Zanzibar to Mahe

“Zanzibar is een archipel gelegen voor de kust van Tanzania. Het bestaat uit meerdere eilanden. De hoofdstad is Zanzibar City, dat te vinden is op het hoofdeiland Ungunja. Stone Town is het historische centrum en is geclassificeerd als werelderfgoed. De eilanden produceren voornamelijk nootmuskaat, zwarte peper, kruidnagel en kaneel. De eilanden worden daarom ook wel de Spice-eilanden genoemd.

-Zanzibar heeft verschillende gezellige stranden. Je kan genieten van de witte zandstranden aan de oost-, noord- en zuidkust. Een van de beste stranden om te bezoeken in de omgeving is het strand van Paje. Het biedt tal van activiteiten, zoals kitesurfen.

-Het Zanzibar International Film Festival is een belangrijk evenement, dat in juli in de regio wordt gehouden. Het festival biedt de mogelijkheid om de kunstscene van de Swahili-kust te ervaren en te leren kennen, waaronder Taarab, een van de favoriete muziek van de regio.

-Liefhebbers van architectuur en geschiedenis moeten een bezoek brengen aan de Old Dispensary, ook wel Ithnashiri Dispensary genoemd. Het is een historisch gebouw gevonden in Stone Town. Het gebouw is mooi gedecoreerd en staat symbool voor het multiculturele erfgoed en de architectuur van de stad.

-Dierenliefhebbers krijgen de kans om een ​​overvloed aan dieren te zien in Ungunja. Enkele van de dieren die in de regio voorkomen zijn de rode franjeapen en de Zanzibarluipaard. De landelijke gebieden hebben veel vlinders en vogels. De regio kent echter geen grote wilde dieren.”

Calling all skywatchers, umbraphiles and astronomers! Extremely rare and very exciting, a full solar eclipse is a bucket list experience if ever there was one. Scheduled for 4th December, 2021 the next eclipse will take place only in Antarctica and we will be positioned in the small path of totality for maximum effect. This experience is not available for the average cruisers; imagine being surrounded by brilliant light one minute, then complete blackout the next, before enjoying the mysterious shadow-play as we wind back to the blinding white of Antarctica.

Watch how the curious wildlife will react to the eclipse, making sure to note their behaviour and let the onboard naturalist know. Other onboard expedition staff will share their insightful knowledge in order to help you gain a better understanding of this phenomenal phenomenon. As if a trip to the seventh continent was not special enough!

Assumption (Assomption) Island is a small, crescent shaped island about 4.3 square miles (11.07 sq km) in size. Considered one of the Outer Seychelles Islands, Assumption is part of the Aldabra Group, lying approximately 600 miles (960 km) southwest of Mahé, in the Indian Ocean. These outer islands are not made from granite, like their larger sisters Mahé, Praslin or La Digue, but rather are coralline formations. Once a part of the French colony Réunion, then a member of the British Indian Ocean Territories, today Assumption is governed by the Seychelles.

Part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, Aldabra is reputedly the world’s second-largest atoll and has been described as “one of nature’s treasures” and a “sanctuary”. The inner lagoon teems with marine life like eagle rays and sea turtles. It is possible to snorkel and drift along with the tide passing in or out of the lagoon as massive numbers of fish come and go through the same channels. Narrow channels between fossilized coral islands are fringed in mangrove forests supporting large colonies of nesting boobies and Great Frigatebirds.

Part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, Aldabra is reputedly the world’s second-largest atoll and has been described as “one of nature’s treasures” and a “sanctuary”. The inner lagoon teems with marine life like eagle rays and sea turtles. It is possible to snorkel and drift along with the tide passing in or out of the lagoon as massive numbers of fish come and go through the same channels. Narrow channels between fossilized coral islands are fringed in mangrove forests supporting large colonies of nesting boobies and Great Frigatebirds.

Part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, Aldabra is reputedly the world’s second-largest atoll and has been described as “one of nature’s treasures” and a “sanctuary”. The inner lagoon teems with marine life like eagle rays and sea turtles. It is possible to snorkel and drift along with the tide passing in or out of the lagoon as massive numbers of fish come and go through the same channels. Narrow channels between fossilized coral islands are fringed in mangrove forests supporting large colonies of nesting boobies and Great Frigatebirds.

The Farquhar Group of islands is located approximately 400 miles west of Mahe Island (where Victoria, the capital of Seychelles, is located). The most prominent of the Farquhar Group is the Farquhar atoll, which looks somewhat like a fishing hook from the sky; some have referred to it as a seahorse with its arced neck and curved tail. The sparse inhabitants of the two main islands of the atoll (Farquhar North and Farquhar South) are rarely visited but wecloming.

This coral island stands majestically on a submerged atoll of the same name, 120 nautical miles south-west of Mahe in the Amirantes group.

Desroches rises 3,000 meters out of the clear blue sea, boasting an abundant fish life and surrounded by approximately 50 nautical miles of reef to explore. The island has a coconut plantation and small agricultural settlement and enjoys a similar weather pattern as the rest of Seychelles in general, sunny all year round, with occasional warm showers.

Pristine and uncrowded, Aride is the northernmost island of the granitic Seychelles. The island hosts one of the most important seabird populations in the Indian Ocean with more breeding species than any other island in Seychelles. Eighteen species of native birds (including five only found in the Seychelles) with over one million seabirds breed on Aride, including the world’s largest colonies of Lesser Noddy and Tropical Shearwater, the world’s only hilltop colony of Sooty Terns and the western Indian Ocean’s largest colony of Roseate Tern.

