Anse Kerlan, on the island of Praslin, is plunged into darkness. Despite the silhouette of the luxury Lemuria hotel lining the beach, not a single palm tree is lit or terrace illuminated. Just a ray of moonlight to make the foamy waves shine. And a sky pierced with stars, which serve as a compass for the sea turtles that come here each year to lay hundreds of eggs, almost as precious as Fabergé's. So that they can lay their eggs in complete safety. For the turtles to lay their eggs in peace, they have to avoid having any lights disturb their bearings. So much for an after-dinner stroll on the beach, because turtles, whether land or sea, are a big deal in the Seychelles! And with good reason...
The archipelago has made ecotourism its main asset, highlighting its unspoilt nature and mythical beaches. This is an attractive proposition for companies wishing to convey an 'eco-responsible' message during incentive operations, particularly those organised for companies in the energy or environmental sectors. This message is finding a real echo on the ground, particularly in the major hotels. The Lemuria, for example, has a turtle manager, Robert Matombé, who patrols the beaches during the egg-laying season (from October to February), advising guests on what to do in the event of unexpected encounters and organising observation tours. He counted up to 45 nests last year. "To encourage egg-laying, we have kept a line of vegetation stretching between the hotel bungalows and the beach, even if this obstructs the view of the sea. This green corridor is essential for the turtles, which seek shade to lay their eggs", he explains.
Major asset: ecotourism
Lemuria is also doing more to protect the environment. "The Seychelles authorities force us to make an effort. For example, we need authorisation to cut down an endemic tree or even to remove a rock", explains manager Jacques Charles. Responsible behaviour is an obligation, but also a philosophy. For example, the establishment will soon be using solar energy for its laundry, kitchen and the accommodation of its 420 employees. Once a month, the staff take part in a 'cleaning day' to collect rubbish. "It's a way of getting the message across to employees and customers alike. "It's not easy to keep the promise of sustainable tourism when tourists want clean towels every day and air-conditioned rooms!
Motorised activities prohibited
The Banyan Tree, on the island of Mahé, has created a marshy area to provide shelter for moorhens and herons, while the endangered hawksbill turtles on its beach receive special attention during the egg-laying season. The resort recently began producing its own biofuel from cooking oil. The Sainte-Anne Resort, on the island of the same name located in the heart of a marine park home to 150 species of fish, does not allow any motorised water sports. In August, the hotel will welcome eight giant land tortoises and plant cocos. At the same time, the Sainte-Anne, which already has its own water treatment plant and a desalination plant covering all domestic needs and garden irrigation, will be opening a vast worksite to replace its boilers with solar-powered appliances.
It's aboard Air Seychelles' small twin-engine plane from the main island of Mahé to Praslin that really brings home the fragility of these "beauty spots". Granitic plots drowned in vegetation and coral islets overgrown with coconut palms follow one another, like a long string of pearls set against a turquoise backdrop. Despite all this, the ecological balance - a marvel made up of 2,000 tropical plants, some of which are threatened with extinction - hangs by a thread... And if the archipelago is today a veritable botanical and animal paradise, it owes this to a few thousand years of isolation.
Endemic species have blossomed here, starting with the famous coco de mer, the country's emblem, which is beautifully stamped on passports! It is enthroned in the heart of Praslin, in the Vallée de Mai, an incredible forest listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You walk in silence along the paths that cross this green cathedral, a sort of first-morning-of-the-world setting where the sun penetrates with difficulty. The trunks of the 4,000 coconuts are more than 20 metres high, their palms are gigantic, the wind makes the foliage rustle strangely, parrots chatter in the chiaroscuro of the undergrowth. The coconut of the coco de mer weighs up to 20 kg and above all... it is shaped like a pair of buttocks. Which has earned it the amusing nickname of coco-fesse! All the more reason to make your botany lesson a little more exciting. And to understand why these trees have fuelled so many legends. Like the one that makes the Vallée de Mai the original site of the Garden of Eden...
Nature has shown itself to be just as powerful and generous on the small island of La Digue, famous for its famous Anse Source d'Argent beach and its Hollywood granite rocks. It's a picture postcard, accessible in just twenty minutes by boat from Praslin. You can disembark with a light heart on this nonchalant little island, where cars - if not banned - are very rare. Ox carts are replacing them, but for how much longer? There are also bicycles, bisikiet, rented for a handful of euros in improvised shops. Along the way, you're bound to come across a few turtles, although it's on the island of Curieuse - just a stone's throw from Praslin - that these "big ladies" are most numerous.
The island of Cousin is not to be outdone. In this ornithological reserve, turtle doves, boobies and other terns are happy to pose for photographers, but they can't really compete with the red-throated frigatebirds. However, the real - and very exclusive - wildlife sanctuary of the Seychelles is much further away, 1100 km from Mahé. Its name? Aldabra. Turtles and seabirds live there in complete freedom, barely disturbed by the 800 to 1,000 visitors allowed to set foot there each year. But only under very strict conditions: no more than 30 people at a time, accompanied by a guide. There are no hotels on site, of course, just a few barracks for the scientists.
Algae to fertilise the soil
Failing Aldabra, Denis Island is a very honourable alternative. Twenty-five minutes' flight from Mahé before this 1.8 km long coral island appears on the horizon. First a coral reef, then a hem of floury sand, dense forest and the plane dipping towards the grassy runway. Denis aspires to become a model of sustainable development. On its 375 hectares, a single five-star eco hotel with 25 bungalows is almost self-sufficient. "Most of our fruit and vegetables, from courgettes to papayas, are grown in our own garden," says hotel manager Paul Horner proudly. We produce our own coconut oil, keep 250 pigs, cows and chickens, and catch fish from the lagoon. Water is drawn from an underground spring, we recover wood to make furniture, and use algae to fertilise the soil.
Camille Hoaveau, the island's facetious conservation officer, has fun guiding tourists around this paradise. Offshore, divers may be lucky enough to spot hammerhead sharks or manta rays. On land, in a vast enclosure, around fifty enormous turtles from Aldabra live happily. Toby, 113 years old and weighing 300 kg (!), looks a bit like E. T. as he calmly leads his herd. Around a hundred sea turtles also come to lay their eggs each year in the white sands of Denis Island. And then there's the forest, where the reintroduction of endangered birds is well under way, made possible by the eradication of rats over the last ten years. In addition, 40 hectares of coconut trees, which were preventing >>> other species from growing, have been uprooted. In its place, 5,000 new trees have been planted, including takayamas, which attract insects and provide a natural larder for reintroduced birds from the islands of Frégate, Cousine and La Digue. First there were knock-knocks, then recently widows, island blackbirds and song magpies. With no predators, they are not very shy. Camille Hoaveau just has to whistle to attract them! Meanwhile, the peacock-tails lay their eggs on the ground, oblivious to the presence of the rare visitors. Next step: the reintroduction of terns. To attract these seabirds from the neighbouring island of Bird, an ornithological reserve where up to 3 million individuals nest, decoys have been installed and loudspeakers will reproduce their calls.
A bird's paradise
At the end of the day, the geckos - those little fluorescent green lizards - enter the dance by climbing up the walls, only too happy to swallow the mosquitoes. It's also time for crabs, barely disturbed by the few deckchairs lining the beach. And in the filaos, at the aperitif hour, the birds frolic noisily. To prevent rats from reappearing on the island, it is impossible to enter by boat, unless you undergo a lengthy quarantine. A strict rule that also explains why Denis Island has become an ecological must-see. The perfect symbol of the successful balance between man and nature... even on a tourist visit.
