Turtle volunteering in the Seychelles

Turtle volunteering in the Seychelles

How this holiday makes a difference

The island is Seychellois owned, managed and staffed so the foreign exchange earned is staying in the Seychelles. We try to involve as many of our staff in our environmental projects, all who do help do so on a voluntary basis. As most of our staff have children who have to be on the main island for school they come to the island for the school holidays to be with their parents. We have a special subsidised rate for Seychellois to allow them to visit the island and learn about their own environment. Ours is the only truly affordable island for the local population to visit. The island is an isolated, fragile and unique ecosystem. Active monitoring and awareness programmes involve researchers, staff and guests, to protect endangered species and their habitats especially seabirds and turtles.

Achievements to date

- Since 1967 management of vegetation in the Sooty Tern breeding area has increased the colony size from c.18,000 pairs in the 1960s to c.750,000 pairs today.

- Support for research on Sooty Tern biology in relation to egg harvest that commenced in 1972; and continued support for the extension of this work from 1993 to the present

- Cessation of turtle harvesting on the island has led to us hosting good populations of both Green and Hawksbill Turtles, and this is now backed by support for tagging of female turtles that come ashore to lay, and monitoring of the success of nests as part of a wider turtle monitoring programme in Seychelles.

- Eradication of rats and rabbits, both accidentally introduced, has led to an increase in the populations of Brown Noddies, which now nest on the ground, and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and White-tailed Tropicbirds.
- Support for a PhD study of the relative success of tree and ground-nesting Common Noddies.

- Support to Nature Seychelles (Birdlife partner in Seychelles) to monitor all species of seabird breeding on the island.

- Support to visiting scientists investigating the island's geography, flora and marine life.
- Maintenance of an education programme for visitors to the island, including nature walks given by a trained member of the hotel staff and a display of posters, in the restaurant building, that explain research and monitoring programmes on the island.

- The setting up and maintenance of a small weather station which provides regular information for the Seychelles Meteorological Office.
We are constantly striving to improve its environmental performance; the owners recognise that their success is inextricably linked to the integrity of this unique ecosystem.

Turtle volunteering in the Seychelles

Reviewed 06 Jan 2007 by Caroline Newman

Hi, just to let you know that we had a fantastic holiday at this accommodation. I would give it 3 stars, but to be honest I think if I were there with just my husband (we went with the kids and my mother who is quite ill) I think I would give it 5 stars.

The accommodation was simple but kept clean and in good repair. The food, was great. Creole and fresh. The fish is caught on a daily basis and the vegetables are grown on the island. The water was amazing - my skin and hair altered within a day! The lines on my face left and my hair was so soft (and went curly! It's normally straight)

The staff and owners were incredibly helpful - as I mentioned my mother is quite sick and needed more attention than most. They were always polite, approachable and went out of their way to help where they could.

The island gave sense of being completely away from it all. The most amazing thing for us was that our kids got on so well!!! There was simply nothing for them to argue or fight over. They had food when it was provided 3 times a day and in between meals they swam, snorkelled and simply enjoyed being in a safe environment where we could allow them to roam around and explore on their own, oh and the pool table!

The nature was a delight and Robbie the resident conservationist was always on hand to answer any questions about the 250 varieties of bird, the 18 giant land tortoises and the hawksbill and green turtles that were coming up to lay their eggs.

All in all delightful, and we would recommend the place to couples and families alike.

Reviewed 29 Nov 2006 by Jenny Coppard

Take a look at Jenny's photos from this trip. (click photos to enlarge)

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Watching turtles dig and lay their nests on the beach felt like such a privilege. To see such a natural act, which is especially significant as the turtles are endangered, was such a wonderful and emotional experience, we really felt empathy with their plight for survival.. and their labour pains!

As there are no predators for birds or the giant tortoises on the island (in fact the only land-dwellers on the island that do live in fear of being killed are: bugs - by birds, baby turtles - by crabs, and crabs - by humans!); the birds and tortoises are so unafraid and it is amazing to be able to move amongst them and interact with them at such close quarters. I've never been interested in bird watching but it really was beautiful being able to see baby birds hatched from their eggs on the ground - in roots of trees, and to observe and interact with tropical birds, some of them even come in to your bungalow or eat crumbs out of your hand - if you let them!

The stillness, beauty, peace and tranquillity of this place really made me overjoyed to be alive and experiencing nature. It is I think the only holiday I've ever been on that I have spend equal amounts of time reflecting on how amazing it was - as I spent anticipating it!

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

I agree with the other reviewer re earplugs and checking flight times, good advice. We flew with Qatar Airways who had great inflight services but we had to wait for half a day at Mahe airport for the connection to the island. There's not a lot to do at Mahe airport!! People told us when we were there that Air Seychelles fight times matched with the Bird Island transfer times, but their inflight service is not as good apparently - so - up to you!

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

The lodge only employs Seychellois people, their water and food policies are as green as possible and the management seem committed to maintaining high levels of green ethics. The produce from their veggie garden and what the chefs do with it is brilliant. We're vegetarians and they made special meals for us every day which were a delight, as were the side dishes from the main buffet - plus they catch fresh fish every day and there are many meat options too.

4. Any other comments?

5* for food, staff and management friendliness/helpfulness, setting, bungalows, the whole experience. I cannot recommend it highly enough.