mlchad147
- May 15
- 7 min read

May 14, 2024–Mahé, Seychelles

Greetings from Africa. Well, sort of, anyway. We’re in Seychelles, an independent nation consisting of 115 small islands scattered across the Indian Ocean more than one thousand miles off the coast of east Africa. Despite the distance we have been assured, and reassured by Professor Google, that Seychelles (or the Seychelles, as they are often called) is considered part of Africa. That being the case, today marks the sixth continent we’ve visited on this cruise, with only Europe still to go. How about that.

Seychelles is the Caribbean of the Indian Ocean, warm and humid, mountainous with lush tropical growth, and beautiful beaches. Tourism is the number one industry, and the islands are especially popular with Germans, Russians and the French. Seychelles is a former British colony, which explains how the capital, Victoria, got its name. There’s even a statue of Queen Victoria in the city, which I managed to photograph as we drove by.

Mahé is the largest of the Seychelles, and is home to Victoria, the aforementioned capital. A little over half of the nation’s 107,000 citizens live on Mahé, and Victoria’s population of 26,000 makes it one of the world’s smallest national capitals. It was Victoria where we docked and Mahé where we spent the day, so let’s get on with how we spent it.

Due to Mahé’s narrow roads the usual full sized tour buses were wisely replaced with smaller 22 seat buses, and even they seemed a bit oversized at times. This was another of the places where it was better to ignore what was happening in front of the bus and just enjoy the scenery visible from the side windows. At any rate, our skilled driver knew his business and our drive around the island was entertaining but otherwise uneventful.

Our first stop was at the National Botanical Garden, which is just a short drive from Victoria. There is a delightful path through Garden that took us past numerous flowers, bushes and trees, many of which are endemic to the Seychelles. Perhaps the most unusual was the coco de mer, which is found nowhere else. The coco de mer is a palm, but it has no close relatives, and is renowned for having the largest seed in the plant world. You’ll see what they look like (male and female seeds are different) in my photo below. The tree is slow growing, and is nineteen years old before it is even possible to tell whether it is male or female. Its seed has a handful of uses including, oddly enough, as an ingredient in perfume, but the tree is considered endangered, so use is limited.

The other truly special feature at the National Botanical Garden is its giant tortoises. The islands of Seychelles are home to many thousands of giant tortoises, far more than the Galapagos, and the Garden is home to about thirty of the gentle creatures. We were able to enter their enclosure and walk among them, admiring them up close and taking some great photos, and I watched as our guide even petted one on the head. If you’re ever on Mahé make it a point to visit the National Botanical Garden. It will be time well spent.

Mahé is long and narrow, with a rugged granite spine running down its length, but there are a few places where it is possible to cross the mountains and travel directly from one side to the other, and that is what we did next. The narrow, twisting road up and over provided some spectacular views, along with the opportunity to stop and visit a truly unique historical site. Venns Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which sits at the top of the mountain and provides some wonderful panoramic views, but that is not what makes it special. Rather, Venns Town is historically important because it was the site of a unique school opened by Anglican missionaries in 1876 to teach the children of freed slaves, and the ruins of the school have been preserved for posterity. The site was considered important enough that Queen Elizabeth II visited it in 1972 to commemorate the opening of a viewing lodge. Admittedly there isn’t much left to see, but the history buff in me was delighted to learn about the school, and the views from the observation deck were a decided bonus.

On our way down the far side of the mountain we stopped at a tea house/tavern, where we were offered a cool drink and another opportunity to take in some beautiful views all the way down to the Indian Ocean. Other than the views there wasn’t much to do there, but I have to admit that the Coke was a much appreciated refresher on a warm, sticky day.

From the tea house we continued down the mountain’s back side to the coast, where we made a short stop at a beach near Grand Anse. The wide expanse of beach was very pretty and pretty much empty of people. I suspect the reason was the large sign in six different languages warning that there were very dangerous currents, and that swimmers did so at their own risk. Still, it was a nice stop, and we enjoyed walking up and down the beach and taking some photos.

An even nicer beach awaited at our lunch stop, the Doubletree by Hilton hotel and resort. The hotel served up a delicious buffet which included some local fish offerings, and as usual I ate too much, but I promised myself that I would walk it off later. Afterwards, the hotel’s beach was made available to us for about ninety minutes, and we took advantage of the opportunity to enjoy the sparkling Indian Ocean waters. I just waded in up to my knees, but Michele went swimming, though she stayed close to shore due to the strong currents. The hotel also has a nice pool, and the accommodations looked equally nice from the outside. My advice to anyone interested in visiting Mahé would be to stay at one of these all inclusive resorts, like the Doubletree, the Four Seasons, or any similar place that can serve as a base of operations.

We made one more photo stop at yet another pretty beach before arriving at the final destination on our day’s itinerary, a craft village where local artisans display their wares. The highlight for me was a colonial era house that has been preserved in its original state, including the furnishings in the various rooms. The shops were less interesting, as most of the items displayed by the vendors were more tourist souvenirs than hand made crafts. I’ve come to suspect that the cruise lines maintain good relations with the host countries and ports by including shopping stops on their excursions to drive some additional money into the local economy. It doesn’t bother me, as I always find something interesting to see or do.

From the craft village it was back to the ship via a coastal road that provided yet more beach views, along with a look at several smaller villages. Finally, after a driving tour of downtown Victoria, which I enjoyed, we arrived at the pier around 4:00, comfortably ahead of the rain that had been threatening off and on all day, and which came down in buckets about an hour later.

I guess I’ll end where I started. Mahé reminds me of islands I’ve visited in the Caribbean, with its beautiful beaches, tropical vegetation, rugged mountains, heat and humidity. The differences that stand out to me are some of the unique flora and fauna, such as the coco de mer and giant tortoises, and the geology. I can’t finish without mentioning that unlike so many Caribbean islands, which were formed by volcanic activity, Mahé is a giant granite rock. Some of the outcroppings and cliffsides are scenic, and create some nice photographic opportunities.

Oops, I guess I have one more important thing to add. It appears that we’re near a potential cyclone, the Indian Ocean version of a hurricane, and we’re canceling our next two stops on La Digue (in the Seychelles) and Diego Suarez on Madagascar. Instead we’re sailing to Mauritius, which we’ll reach on Saturday morning. Even with the diversion we’ll probably see some rough seas, but hopefully we can avoid the worst of it. These things happen, and I’ve long since learned to just roll with it. It’s all part of the adventure. I’ll keep you posted, so stay tuned.