Christmas fun on the beach at Petite Anse Seychelles

Dreamy weekend in La Digue, Seychelles

La Digue Adventure under sunny skies, main transport is via. bike or ox cart, limited vehicle access.

Schwinn cherry red tri~cycle transport , coolest bikt on the island 

 Grande Anse shorebreak, super fun bodysurfing.

The end of the road for bicycles...

 National gardens with Vanilla and coconut plantation in symbiotic growing conditions.

Vanilla orchid plantation, with coconut husk mulch layer

Vannila Bean Pods Growing in La Digue

One of the worlds most photographed beaches

750 000 000 year old granite  in this incredible landscape

 "like being in a dream"

 fooling around, frolicking and having fun….

Danelion Bokeh~sand, sun and fun.

Grande Anse

Grande Anse

Grande Anse, La Digue

Secret Message in a bottle

Grande Anse  epic shorebreak

Through the ancient Gondwanaland rainforest we cycled to the famous Grande Anse.

Afternoon delight~ Seychelles Dreamy arvo

Equatorial Jungle ~ search for surf in the Seychelles

Somewhere down one of these "tracks" the search for surf…..

Santa Surfs you know?

While working in the Seychelles as a surf guide with Tropicsurf at Four Seasons Resort Seychelles I have made some festive Santa surfboards for the beach through Christmas this year, I went for a fun board shape as Santa is carrying a bit of weight. 50/50 rails with a flat rocker and chined rails. He will be able to paddle quickly to catch waves and deliver the presents with style.

Santa (Stuthy) and Rudolf (Mark Flynn) the red nose reindeer 

Santa with Tropicsurf safari suit for sun protection, being from the north pole he needs to watch his complexion and cover up his sensitive  skin. Ready to "Shoot the curl" and ride the "Green Room"

Ancient endangered wetland Southern Mahé, Seychelles ~ Grand Police , untouched wetlands for millions of years, future resort development site

 Police Bay, currently untouched wilderness, potential world heritage site or resort development. Developers intend to change this natural setting to accommodate a 5 star Resort with golf course and up to  100 villas. I have been interested in finding the wetlands and documenting the natural landscape for some time. Today I made a research tour of the wetlands via Stand Up Paddle, observing indigenous species of flora and fauna on land and water. This is the last natural wetland on Mahé. A natural asset to all the people of the Seychelles and tourists.  

 Access though the thicket of Coconut palms by Stand Up Paddle.

 Many species of fish live here, it is a nursery of native fish, frogs and reptiles.

 The wetlands meet the sea, occasionally after heavy rains the water floods over the beach into the ocean.

The depth of the wetland varies depending on the season, the water level today was 75cm lower than the highest level of the year. At the higher level the water flows across the Police beach into the Indian Ocean.

Evidence of changing water levels can be seen against this huge granite formation

A screen calm environment filled with life including bees, butterflies, dragonflies, snails, spiders, Mascarene frog, Seychelles tree frog, Pygmy Piping frog, Swimming Caecilian, damsels, long armed freshwater prawn, praying mantis, beetles, Terrapin, fruit bats, skink,gecko, and freshwater fish make this their home.

The quiet, peaceful paddle amongst ferns, casuarina trees, reeds and palm trees. November 27th 2014

Many species of frogs live here

Point of entry to wetlands under coconut palms filled with ripe fruit.

 Backpack with supplies for the day including bananas , passionfruit, water and camera.
No tracks here, just a dense thicket of coconut palms and pools of water separated from the surrounding wetlands with fish breathing from the surface of the oxygen depleted ponds.

Air temp 29C water temp 28C on 27th November 2014

Stunning natural beauty

Expansive wetlands habitat

Granite hills surrounding the wetlands feed rainwater into this natural basin.

Setting from the movie "African Queen" ?

A tropical wilderness, soon to be developed into a huge resort and golf complex.