Church, Anse Royale
DRIVING around Mahé, you’ll notice churches everywhere – big, small, wooden, tin, stone. They tell the story of the battle for the souls of the islanders, mainly descendants of slaves. It raged for decades and, it’s fair to say, the Roman Catholics won. Almost 80 per cent of the island is Catholic, proof that the British attempt to introduce Protestantism (6 per cent) was not a resounding success. I liked St Joseph’s for its beautiful setting, right on Anse Royale beach, and its gorgeous 1930s wooden altar. The building you see now is only around 15 years old, but the parish has been there for more than 150 years. By the way, despite the religious leaders’ disapproval, islanders still consult seers and carry charms to ward off evil, very sensibly covering all bases. As well as other Christian groups, the islanders include Muslims, Hindus and Baha’i. The extraordinary Arul Mihu Navasakthi Vinayagar Temple in Victoria, the only one on the island, is well worth a visit. Take your camera.
2. Le Jardin du Roi
WHEN I say this is 2 kms above the Anse Royale beach, I mean it. The road up is almost vertical, so hold your nerve! However, it’s well worth it; 85 acres of orchards, gardens, and forest packed with plants and spices brought to the Seychelles by French horticulturalist Pierre Poivre in the late 1700s. His name translates as Peter Pepper, and there’s a theory (which I like to believe) that he inspired the tongue-twister: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.” The garden is really an old-style plantation, with the planter’s house now a restaurant serving wonderful food (salads, snacks, Creole and seafood) and selling home-made jams and homegrown spices. There are lots of signposted walks and wonderful views. Take mosquito spray.
3. Victoria
WHETHER you’re in a 5-star hotel or a guest house, you’ll visit Victoria during your holiday. About a third of the Seychelles’ 90,000-plus population lives in the capital, and you may pop in there to or from the airport, which is around 8 kms away. There are civic buildings, museums, a great market for fruit, spices, fish, local veg etc, and just the general bustle of a town centre. It’s probably where you’ll buy souvenirs, and the sunhat you forgot to pack. There are modern and well-stocked pharmacies here, plus plenty of cafés and restaurants. Which brings me to my major disappointment. One of my favourite places in the Seychelles was the Pirates Arms in Victoria, a lovely old-fashioned restaurant with good home cooking and a slightly eccentric air. But it’s been demolished! A new building is going up in its place, and I’m hoping they’ll recreate the Pirates. Spend a few hours just roaming around the town, but don’t rush or the humidity will catch up with you. And look up: Victoria is surrounded by moody hills which capture rain clouds and bounce with sunlight. That whiff that you’ll catch now and then is from the tuna canning factory, extremely important to the island’s economy. You don’t need a guide, by the way, it’s very compact.
4. Victoria Botanical Gardens
THESE are in Mont Fleuri, a 15-minute walk from Victoria, and it’s the only time I’ve seen fruit bats in full daylight. They hang from the tropical rainforest trees, and fly in and out. Frankly, we were mesmerised. Other than bats, there’s every exotic flower, spice tree, an avenue of coco de mer palms (you need a license to take one of the giant bottom-shaped seeds home as a souvenir), and giant Aldabra tortoises. I think these gardens are a must-see, but marred for me when I spotted a few rats around one of the ponds
5. Eden Island
THIS is a new-ish resort and marina built on a reclaimed coral reef – and it’s an enormous investment by Seychelles standards. The island is roughly halfway between Victoria and the airport, and residents whizz around on golf carts, picking up their groceries from the only spick and span truly modern supermarket on Mahé. There are cafés, restaurants, shops, a (very good) hairdresser, and all the usual paraphernalia of an upmarket development aimed at people who can afford US$1million upwards for an island hideaway. Many of the villas and apartments are available for holiday rentals, but I notice they get very mixed reviews from travellers. Goodness knows who owns the superyachts berthed in the marina, but it’s fun to buy a coffee and do some people-watching. How do you design a place that can match the natural beauty of the rest of Mahé? – SB
The UAE Connection
UAE flags flutter from superyachts in Victoria’s Eden Island marina. And in April the UAE arranged for a resort hotel on Mahé to be used to accommodate health staff and other frontline service workers involved in combating the spread of COVID-19. A less welcome venture was the construction of a vast palace for Sheikh Khalifa in 2010 on the highest point on Mahé. The building work resulted in the water supply to residents being contaminated with sewage and diesel.
