When we booked our taxi boat to Cousin, we were told it was only an 8 minute motorboat ride away. Unfortunately (or fortunately) the sea was a lot less calm a few mornings later and we had quite an adventure (and soaking) when boating our way through the rough choppy sea - luckily our boatman had a waterproof back and we'd brought extra large carrier bags for the camera bag! The journey actually took us about 45 minutes. To land on Cousin's fine beaches, you have to board a speedboat (in the sea) on which you are told to hold on tight - the boat is driven at full speed, cutting through the waves like a jet ski, onto the white sandy beach. Why? In order to reduce human imprint on the beach itself.
After disembarking, everyone is strongly advised to put insect repellent on, properly - there were dozens of Odomos tubes (indian insect repellent cream) provided. Will had also given us mosquito suits but we thought we'd brave it as Seychelles seemed moderately mosquito-free compared to the lake-town of Kisumu. In fact, I've never had to reapply the mosquito repellent every half hour like I did in Cousin's dense vegetation. Cousin Island is a stunning bird island, designated as a special reserve and it was bought by Birdlife International while managed by Nature Seychelles. With no development and totally reserved for conservation, Cousin Island has the highest density of lizards per hectare in the world (although it didn't seem like this!); it is home to 300,000 nesting seabirds, the longest millipede in the world and an important nesting site for Hawksbill turtles. We had never seen such a place teeming with wildlife, and even more so, birdlife. With no natural predators and only conservationists and visitors, the birds are completely unafraid of humans - we could walk right up to nesting chicks at the base of trees and they would barely bat an eyelid - they felt so safe and secure! We were extremely lucky to see one of the first nesting Hawksbill turtles of the year - photos below capture some of the wildlife we witnessed. Technical details: Olympus ZD 70-300mm lens; all unedited and straight from the camera.
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A 30 minute ferry (catamaran) ride from Praslin took us to the picturesque, timeless oasis of La Digue - Seychelles' third largest inhabited island, home to 2000 people and less than 30 motor vehicles (mostly used for cargo / construction). A truly tropical Center Parcs, the main mode of transport are bicycles, widely available to rent. Interestingly, as we moved to the smaller islands, the locals found the larger islands "too busy"! Few people around the world would think Praslin, with its population of 5000, had too much hustle and bustle - but you'd find them in the sleepy island of La Digue, where ox-carts still operate!
Most photos have captions - click (or hover) to enlarge and read. Technical details: Olympus ZD 12-60mm (mostly) and 70-300mm (tortoise, crab and hat photos) lenses; all unedited and straight from the camera. According to UNESCO, Vallée de Mai is a palm forest that has been largely unchanged since prehistoric times. But what makes it a national landmark is that it is home to the largest population of Coco de Mer trees, which produces (and obviously germinates from) the largest seed in the plant kingdom. Seeds can weigh up to 17kg and fruit up to a whopping 40kg, and a quick google search will reveal the male and female plant's mythology! Another point of interest were the giant leaves, up to 20 feet long and the sturdiest I've ever felt (a bit like plastic panelling) - roofs thatched from them can last about 20 years! Apparently you can walk through the forest during periods of heavy rain and remain relatively dry as these huge leaves channel the water towards the trunks of the tall palms. The video is shown just to give a feel of the breeze experienced when walking through the palm forest: the sway and crunching sound of the giant leaves in particular.
Following Vallée de Mai, we were lucky to make a short visit to Anse Lazio - renowned as one of the best beaches in the world. We could not disagree! "Anze Lazio feels like a hidden oasis, thanks to the giant granite boulders that shelter its white sandy beach and bright turquoise sea. The shoreline remains largely untouched... and a coral reef that keeps the waters calm also makes for an ideal snorkeling and swimming spot" (Smarter Travel). Technical details: Olympus ZD 12-60mm; all unedited and straight from the camera. Flying to Praslin - what an experience! Although the weather wasn't ideal, we thoroughly enjoyed the 15 minute flight from Mahe to Praslin in a De Havilland Twin Otter 16-seater, with hand luggage in our laps and a clear view into the cockpit. Ours was the only checked-in baggage, yet they still put it on the belt in Praslin!
Staying and spending time with Will was an absolute pleasure. He had no reservation about picking us up at 6am on a Sunday morning and giving us a morning tour of the island. But the highlight of our day was Anse Government. After lunch and swimming at L'Archipel, we drifted down the coast to an area we could almost walk out onto small rocky islands. Jumping off the 10 feet cliffs (and avoiding the rocks below) was inspired by daring local teenagers - not a small feat considering Will had only learnt to swim a few months ago! Luckily he also had his waterproof camera to capture some of the moments. Before reaching, Will had told me that he doesn't bother checking the weather here due to the micro climates - today it must have rained on and off at least 15 times in the day! Many more photos from Praslin will follow in later posts. For interesting travel reading on Seychelles, especially if you're from the UK, I recommend a visit to Will's blog - Will I Am in Seychelles. Entertaining, humourous yet informative. Technical details (first 3 photos): Olympus ZD 12-60mm and 70-300mm lenses; unedited and straight from the camera. Last two photos: Panasonic Lumix FT3, colours slightly edited to counter the cloudy day. The excitement kicked in when flying into Seychelles - breathtaking granite islands surrounded by stunning white sandy beaches, palm trees and lush rainforests all viewable form the window as we landed onto a runway that felt like it was in the water. A dreamy paradise like nothing we'd ever seen before!
