THE EAST AFRICAN SERIES, DAY 36 & 37
Seychelles – Dubai – Dublin
The best beach in the world & rip drone. Without the family in tow, it was an easy opportunity to get up early and seize my final full day.
THERE WILL BE NO MORE DRONE SHOTS ON THIS HOLIDAY
What better way to spend it than to visit one of the world’s best beaches, as voted annually by a near infinite number of sources.
WHERE IS ANSE SOURCE D’ARGENT?
Anse Source D’Argent
LA DIGUE
The ferry the island of La Digue is just 15minutes and is a very different experience to that of Oraslin. Expect no vehicles and just bicycles, a great way to get around this island which is ripe for exploring.
A 10 minute cycle will get you to L’Union Estate and where you can access the beach after paying the $10 entry fee.
Visiting the worlds best beach at 7am I wasn’t sure how busy it would be but after walking through the first 3 beaches I could see very few people, pure bliss. I suppose when you visit such a “coupley” resort most are keen on actually chilling and enjoying themselves instead of getting up at 5:30 to visit a beach
The best beach in the world & rip drone
DAILY INFO….
- HOTEL – HOTEL L’ARCHIPEL
- ATTRACTIONS –
La Digue (island)
Anse Source D’argent (beach)
L’Union Estate Farm - STEPS – 11,000 & 9,200
- MILES COVERED – 6829.6
ANSE SOURCE D’ARGENT
What makes this beach unique are the huge boulders which are dotted around, similar to Virgin Gorda which I visited during my trip to the British Virgin Islands. However the real attraction was the huge rock formation in the background which almost looked like a CGI.
Coming at this time has other benefits too. Flying the drone reduces your chances of coming up against an entitled bystander, like in Zanzibar but she was too late then and so would everyone else have been today.
The best beach in the world & rip drone
The best beach in the world & rip drone
BOULDERS
It is worth going beyond the beaches at the far end and either walking around the boulders to another secluded beach or on top of the boulders themselves. But if you do venture to the next beach be sure to head back before the tide comes in, otherwise it takes a boat to get you back, and there won’t be many boats coming this side of the pier.
But on the boulders is a bit of fun, great views and also a look inside a bizarre disused building used, I’m guessing to cater for groups of tourists. From here you can scale the rock and enjoy unique views of the main beach, and if you have a drone then even better! Just keep an eye out for the playful White Terns (birds).
The best beach in the world & rip drone
CROWD
As the time went on I could see the crowds coming but it wasn’t until I headed back from the main beach I could see all the tourists who were chilling on the first beach and probably the worst of all. I can only imagine them going back to their hotel this afternoon disappointed.
After heading back and stopping off 1 too many times for another few drone photos I missed my boat but either way I could not have stayed until the evening, the sun here is so intense and not something I have experienced since The Caribbean Series.
RELATED READ: LAOS’ MOST DANGEROUS ACTIVITY
FINAL NIGHT AT L’ARCHIPEL
I have been travelling most of East Africa with this cigar I got in Kigali and set tonight, my last night to smoke it. It’s always the last night where I like to sit in peace for an hour or so and take everything in. It’s been a long trip but looking out at the sunset one last time was a great way to chill and take everything in. The cigar wasn’t the best I’ve had but it still made the moment that little bit better.
ABOUT SEYCHELLES:
- Once a pirate hideout, in particular my local beach of Côte d’Or. It is believed that treasure worth more then $160,000 was buried by one of the many pirates who use the The Seychelles, Olivier Levasseur. To this day it remains unfound.
- Bird Island is home to the heaviest land tortoise living in the wild. Her name is Esmeralda, and weighs 670 pounds.
- The coco de mer, native to the islands, produces the largest seed in the world and is shaped like nothing you would ever expect.
- The capital of the Seychelles, Victoria, is the smallest capital in the world.
LONELY ROMANTICISM
I am currently sitting on my own in the restaurant of the hotel surrounded by family’s and couples with romantic saxophone music playing, including The Beatles and Alicia Keys. Oh how much comfort I feel right now 😆. But that’s part and partial of travelling solo, and something others who wish to travel worry about. But over time you become used to bizarre situations and for the few times you sit on your own at a restaurant you have some of the best experiences and memories possible!
FATAL DRONE (Day 37)
For the last 10 or so years I have always had a drone and travel to as many places as possible with them. From birds attacking it in Niger to getting it taken off me in Algeria. However, not once has it crashed or fallen from the sky…
During my final day I took a walk along the beach from my hotel and found a perfect spot to fly it. However rather than taking off vertically it immediately turned upside down and crashed into the ground…RIP.
FLIGHT
Chilling out for the rest of the day I had another 2 hellish red eyes coming up tonight. Flying at night unless you are going business class is never a good idea but unfortunately options between the Seychelles and Dublin are few and far between!
I do like the Seychelles way of flying, airlines who are happy to wait until all their passengers have arrived and checked in before taking off, you just don’t get this with Ryanair! These tiny planes that ferry tourists from island to island are an incredible experience. With the noise, I did think I was part of the Normandy invasion, ready to jump when given the nod.
Also, to give you an idea of the customer service, it turns out I was booked onto 2 flights and after getting the early one I received a call from the check in desk asking if I was due on the later one or if it was a duplication, unbelievable! Also special shoutout to the airport lounge at Mahe, great food, décor, seats and a shower!
TODAY’S YOUTUBE VIDEOS
If you want to see today from a different perspective, and catch a few different stories from the front row, then check out today’s YouTube videos below.
FINAL THOUGHTS
That’s it, that is the end of another series and a long one at that. Now its time to get home, settled and started planning the next; The Lapland Series!
NEXT UP
Final thoughts on The East African Series!! Click to read.
SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
159/229
This post is part of The East African Series, for the entire series click here or for episode 1, click here.
To watch the video of my trip, head to my highlights on my Instagram.
