Our mother / wife arrived and we spent two wonderful weeks exploring the inner granite isles of the Seychelles. Lazy days, sunny days, rainy days, spectacular sunsets, typically stunning beaches, a bit of hiking/ fishing in between and a whole lot of boulders.
Seychelles — Bountiful Boulders
After dodging squalls for the previous two days, we round past the north end of Mahe. Engines on, we pass the masses of granite boulders that seem to be the only objects of photographic interest for publicizing these honeymoon mounds of earth. After a bit of respectful shouting through the radio, we manage to organise …
What stood out in Madagascar?
There were lots of old cars! Dad was constantly pointing out the cars he and his friends used to own. The expats seemed to get a hold of a lot of them, and there was even one on the stage in a night club, others were being used as taxis. The mannequins were very eccentrically dressed, with …
Amazing hiking in Mafate, La Reunion!
The peaks in the centre of the island rise up steeply from the shoreline, just as the island itself rises up from the seabed. From Le Port where we were docked for the entire duration of our stay in Reunion, the rim of the Mafate cirque cast a huge shadow during a significant period of …
Planning a Multi-Day Hike in Mafate, La Reunion
Reunion’s hiking is primarily centered around its volcanos. There is the very active Piton la Fourdaise (see here) and the now extinct volcano that formed Reunion, with Piton la Neige as its peak. The extinct volcano collapsed on itself, forming three ‘cirques’ or canyons. These cirques are Cilaos, Mafate, and Salazie. All the cirques have …
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Ile Saint Marie, Madagascar
The North-East side of Madgascar is not particularly cruiser friendly as the weather is wild and windy and there aren’t many protected anchorages. However, there is one island, which is a perfect stop for yachts sailing from Mauritius or La Reunion on their way to Nosy Be (THE cruising ground of Madagascar). Ile Saint Marie …
Hauling out at Taylor Smith Boatyard, Mauritius
Berthed at the marina in Reunion Island, we started watching the weather for a good window to sail to Ile Saint Marie, Madagascar. We identified the day, all we had to do were last minute repairs and provision up. A couple of weeks earlier, whilst cleaning the hull in Mauritius, I noticed that the rubber …
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The Volcanic Island of La Reunion!
On our nighttime approach to La Reunion, a French territory just west of Mauritius, we could see the bright orange lava flowing down Piton de La Fournaise. We were extremely lucky to be visiting whilst the volcano was active and were super excited to explore the island. La Reunion is an island known for outdoor …
Highlights of Mauritius: Part 2
In my last blog post, I wrote about “Le Pouce, Le Morne and Eau Bleu”, however, we visited quite a few more attractions, and I thought I’d make short blog including them all. We’ve done so many fun things here and I didn’t want to miss anything out! Lion Mountain Champ de Mars Racecourse A …
Highlights of Mauritius: Eau Bleu, Le Morne and Le Pouce
Mauritius is a fantastic place for those who enjoy the outdoors; hiking, waterfalls, canyoning , quad bikes, surfing, horseback riding, sailing, kite surfing, and much more. It is an interesting island as there are a number of natural attractions but with limited infrastructure. Often they are hard to get to as there is very little, …
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Ngalawa Sailing 