We were lucky to stay with Dilip Uncle and Bharti Aunty, whose warm hospitality made us feel right at home. Driving around the Seychelles was an absolute joy with a variety of vistas every few minutes. The pictures paint the picture of the glorious natural beauty and exotic nature - click on an image to read captions. A little background to Mahe - 60 sq miles and the largest island with 90% of the population of Seychelles - a whopping 80,000. It is home to possibly the smallest capital city in the world, Victoria, with a population of 23,000. It is approximately 1000 miles off the East African coast. Technical details (for all except bat photo): Olympus ZD 12-60mm; all unedited and straight from the camera except ant photo which was cropped. Bat photo: Olympus ZD 70-300mm; cropped. En-route to Nairobi, we decided to stop over and climb Mount Longonot - a (so-called) dormant volcano with laval canyons and dramatic landscapes with stunning views over Lake Naivasha. Rising 9000 ft above sea level, our half-day trek involved climbing about 2000 ft to the peak. Recent news reports suggest that it is still active, and the geothermal steam being vented in the crater is clearly visible. Unfortunately the on and off rain and dusty volcanic-ash covered paths restricted photographic potential, but the climb followed by a 3 hour walk around the rim of the crater was certainly worthwhile. Our enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide, Peter, explained that he and the other local guides often run the course (in many less hours than us) just for fitness and fun! To top it off, he invited us back to his home for dinner and said we were welcome to stay with him if we revisited - an example of Kenyan hospitality!
Unfortunately (in my opinion), the scenery looks set to be disturbed with an upcoming development of an international-standard golf course, a hotel, residences and other amenities at Longonot Gate. Peter, however, was convinced that the local population would benefit from the new employment opportunities. Technical details: Olympus ZD 12-60mm; all unedited and straight from the camera. One day trip wasn't enough! I was very glad that we had a chance to revisit the Kakamega rain forest, especially as last time we had missed out on the bird watching (one of the main attractions) as we had been in the forest during the afternoon last time. Fortunately this time, we managed to climb Liranda hill on our first day, and completed the short trek (about 4 hours) down to the Yala River from our serene abode, Rondo Retreat. As mentioned in the earlier post, Kakamega is home to an astounding variety of butterflies. and although difficult to capture (why do they they rarely sit still for a second or longer?!) it was amazing to be walking miles in the company of so many different beatiful butterflies. I hope the photos do some justice. My favourite, however, is the dragonfly - a creature I have seldom managed to photograph in the wild.
Highlights of the trip included seeing a menacing forest python seconds after it made a kill, and watching it slowly escape us (disturbing its dinner time) climbing vertically up a tree stump with only its tail supporting it. We also saw a goliath beetle in flight (the largest insect in the world by weight, and about 4 inches long!) but it was too fast to capture on (digital) film. I have also included a short video clip trying to relay the wonderful atmosphere atop Liranda hill - surrounded by lush, dense rainforest with the breeze swimming through the long grass. Some of the photos have captions - click to view. Unfortunately I have not managed to identify many of the insects. Technical details: Olympus ZD 70-300mm and Sony 18-55mm lenses; all unedited and straight from the camera. A day trip to Kakamega Forest, a "superb small slab of virgin tropical rainforest, home to a huge variety of
birds and animals" as described by Lonely Planet. It also has 40% of Kenya's butterfly population, about 330 species . Although we didn't experience the richness of birdlife due to being there mid day, we saw much diversity in butterflies and enjoyed the flora through the forest trails. The video gives an insight into the typical torrential downpours that occur regularly in the Kakamega rainforest. Luckily we were indoors! Technical details: Olympus ZD 12-60mm and Minolta 70-210mm f4 lenses; all unedited and straight from the camera. Crescent Island is a fantastic sanctuary whereby you can freely roam with the wildlife. It is actually a peninsular on Lake Naivasha, and we enjoyed seeing the animals and birds up close before getting drenched in a thunderstorm, about half an hour away from the car park! Our guide helped us find (a little!) shelter under the acacia trees but the rain didn't damped our spirits, instead making our trip more memorable!
The highlight of our morning game drive in Lake Nakuru National Park was seeing an African rock python emerging from the water, surrounded by large birds (pelicans, maribou storks (the ugly ones!) and yellow-billed storks). The most surprising thing was that the birds, although weary, continued to taunt the huge snake and didn't just fly away. Perhaps they felt their safety in numbers, but our guide said that these birds are common prey for a python. Photos have brief captions - click the photos to enlarge and read them. Technical details: Olympus ZD 70-300mm lens; all unedited and straight from the camera. Photos taken during visits to the Giraffe Centre and the Maasai Market (the Maasai are a large, nomadic East-African tribe) on the roof of the Westgate mall.
Technical details: Olympus ZD 70-300mm lens; all unedited and straight from the camera. |
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