The affair prompted street protests, and compensation was paid to villagers in 2013. However, it continues to rumble on. In September, residents again took to the streets when it was revealed that a second round of compensation would be paid by the Seychelles government rather than those who caused the pollution.
Sheikh Khalifa, 71, has rarely been seen since suffering a stroke in 2014. In the days when he visited his mountain-top palace on Mahé – built on the site of a former US tracking station – he would arrive in the Seychelles with a huge entourage. A local who worked in the car rental business told us that every available vehicle on the island would be hired by his party. – CS
A Troubling Paradise
WHEN you’re offering paradise to your visitors, expectations run very high. We lived outside the 5-star luxury bubble of the high-end hotels that cater for most of the visitors to the islands. We were surrounded by beauty, a memory we’ll treasure forever. We also both found the atmosphere unsettling and spent some time trying to pinpoint why.
On paper, the Seychelles does very well indeed; 3 to 4 per cent unemployment, the highest GDP per capita in Africa, a “very high score” on the Human Development Index. All of which is good.
On the ground, the picture is different. Almost 40 per cent of Seychellois live below the poverty line, and there’s a heroin problem. Drive around the main island of Mahé and you see “Don’t Do Drugs” banners hanging over school gates. People come up to you in the street holding out their hands for money. The islands have one of the biggest wealth inequalities in the world, and it shows.
In the wonderful hotels, it is a sore point among islanders that many staff are foreign. When we were living there, a minister said they needed to go to Mauritius to get the standard of staff required by guests paying 5-star prices. Hotel chains still recruit managers from abroad, and some say it is challenging to train locals up.
We certainly found customer service to be an alien concept; you can get your change almost thrown at you in shops. Probably our worst experience was using the local Emirates airline office in Victoria; we’ve always found Emirates’ service to be tip-top. We wanted to fly from the Seychelles to France – but that wasn’t to be. The surly woman dealing with us tied us in knots. We knew the flights were available, but she just wanted to be unpleasant, and she was. We didn’t get our flight.
Another day, I was bashed in the arm and side by a huge SUV as I walked back to my car. The driver carried on, but her passenger must have noticed I was in some distress and she stopped. Without asking if I was OK or showing any concern, she asked me how much money I wanted. She shouted a lot, I called the police – and they never came.
It’s too early to say what damage coronavirus has wrought on a country that gets 70 per cent of its hard currency from tourists flying in or arriving on cruise ships. According to the African Development Bank Group, the service sector – mainly tourism – contributed more than 80 percent of GDP last year. The government seems to have handled the crisis well, with 11 cases and 11 recoveries, and are now COVID-19 free.
We wonder whether, like everywhere in the world, this pause will produce any benefits for the Seychelles. Somewhere blessed with so much natural beauty should thrive, but that will happen only if the wealth trickles down through society. If you’re thinking of seeking paradise, we’d recommend either a traditional holiday in one of the Seychelles’ many hotel resorts… or go to Mauritius. – SB
NOTE: We paid for this entire trip ourselves.
5 Things We Learned
1) IT’S worth repeating that your choice of accommodation is vital, so take plenty of care over it.
2) Check what the weather is usually like at your hideaway during the dates you’ll be there. And don’t believe tourism sites that describe somewhere as an “all-year-round” destination.
3) Find out what the rules concerning driving licences are in the place you’re visiting. In the Seychelles, for example, you can drive on a driving licence from your home country for only three months from the date you arrive.
4) In the Seychelles, check for warning notices before going into the sea. Strong currents and tides on some beaches can sweep swimmers out into the ocean.
5) Make sure you slather on insect repellent when you go out, as you can be badly bitten if you’re not careful.
