Family Traveler

86PARADISEREBORNSEYCHELLESgianttortoiseswanderintogiveyourlawnatrimAfterfacingnear-disaster 20 yearsago,theSeychelles’watersarefightingtheirwayback,thankstocarefulmanagement.STEPHENKILSHAWvisitsfiveeco-mindedresortsEverwantedtotakeyourkidstotheoriginalGardenofEden?ThearchipelagoknownastheSeychellesisaboutasclosetoourwesternviewofcastawayparadiseasyoucanget.Its 115 islandsarescatteredacrosstheIndianOcean–itsinnerclusterofmountainousislandsarecoveredinfertilerainforest,whiletheouterlargelycorallineislandsaresmallerandflatter.ThemainislandsofMahe,PraslinandLaDiguearehometobeautifulfamilyhotels,andthemoreremoteislandsarenowfive-starprivatehideawayswithakeeneyeonconservation.Sadly,theislands’marinewildlifehassufferedinrecenttimes.Twoparticularlysevereevents,between1996 and 1998 ,causedoceantemperaturestoriseandthelossof 95 %ofthecoralreefstobleachinginsomeareas.Thiswascompoundedbythe 2004 tsunami,whichbrokealotofthedeadcoastalcoralapart,thedebriscoveringthesurvivinglivecoral.Asaresult,manyoftheislands’resorts,withsupportfromlocalNGOsliketheGreenIslandsFoundationandWiseOceans,haveteameduptorunprogrammestorestorethecoralsandencouragethereefsandwildlifetorecover.Here,welookatwhattheresortsandprivateislandsaredoingtoprotecttheirpreciousnaturalresources.``````NORTHISLANDPrinceWilliamandKateallegedlystayedonthismostprivateofprivateislands,whichtakesbarefootluxurytostratosphericlevels.It’shometotheNoah’sArkProjectconservationandrehabilitationprogramme,sourceofahugeefforttoeliminatetheinvasiveratpopulationandturnwhatwasacoconutplantationbackintorainforest.Partofthisstrategyhasincludedthereintroductionofgianttortoises,whicharequitehappytowanderintoyourlodgegardenatanypointtogivethelawnaquicktrim.Alongwithanextraordinarystaff-to-guestratio,NorthIslandaimstobeassustainableaspossible,``````usinglocalmaterials(felledcoconuttreesetc)whereverpossiblefortheconstructionoftheresort.Itwasalsooneofthefirstprivateislandstoapplytothegovernmentforinternationalmarineprotectionstatusforitsentiresurroundingcoastlineandoutlyingreefs.Theresultistheslowbutsteadyreturnofbothgreenandhawksbillturtlestotheislandfornesting.Thereareonlyeightlodgeshere–andat£2,7 00perpersonpernight,it’sonlyforthefew–butontheupside,kidsuptoage 17 stayforfree.``````SevennightssharingaVillaonNorthIslandcostsfrom£29,9 00 perfamilyoffour,allinclusive,includinghelicoptertransferandflightswithEtihad.Basedontwoadultsandtwochildrenunder 12 sharingaVilla.turquoiseholidays.co.ukTHELOWDOWN:NORTHISLANDCORALRELIEFAnumberofprojectsareinplacetoprotecttheislands’reefsTHEPROJECTAIMSTOTURNWHATWASACOCONUTPLANTATIONBACKINTORAINFOREST