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I was lucky enough to spend the last week of my holiday in paradise again...Seychelles.
It was awesome and just reassured me that it is still my ultimate holiday destination and I'll keep going back.
Family went sailing on Letitia 2(named after my 85 going on 21 grandmother).
We arrived in the Seychelles on 8am Tuesday morning, having left a cold and rainy South Africa at 1am.
Our destination on Day 1 is always the same: Leave the main island of Mahe as soon as possible and do the 3-4hour crossing over to
Anse Lazio,Praslin. If you imagine the most idyllic perfect beach in the World, it is probably Anse Lazio.
The water was crystal blue, warm and full of fish life, we spent ages in the water until it became shark feeding time.
Dad's White Marlin
The next day we decided to sail to Bird. The sea was freakishly calm, the perfect conditions to expore the new terrotories of Bird and Denis island.
The only problem is it is a 6hour ocean crossing, so I finshed my book, caught some fish and helped my 12 year old cousin study for her Grade 3 Royal Schools Music
exam. The long day on the boat was worth it though, we arrived at Bird, really impressed(think the 1900Euro per night at hotel on Denis would be worth it) We immediately dropped anchor and swam out to the drop-off of the reef.
The dept suddenly drops from 13m to 45m. Annelle and I tried to see who could swim down the furthest before getting out of breath.Good old sibling rivalry.
Bird is a private island, but my baby cousin caught a 27kg Wahoo on the way over and that was sufficiant payment for our landing fee. I ran around the island,
bumping into the over 200 year old colossal tortoise Esmeralda. The evening we did some more snorkelling and even saw a Whale shark.
Liesl and I studying for her Royal Schools Music exam.
Day three we headed back to the closer grouped inner Islands...yes another 6 hour sailing day. My dad has been dreaming of catching a Sailfish and a Marlin
ever since we started coming to the Seychelles 5 years ago.
On an average day we would catch about 5-10 Yellowfin Tunas or Bonnies etc, but catching a big
fish is something special. Dad has been buying lures and equipement from all over the World despite us giving him a hard time about it(he brings 40-50kg of
fishing equipement with him).So on day 3 shotly after we saw a Humpback Whale and Orca fight we hooked a Marlin...a massive Marlin and he made a run for it. Everyone was woken from there
slumber and commands shouted all over"Drop the sails, so this do that".Within seconds the 500m line was coming to and end, but by then my uncle had already turned the boat and we were
motoring in the same direction as the fish, so that Dad could recover some of his line. The fight continued for 40min. I dont know who was more exhausted, my Dad
or the fish. Annelle jumped into the middle of the ocean with a underwater camera to take pictures of the 85kg monster before it went of on its final
so called "Death Run". My Dad and uncle had to drag the fish onto the deck with the rest of us being happy snappy like the papparazzi.
That evening at La Digue we gathered quite a crowd when we hung the fish on a tree on the harbour wall.Good Times.
The rest of the week was spent swimming, body surfing, riding bikes on La Digue, more swimming, sailing, diving with Black Tip Reef Sharks and turtles
and more swimming. The one day we while my Dad and uncle was trying to launch my uncle's kite to do some kiteboarding in the non-existing wind, we saw some kids
carry a 50m rope with an ancor on each end into the sea.Yes, it was swimming practice for the Praslin HIgh School swim squad. Annelle and I went to ask the
coach, Paul, who stand waist deep in their "pool" if we could join in. I think that was the best swimming set ever, I mean where else can you swim and look
at stingrays and fish at the same time?
All good things has to come to and end and you have to eventually head back home...but when home is Stellenbosch it is not that bad I suppose.
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