May 2020
MORE INFO
OFFICIAL Seychelles tourism site, with advice on planning your visit, details of events and an interactive gallery. READ MORE
RELATED
THE GARDEN OF EDEN: Getting up the energy actually to do some tourism during a stay in the Seychelles might seem like a stretch, but the Vallée de Mai is an exception. I’d say it’s a must-do, so think of it as much-needed exercise… READ MORE
ISLAND’S MOVING STORY: Take a break from the sun lounger and pool bar when you visit Mauritius to explore the extraordinary history of a holiday isle that has a story to tell… READ MORE
HOLIDAYS IN THE SUN: We all love holidays in the sun, and now someone has worked out a year-long itinerary where the temperature stays around 70-75F (21-24C). Here’s our take. READ MORE
RECOMMENDED
WELCOME TO OUR WORLD! Afaranwide’s home page – this is where you can find out about our latest posts and other highlights. READ MORE
TOP 10 VIRTUAL ATTRACTIONS: Many of the world’s most popular tourists sites are closed because of the coronavirus crisis, but you can still visit them virtually while you’re self-isolating. READ MORE
SHIMLA, QUEEN OF THE HILLS: Government officials once retreated to Shimla in the foothills of the Himalayas to escape India’s blazing hot summers. Now tourists make the same journey. READ MORE
TEN THINGS WE LEARNED: Our up-to-the-minute guide to creating a website, one step at a time. The costs, the mistakes – it’s what we wish we’d known when we started blogging. READ MORE
TROUBLED TIMES FOR EXPATS: Moving abroad can seem an idyllic prospect, but what happens when sudden upheavals or the inescapable realities of life intrude? READ MORE
Disclosure: Afaranwide is an affiliate of leading travel operators such as Booking.com and Japan Rail Pass. If you purchase through our site we receive, at no additional cost to you, a small commission. We only work with companies we have used and recommend.
LET'S KEEP IN TOUCH!
Three Months in the
SEYCHELLES
– What Could Go Wrong?
SUE BRATTLE and COLIN SIMPSON
THE prospect was alluring – the beaches, the sunshine, three months in paradise! But the reality of life in the Seychelles turned out to be rather different. Sue and I had lived in Dubai for six years, and when it was time to move on we wanted to take a break rather than just heading off somewhere else and finding new jobs.
So we took a gap year to travel, aiming to tick off some big items on our bucket list along the way. We’d previously visited the Seychelles on holiday, and felt it would be a great place to spend some time… – CS
Take Care Over Your Home From Home
IF YOU’RE planning an extended stay somewhere then the choice of accommodation is probably the most important decision you’ll make.
There are loads of top-end hotels on the Seychelles, but unless you’re super-rich then these will be far too expensive if you’re staying for a few months.
In hindsight, we should have spent more time and effort finding the right place. We ended up in a semi-detached bungalow across the road from one of the many lovely beaches on Mahé, the main island. When we were viewing it, a little dog poked its head from next door through a hole in the garden fence. Cute, we thought, as we agreed to take the property for three months.
It was only when we moved in that we learned that our new neighbours also had two much larger dogs that were kept chained up in their front garden. One – a huge, aggressive brute – would lunge forward and bark fiercely every time someone passed the front gate, or if it caught sight of our heads above the garden wall.
This didn’t make for a relaxing stay, and reached a ridiculous peak during the Seychelles Marathon. The route passed our front gate, and every time one of the hundreds of runners went by the monster dog would launch itself forward, straining its chain as it raged at them. Perhaps this improved some of their times.
Our neighbours, a pleasant, laid-back young couple, made no attempt to stop this. When we first met them they remarked that the homes we were renting, which had bars on the windows, had never been burgled. We gathered that this was unusual in the Seychelles; at least the presence of the dogs meant the situation was unlikely to change.
Dogs are a nuisance on Mahé. A local couple told us that before independence there was a strict licensing system for dogs, but once the British left this was abandoned. Households often have several animals to deter burglars, and barking from nearby properties can keep you awake at night. Feral packs are a hazard during hikes. A law requiring owners to register dogs has been introduced, though it remains to be seen how effective it will be.
Dogs were not the only animal problem we had – at one point the gardens and roof space became infested with rats. I laid poison, and every morning I’d search for their stiff bodies and then drop them into the bin. This was not how I’d pictured our stay in paradise before we flew out.
There were consolations. The rent was pretty cheap, and utilities bills were low. The house stood in an overgrown patch of land planted with coconut and exotic fruit trees, and every now and then the landlord would send someone to harvest them. We were always given a sample or two.
Behind this patch, the rocky hills covered with vegetation rose steeply, forming a lush green backdrop to our little home. A cow was tethered in a nearby garden.
We lived in an area called Glacis, which is more a scattering of houses than a proper village. I felt pretty safe there, though Sue says she would not have been happy to go out on her own at night – few street lights, dogs and sheer drops off the side of the roads made strolling in the dark a pretty hapless pursuit.
Some of our neighbours were fishermen, who would head out in their little boats early in the morning. There was a small grocer’s shop along the road with an area outside where locals would gather and drink SeyBrew beer. Sometime these gatherings became drunken and noisy.
