Mahé, Seychelles: An island paradise with tortoises
If you’re unfamiliar with the Seychelles, you’ve likely seen photos of these tropical islands. One particular beach on the island of La Digue, Seychelles, happens to be the world’s most photographed beach, so you may have unknowingly seen the Seychelles in an ad for something luxurious or travel related. The Seychelles are an island nation comprised of 115 islands in Indian Ocean, 1000 miles east of Kenya on the east side of Africa. The islands were uninhabited by humans prior to the 16th centuries, and like the Galapagos Islands, the Seychelles are home to numerous endemic species of flora and fauna (including giant tortoises!)
For the last couple of years I’ve spent so much time in the mountains, that I had nearly forgotten how much I love the tropics— scuba diving through coral reefs, wandering through lush and fragrant gardens and forests, eating freshly caught grilled fish and knocking ripe mangoes and coconuts out of trees. Being the daughter of a father born and raised in Hawaii (and having had the opportunity to travel there several times while growing up)… the sound and sight of gently crashing turquoise waves accompanied by the smell of tropical plumeria flowers, fills me with a deeply nostalgic joy.
My fiancé Jason and I managed to find surprisingly affordable return flights to the Seychelles for December 2021, on Turkish Airlines. Our flight included a stopover in Istanbul for 3 days on the return— all for under $800. That price is even more impressive considering how much flying it takes to get to the Seychelles from Los Angeles. Getting to the Seychelles requires a 13 hour flight— then an overnight layover at the Istanbul airport— followed by an 8-9 hour flight from Istanbul to Mahé. It’s a lot of flying, but completely worth it! Mahé doesn’t feel like just any tropical island— in addition to unique plants and animals— the geology of the island is stunning. Unlike the Maldives which are completely flat, sandy islands, Mahé has steep, granite mountains… and some fun trails to get up them!
During our four-day stay, we rented a car to get around and explore the island. Mahé is not a very big island, but it’s fairly dense, and to drive from one end to the other would take at least an hour and a half on sometimes very windy, narrow roads. When we arrived to our hotel, the Hilton Northolme Resort and Spa, I didn’t think we’d even want to leave the hotel… it was tranquil tropical perfection (the Hilton Northolme is the smallest Hilton hotel in the world, made up of individual villas overlooking the Indian Ocean… and there’s no children allowed—whoo!). But of course we DID leave the hotel, motivated both to explore AND to save money on eating lunch and dinner. Prices in the Seychelles are very high, especially for dining at hotels and nice restaurants. So we opted to save a load of cash by eating at casual eateries and locals only style take-away food stands.
Photos shot on Nikon D850, GoPro Hero 7, and film on Fuji Natura S by either myself or Jason MacDonald.
Note: This trip & post were not sponsored, but I do share some brands in this post that I work with as an ambassador.
Victoria Botanical Gardens
Mahé is the rainest of the Seychelles Islands, and of our three days on Mahé, it was stormy and pouring rain for at least 2 and a half of them. During the storm, the sea was very rough, so that eliminated the chance of getting to snorkel, scuba dive, or kayak. One lovely rainy day activity I found to do was visiting the botanical garden. I really enjoyed the garden in the rain; the sounds of the rain drops hitting the canopy of leaves, and the fresh wet smell of the flowers and leaves. A highlight of the garden was visiting the giant tortoises in their outdoor habitat. For whatever reason the garden invites visitors to get up close and personal with the tortoises… you are allowed to feed them leaves and even pet them. Bizarre, but it was dream come true for me, who secretly wishes to pet and hug all animals (but knows better than to actually do it in the wild). I loved the gardens so much that I came back a second time with Jason (who was chilling and recuperating from jet lag at our hotel the first time I visited).
Hiking Morne Blanc Trail
It was happy to find several hiking trails on Mahé on the Alltrails app, and on one of the first dry-ish days we went out for a hike. We chose the Morne Blanc trail, which is a short, but steep 1.5 mile trail that gains 750 feet of elevation. The trail sounded pretty easy for a couple of experienced hikers (I hesitate to call us “experienced” but I supposed that having completed the Mt. Whitney trail earns us that badge), but with the passing of the rain storm came sweltering, humid heat. I don’t think I’ve ever sweat as much in my life as I did on this hike. Thankfully the climb was short, and finished with a huge payoff of a view and very welcome breeze.
#sponsored* I love hiking in my Outdoor Voices exercise dress! Use the code DOER-WRENEES at checkout for 20% off!
Hilton Northolme Hotel
Photos captured around the property of our lovely villa at the Hilton Northolme Resort. The Northolme Hotel is where James Bond writer Ian Fleming stayed in 1958 and found inspiration for the film For Your Eyes Only. I’m not usually one to stay at Hilton hotels, but this one is very unique because of the small size, unique location, picturesque grounds, and cozy ocean view bungalows.
Diving
On our last day on Mahé, the weather and sea finally because calm enough for us to go scuba diving. Jason and I booked two dives with Dive Seychelles Underwater Centre. Our dives were good, and we especially enjoyed our local Seychellois dive master, Daniel, and boat captain. The visibility wasn’t very good after the storm had roughed up the sea, but still we saw some cool coral and sea creatures… and it was just nice to be back underwater after many years not diving (We hadn’t been since 2017 in the Azores!).
After diving, we drove to the marina to meet up with our friends for a week of island hopping on a sailing catamaran! I will make a another post sharing the details and photos from the rest of our Seychelles adventure soon!
Thanks to Arcteryx Los Angeles for gear for this trip. My white Gore-tex rain shell anorak & super sticky & comfy approach shoes were perfect for exploring Mahé!