Seychelles Part 5

Date: 2014-02-14

The island holiday really started for us when we left Mahe.

Flying fish skittered across the glistening sea during our hour's ferry ride to Pralin Island where we were enveloped into a completely different dimension. Cindy Ahkong from Seychelles Tourism was waiting for us on the quay her fabulous brand of the super hospitality of the SeychelloisCreole really made us feel welcome.

Our first stop was the New Emerald Cove resort just a short hop by boat from Pralin's main harbour. It was spring low tide so our speedboat had to take a detour around iLe Ronde, a small round island. The tide was so low we ran aground and some of the guests had to get out and wade through the crystal clear water. Emerald Cove is a secluded hide away, removed from almost all activity of the island. Emerald Cove offers an idyllic getaway where peace and quiet reigns and the only people you will see are the few hotel guests.

Built on what is like its own private beach at Anse la Farine, the New Emerald Cove Hotel represents the perfect gateway to one of the most distinctive islands in the world, Praslin.

With the sea being the only reasonable access route you'll feel like you're on a private island.

After the relief of not having to disembark and wade the 100 meters to shore, we were met by our very friendly guest relations, Catia who welcomed us with a broad smile and cool towels followed by refreshing welcome cocktails while our check in procedure was taken care of by Catia's beautiful island reception girls.

Our room was nicely decorated with tropical flowers and was spacious airy and filled with bright tropical light. Even though this place is a part of Praslin island, we really felt like we were on a separate island. The lack of roads connecting New Emerald Cove Hotel to the rest of the island sheltered us from any passers by. The hotel operates a ferry connection by hotel boat every other hour to the main harbour and back. There's also a path over the hill, through the jungle, Martina, the local marine biologist, conducts guided walks over the hill and the adventurous can always go it alone. Due to its separated location, the beach was quiet and provided the perfect place to relax. I dragged my beach recliner to the waters edge and read my book while the tide came in. Soon I was lolling in the cool crystal clear water as one cloud after another drifted under the sun and provided some welcome shade from the blazing heat.

Martina offered to take us snorkelling out to the pristine coral reef that lies just to the right of the hotel jetty. We met her at the dive shack and prepped our equipment as Martina told us a little about what we were about to experience. After swimming out through a forest of sea grass, we came across an underwater wonderland. Some of the most majestic stag horn coral forests I have seen, filled with a variety of fish, eel, urchin, slugs and sea flowers. There was so much to see and it was all in shallow water with visibility forever. After our dive we rinsed off under the cool showers and relieved ourselves with a refreshing dip in the pool. I signalled the barman for two Guiness beers, which cost the same as the mediocre local beer Seybru, but are so much more nutritious.

The cuisine at the New Emerald Cove was awesome, especially dinner where we had a large variety of different creole dishes. Marlin and tuna steaks seared on an open fire, seafood delicacies in abundance and a selection of vegetable dishes. One of our favorites was a traditional Creole coconut curry prepared especially in our honour by their very talented chef.

Our rooms were quite rustic, very well appointed, spacious and comfortable inside. The superior rooms, upstairs, had spectacular views of sunsets and sunrises over the ocean.

The hotel staff were all very friendly and helpful, especially the barman who supplied endless buckets of ice for our bubbly. By our second day we had made friends with a number of the birds, which seemed totally unafraid of us humans and seemed to seek out our company whenever we had biscuits or bread on the table.

We were told that Praslin has a good bus service, which is a lot more affordable than the taxis, although the tax you pay on the bus is measured by your nerve and the driver's ability to mimic Sebastian Vettel along the narrow, unprotected and sometimes busy roads. This was confirmed later when we travelled around the Island with Cindy, who calmly swerved out of their way, displaying a nonchalance that could only come with familiarity of this phenomenon.

From New Emerald Cove Hotel you have the perfect base to explore Praslin, visiting beaches like Anse Georgette, an idyllic soft, fine white sand beach in the northern part of Praslin, close to the pristine golf course and protected by huge rocks on both sides. This is the private beach of Lemuria Resort, however you can visit with a reservation, which the gorgeous ladies at the New Emerald Cove reception can organise for you.

We visited a beach nearby called Anse Lazio, a fantastic place to visit, but more about that in one of our next Family Travels reports. Our only regret is that we stayed for only three nights.

Seychelles Part 5

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