Further along the road stood a large, imposing house with a vast terrace that overlooked the sea. We had tried to rent it, but it was not available on our dates. We often think how different our time in the Seychelles would have been if we’d stayed there. – CS
About the Seychelles
THE Seychelles mean romance, brides strolling on white-sand beaches, honeymoons and holidays in paradise to many – and that’s all true. The Indian Ocean islands, 115 of them, lie in the middle of nowhere, around 1,500 kms off the African coast. Their history involves pirates (still a problem), and thousands of years of nothing until the French landed there 250 years ago in 1770. A few years later the British took over and as the population grew, so the tiny group of ruling colonial masters grew richer.
The Seychelles gained independence in 1976, five years after the airport was built. Tourism took off, with 5-star resorts sprouting along the beautiful coastline of the main island, Mahé. In recent years offshore financial services have grown and the Seychelles are now one of the “new (tax) havens” along with Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Mauritius. The government has encouraged foreign investors from the US, Russia and more recently China, and the islands have the highest per capita GDP in Africa – yet poverty is everywhere. Welcome to the paradox that is the Seychelles. – SB
It's Always Beach O'Clock
THE greatest joy of our time on Mahé was that we lived across the road from a lovely stretch of golden sand called Glacis Beach. I’d make full use of this, going snorkelling most days.
The coral was in a pretty poor state, but there was plenty to see including brightly coloured fish, rays and green turtles. One day I spotted a guitar fish. On Mahé, you’re never far from a beach. If I fancied a change of scene I’d drive a mile or two along the coast to Sunset Beach, where the waters were particularly rich in larger sea life. As well as snorkelling, I also went diving – there are a couple of dive shops in Beau Vallon, and some good sites to explore.
For a busier beach visit we’d head for the large, sweeping expanse of sand at Beau Vallon. This is a popular resort area with large hotels, shops and places to eat. The Boat House restaurant is famous for its Creole seafood buffet. We also liked the Baobab pizza place, and the Mahek Indian restaurant at the Coral Strand Hotel.
If you prefer street food, then you’ll often see stands selling Creole fare next to the beach. Fruit can be bought from roadside stalls all over the island.
There’s a good stretch of highway from the airport to Victoria, the capital, but otherwise the roads are narrow and sometimes have steep drops at the side. We soon became used to the conditions.
You see a lot of giant tortoises in pens around Mahé, though often they’re not kept in very good conditions. The atoll of Aldabra, a UNESCO world heritage site, is the home of these animals. Tourists are often surprised to learn that, though it is part of the Seychelles, Aldabra is 1,120 kms away from Victoria.
Of course, having all those beaches is all very well provided it doesn’t rain. In fact it rains at all times of year in the Seychelles – there’s a reason why the vegetation is so lush and green. We found ourselves on Mahé in the two wettest months of the year, December and January. One particularly extreme downpour swept away a bit of the road from Glacis to Beau Vallon.
When you’re planning a whole year’s travel, it’s impossible to get the weather right everywhere. Even so, sitting at a table in a nondescript seaside restaurant watching the rain lash down was no way to spend Christmas Day. – CS
5 Top Things to Do In the Seychelles
1. St. Joseph’s Church, Anse Royale
DRIVING around Mahé, you’ll notice churches everywhere – big, small, wooden, tin, stone. They tell the story of the battle for the souls of the islanders, mainly descendants of slaves. It raged for decades and, it’s fair to say, the Roman Catholics won.
Almost 80 per cent of the island is Catholic, proof that the British attempt to introduce Protestantism (6 per cent) was not a resounding success. I liked St Joseph’s for its beautiful setting, right on Anse Royale beach, and its gorgeous 1930s wooden altar. The building you see now is only around 15 years old, but the parish has been there for more than 150 years.
By the way, despite the religious leaders’ disapproval, islanders still consult seers and carry charms to ward off evil, very sensibly covering all bases. As well as other Christian groups, the islanders include Muslims, Hindus and Baha’i. The extraordinary Arul Mihu Navasakthi Vinayagar Temple in Victoria, the only one on the island, is well worth a visit. Take your camera.
2. Le Jardin du Roi
WHEN I say this is 2 kms above the Anse Royale beach, I mean it. The road up is almost vertical, so hold your nerve! However, it’s well worth it; 85 acres of orchards, gardens, and forest packed with plants and spices brought to the Seychelles by French horticulturalist Pierre Poivre in the late 1700s. His name translates as Peter Pepper, and there’s a theory (which I like to believe) that he inspired the tongue-twister: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.”
