2020-05-01_Lonely_Planet_Traveller

(Joyce) #1

REMOTE ST HELENA


ou can’t really get more isolated than St Helena,’
admits naturalist Stedson Stroud as we rumble
along the island’s west coast in his battered old
Land Rover. ‘But the isolation is what makes the
island so fascinating, at least in terms of natural
history. We have plants, insects, birds and
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middle of the South Atlantic.’
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hat, Stedson looks like a South Atlantic Crocodile
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fauna. He’s taking me on a safari to spot one of
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or wirebird, the island’s only endemic bird,
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and habitat loss, and now gradually recovering
thanks to conservation efforts.
With an ominous splutter, Stedson’s truck


A wild iris, introduced
from southern Africa.
Below: Sheep are another
import to the island.
Le: Local naturalist
Stedson Stroud
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