This square-mile granitic island lies serenely off the north-west coast of Praslin and since 1979 has been declared a Marine National Park.
Originally called Isle Rouge in 1744 by French explorer Lazare Picault because of its large areas of bare red soil, the island was renamed Curieuse in 1768 after the expeditionary ship sent by Marc-Joseph Marion Dufresne to explore Praslin and its surrounding islands.
For all Curieuse’s beauty, there is sadness in its past. During the 19th and early 20th centuries the island was home to leper colonies, and ruins of the old settlement still stand along the southern coast. The former physician’s residence, now the Doctor’s House Visitor Center, is a museum of the island’s unfortunate past as well as an educational resource on the island’s natural history and conservation.

This small island, no more than four square miles in size, is Praslin’s beautiful neighbor and presents a picture of peaceful seclusion. Apart from a few minivans, the only other means of transport here are ox carts or bicycles. The island has two centers, La Passe where you come ashore via the ship’s tender and, just half a mile to the south, La Réunion. Both are on the island’s west coast and neither has more than a handful of dwellings, a few shops, bicycle and oxcart rentals. A perfect place to explore on one’s own, some of the beaches near La Passe are within easy walking distance. To venture further you may want to hire an oxcart or a bicycle. There is good diving practically anywhere in the waters around La Digue, as well as excellent snorkeling at Anse Patates and Anse La Réunion. Protected on all but its southeast shores by a magnificent encircling coral reef, La Digue retains all the fascination of an untouched world.
The road leading south from La Passe takes you past the charming La Digue Island Lodge and continues to L’Union Estate. The grounds feature a copra factory and an impressive tumble of granite rocks, at the foot of which live several giant tortoises. (There is a fee to enter L’Union Estate.) Further along the beach at Source d’Argent, a dirt path winds around heaps of giant granite boulders which present a popular subject for photo buffs.

This tropical Eden covers 14.5 square miles and lies a mere 28 miles from the island of Mahé. In addition to glorious beaches and fantastic marine life, Praslin is best known for the Vallée de Mai World Heritage Site where the botanical rarity, the coco de mer, grows wild. In fact, this incredible palm forest earned the island its original name of “Isle de Palme,” accorded by the French navigator Lazare Picault who had to carve his way through the tangled undergrowth of the inland hills. In 1768 Marion Dufresne led an expedition to the island and renamed it Praslin. He placed a Deed of Possession in a bottle which he buried in the sands of the northern coast. In the early 1800s the total population of the island amounted to ten families. Nothing noteworthy happened through most of the century, except for the arrival of General Charles Gordon in 1881. The hero of Khartoum thought he had found the biblical Garden of Eden and pronounced that the coco de mer was the biblical tree of knowledge

Like jade-colored jewels in the Indian Ocean, the more than 100 Seychelles Islands are often regarded as the Garden of Eden. Lying just four degrees south of the equator, the Seychelles are some 1,000 miles from the nearest mainland Africa. Little more than 200 years ago, all 115 islands were uninhabited.Then in 1742 a French ship dispatched from Mauritius sailed into one of the small bays. Captain Lazare Picault was the first to explore these unnamed islands. He encountered breathtaking vistas of rugged mountains, lagoons, coral atolls, splendid beaches and secluded coves. After Picault sailed away, the islands remained untouched for the next 14 years. Then France took possession of the seven islands in the Mahé group. During an expedition Captain Morphey named them the Sechelles, in honor of Vicomte Moreau de Sechelles.This name was later anglicized to Seychelles.
The first settlers arrived at St. Anne’s Island in 1770; 15 years later the population of Mahé consisted of seven Europeans and 123 slaves. Today there are about 80,000 Seychellois, the majority of whom live on Mahé; the rest are scattered in small communities throughout the archipelago.The people are a fusion of three continents — Africa, Asia and Europe.This has created a unique culture and the use of three languages — Creole, French and English.

Mahé is the largest island in the archipelago and the location of the capital,Victoria. Ringed by steep, magnificent mountains, few capitals can claim a more beautiful backdrop.The town features a mixture of modern and indigenous architecture; it is the center of business and commerce thanks to the extensive port facilities. Noteworthy sites in Victoria are the museum, cathedral, government house, clock tower, botanical gardens and an open-air market.

Like jade-colored jewels in the Indian Ocean, the more than 100 Seychelles Islands are often regarded as the Garden of Eden. Lying just four degrees south of the equator, the Seychelles are some 1,000 miles from the nearest mainland Africa. Little more than 200 years ago, all 115 islands were uninhabited.Then in 1742 a French ship dispatched from Mauritius sailed into one of the small bays. Captain Lazare Picault was the first to explore these unnamed islands. He encountered breathtaking vistas of rugged mountains, lagoons, coral atolls, splendid beaches and secluded coves. After Picault sailed away, the islands remained untouched for the next 14 years. Then France took possession of the seven islands in the Mahé group. During an expedition Captain Morphey named them the Sechelles, in honor of Vicomte Moreau de Sechelles.This name was later anglicized to Seychelles.
The first settlers arrived at St. Anne’s Island in 1770; 15 years later the population of Mahé consisted of seven Europeans and 123 slaves. Today there are about 80,000 Seychellois, the majority of whom live on Mahé; the rest are scattered in small communities throughout the archipelago.The people are a fusion of three continents — Africa, Asia and Europe.This has created a unique culture and the use of three languages — Creole, French and English.

Mahé is the largest island in the archipelago and the location of the capital,Victoria. Ringed by steep, magnificent mountains, few capitals can claim a more beautiful backdrop.The town features a mixture of modern and indigenous architecture; it is the center of business and commerce thanks to the extensive port facilities. Noteworthy sites in Victoria are the museum, cathedral, government house, clock tower, botanical gardens and an open-air market.