The garden is really an old-style plantation, with the planter’s house now a restaurant serving wonderful food (salads, snacks, Creole and seafood) and selling home-made jams and homegrown spices. There are lots of signposted walks and wonderful views. Take mosquito spray.
3. Victoria
WHETHER you’re in a 5-star hotel or a guest house, you’ll visit Victoria during your holiday. About a third of the Seychelles’ 90,000-plus population lives in the capital, and you may pop in there to or from the airport, which is around 8 kms away. There are civic buildings, museums, a great market for fruit, spices, fish, local veg etc, and just the general bustle of a town centre. It’s probably where you’ll buy souvenirs, and the sunhat you forgot to pack.
There are modern and well-stocked pharmacies here, plus plenty of cafés and restaurants. Which brings me to my major disappointment. One of my favourite places in the Seychelles was the Pirates Arms in Victoria, a lovely old-fashioned restaurant with good home cooking and a slightly eccentric air. But it’s been demolished! A new building is going up in its place, and I’m hoping they’ll recreate the Pirates. Spend a few hours just roaming around the town, but don’t rush or the humidity will catch up with you.
And look up: Victoria is surrounded by moody hills which capture rain clouds and bounce with sunlight. That whiff that you’ll catch now and then is from the tuna canning factory, extremely important to the island’s economy. You don’t need a guide, by the way, it’s very compact.
4. Victoria Botanical Gardens
THESE are in Mont Fleuri, a 15-minute walk from Victoria, and it’s the only time I’ve seen fruit bats in full daylight. They hang from the tropical rainforest trees, and fly in and out. Frankly, we were mesmerised.
Other than bats, there’s every exotic flower, spice tree, an avenue of coco de mer palms (you need a license to take one of the giant bottom-shaped seeds home as a souvenir), and giant Aldabra tortoises. I think these gardens are a must-see, but marred for me when I spotted a few rats around one of the ponds
5. Eden Island
THIS is a new-ish resort and marina built on a reclaimed coral reef – and it’s an enormous investment by Seychelles standards. The island is roughly halfway between Victoria and the airport, and residents whizz around on golf carts, picking up their groceries from the only spick and span truly modern supermarket on Mahé.
There are cafés, restaurants, shops, a (very good) hairdresser, and all the usual paraphernalia of an upmarket development aimed at people who can afford US$1million upwards for an island hideaway. Many of the villas and apartments are available for holiday rentals, but I notice they get very mixed reviews from travellers.
Goodness knows who owns the superyachts berthed in the marina, but it’s fun to buy a coffee and do some people-watching. How do you design a place that can match the natural beauty of the rest of Mahé? – SB
The UAE Connection
UAE flags flutter from superyachts in Victoria’s Eden Island marina. And in April the UAE arranged for a resort hotel on Mahé to be used to accommodate health staff and other frontline service workers involved in combating the spread of COVID-19. A less welcome venture was the construction of a vast palace for Sheikh Khalifa in 2010 on the highest point on Mahé. The building work resulted in the water supply to residents being contaminated with sewage and diesel.
The affair prompted street protests, and compensation was paid to villagers in 2013. However, it continues to rumble on. In September, residents again took to the streets when it was revealed that a second round of compensation would be paid by the Seychelles government rather than those who caused the pollution.
Sheikh Khalifa, 71, has rarely been seen since suffering a stroke in 2014. In the days when he visited his mountain-top palace on Mahé – built on the site of a former US tracking station – he would arrive in the Seychelles with a huge entourage. A local who worked in the car rental business told us that every available vehicle on the island would be hired by his party. – CS
A Troubling Paradise
WHEN you’re offering paradise to your visitors, expectations run very high. We lived outside the 5-star luxury bubble of the high-end hotels that cater for most of the visitors to the islands. We were surrounded by beauty, a memory we’ll treasure forever. We also both found the atmosphere unsettling and spent some time trying to pinpoint why.
On paper, the Seychelles does very well indeed; 3 to 4 per cent unemployment, the highest GDP per capita in Africa, a “very high score” on the Human Development Index. All of which is good.
On the ground, the picture is different. Almost 40 per cent of Seychellois live below the poverty line, and there’s a heroin problem. Drive around the main island of Mahé and you see “Don’t Do Drugs” banners hanging over school gates. People come up to you in the street holding out their hands for money. The islands have one of the biggest wealth inequalities in the world, and it shows.
