It is always difficult to decided just where to holiday each year. We all work so very hard, and our holiday time is so very precious. This year a friend of mine is living in Seychelles and suggested I come for a visit. You have to understand New Zealand is about as far away from Seychelles as you can get!
I think the deciding factor was the idea of gorgeous crystal clear blue waters, stunning diving, with the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. I have dived through out the South Pacific, and love islands, but coming to Seychelles was an experiance I will never forget.
The first thing that hit me when stepping off the plane is how blue the sea was and the mountains are so green. And yes they do have mountains; made up of these most incredible ganitic rocks. The shapes are amazing, it looks like someone has carved them out of the stone!
The other thing that really hit me was the most stunning sunsets. Every evening was different, and the light is so very clear. It was the most relaxing and enjoyable hour, sitting with an ice cold "Seybrew" beer watching the sun going down, and looking forward to the cooling of the night air. we watched the sun set all over the island and below are just a couple of the most perfect sunsets ever.
I was diving with the Underwater Centre, Tony was my Guide/Instructor. He was amazing and showed me so much; the fish life in Seychelles is very special, and such a huge range of fish, there are so many different species, we dived on Aquirium, and Tony mentioned that there are over 450 different kinds of fish living there, it was just a riot of moving colour!
The diving was fun, and at times a little challanging with small currents, but every dive site was different, my favourites include, Brissare, and Dragons Teeth- beautiful corals, and large numbers of rays, sharks and all the other good big stuff. L'llot- a stunning sight with an enormus varity of soft corals, and you got to look out for those Nudi Branches, and Aquirium and the Marine Park at Baie Turney- the varity of reef fish life/spicies is just amazing.
Tony really went all out to find the critters I really wanted to see, and I'm into the small stuff, it's the perfect place to go and poke around looking for those rare and shy guys who hide away during daylight hours... I could have spent days underwater.... You have to bring your underwater camera!!
This is a country of contrasts, the people are friendly; it's very much island life, lived in, on and around the sea. Everyone is linked to the ocean in some way, and I think that that is a very special way of life, one I can relate to a little from New Zealand, but on a much larger scale.
So to everyone at the Underwater Centre, a huge thankyou for all your advice about where to go and what to see, your hospitality is second to none, and the most fabulous diving I have had in a long time, look after your environment, and it really is unique to the rest of the world; I hope to come back soon. Andrea