In the wonderful hotels, it is a sore point among islanders that many staff are foreign. When we were living there, a minister said they needed to go to Mauritius to get the standard of staff required by guests paying 5-star prices. Hotel chains still recruit managers from abroad, and some say it is challenging to train locals up.
We certainly found customer service to be an alien concept; you can get your change almost thrown at you in shops. Probably our worst experience was using the local Emirates airline office in Victoria; we’ve always found Emirates’ service to be tip-top. We wanted to fly from the Seychelles to France – but that wasn’t to be. The surly woman dealing with us tied us in knots. We knew the flights were available, but she just wanted to be unpleasant, and she was. We didn’t get our flight.
Another day, I was bashed in the arm and side by a huge SUV as I walked back to my car. The driver carried on, but her passenger must have noticed I was in some distress and she stopped. Without asking if I was OK or showing any concern, she asked me how much money I wanted. She shouted a lot, I called the police – and they never came.
It’s too early to say what damage coronavirus has wrought on a country that gets 70 per cent of its hard currency from tourists flying in or arriving on cruise ships. According to the African Development Bank Group, the service sector – mainly tourism – contributed more than 80 percent of GDP last year. The government seems to have handled the crisis well, with 11 cases and 11 recoveries, and are now COVID-19 free.
We wonder whether, like everywhere in the world, this pause will produce any benefits for the Seychelles. Somewhere blessed with so much natural beauty should thrive, but that will happen only if the wealth trickles down through society. If you’re thinking of seeking paradise, we’d recommend either a traditional holiday in one of the Seychelles’ many hotel resorts… or go to Mauritius. – SB
NOTE: We paid for this entire trip ourselves.
5 Things We Learned
1) IT’S worth repeating that your choice of accommodation is vital, so take plenty of care over it.
2) Check what the weather is usually like at your hideaway during the dates you’ll be there. And don’t believe tourism sites that describe somewhere as an “all-year-round” destination.
3) Find out what the rules concerning driving licences are in the place you’re visiting. In the Seychelles, for example, you can drive on a driving licence from your home country for only three months from the date you arrive.
4) In the Seychelles, check for warning notices before going into the sea. Strong currents and tides on some beaches can sweep swimmers out into the ocean.
5) Make sure you slather on insect repellent when you go out, as you can be badly bitten if you’re not careful.
May 2020
MORE INFO
OFFICIAL Seychelles tourism site, with advice on planning your visit, details of events and an interactive gallery. READ MORE
RELATED
THE GARDEN OF EDEN: Getting up the energy actually to do some tourism during a stay in the Seychelles might seem like a stretch, but the Vallée de Mai is an exception. I’d say it’s a must-do, so think of it as much-needed exercise… READ MORE
ISLAND’S MOVING STORY: Take a break from the sun lounger and pool bar when you visit Mauritius to explore the extraordinary history of a holiday isle that has a story to tell… READ MORE
HOLIDAYS IN THE SUN: We all love holidays in the sun, and now someone has worked out a year-long itinerary where the temperature stays around 70-75F (21-24C). Here’s our take. READ MORE
RECOMMENDED
WELCOME TO OUR WORLD! Afaranwide’s home page – this is where you can find out about our latest posts and other highlights. READ MORE
TOP 10 VIRTUAL ATTRACTIONS: Many of the world’s most popular tourists sites are closed because of the coronavirus crisis, but you can still visit them virtually while you’re self-isolating. READ MORE
SHIMLA, QUEEN OF THE HILLS: Government officials once retreated to Shimla in the foothills of the Himalayas to escape India’s blazing hot summers. Now tourists make the same journey. READ MORE
TEN THINGS WE LEARNED: Our up-to-the-minute guide to creating a website, one step at a time. The costs, the mistakes – it’s what we wish we’d known when we started blogging. READ MORE
TROUBLED TIMES FOR EXPATS: Moving abroad can seem an idyllic prospect, but what happens when sudden upheavals or the inescapable realities of life intrude? READ MORE
Disclosure: Afaranwide is an affiliate of leading travel operators such as Booking.com and Japan Rail Pass. If you purchase through our site we receive, at no additional cost to you, a small commission. We only work with companies we have used and recommend.
Interesting piece on Seychelles – giving your two sides to a coin. It definitely is an island paradise but from your stories I could feel tension simmering amongst its populace.