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 Honeymoon in the Seychelles – Denis Island and Saint Anne’s
After a brief and hassle free transit in Mahe, we boarded a little de Haviland twin otter prop plane - a noisy, somewhat flung together mode of transport but when we took off and saw the fabulous views of the islands unfolding beneath us, I forgot about my nerves and focused on the beauty laid out below me. The plane was only about half full which meant we were a total of 10 (including 2 crew)!
After about half an hour we saw Denis – a little sliver of green, yellow at the edges floating in the impossible azure blue of the Indian Ocean. The little pale green stripe traversing the whole island later turned out to be the runway – a mowed slice of grass cutting a swathe through the lush trees and vegetation.
We were met by smiling staff who took our luggage away immediately, gave us a drink of fruit juice, and then carted us (literally) off in golf buggies to the lodge for a quick welcome from the managers we were then shown to our bungalows. There are 23 bungalows on Denis Island and each has its own garden and bit of beach. You don’t really see anyone else if you don’t want to as they are all set quite privately amongst the palm trees and lush garden vegetation. Inside was a very spacious living area, a HUGE four poster bed with mosquito nets and all the furniture was made from beautifully carved local wood. Wood flooring, airconditioning and a lovely veranda going all the way across the front. The bathroom was beautifully fitted out and large – no huge – with everything you could ever think of – and in the walls garden at the back was an outside shower. Lovely.
The Lodge was the centre point for all meals, drinks etc. although each bungalow had a fridge for “immediate” needs – in our case drinks – and it was kept fully stocked the whole time. On Denis it has to be full board as there are no shops. All the food is fresh – the fish from the ocean – the meat from the farm which supports the island with all its needs – milk, fruit, vegetables all produced on the island – “The Good Life” gone mad. Some nights they set up tables in the beach for candlelit seafood BBQs – the food on Denis is, as Michael Winner might say, “historic”.
We lay on the beach, seeing no-one all day, went on a guided nature walk with a (barefoot) ranger who explained the special work he is doing to preserve the delicate balance of natural growth and careful planting, visited the farm where most of our food came from, walked on the beach and saw the boat come in with the daily catch, visited a colony of turtles one of which is more than 200 years old, sat on logs carved into chairs on a pointy headland to see the sea turtles coming to lay their eggs.
As Denis grew smaller and smaller beneath us, the anticipation was growing for the next location but not without a little sadness to leave that place of peaceful, natural beauty and silent promises to return one day.
St Anne’s was quite, quite different. Smart, sassy, manicured and dedicated to satisfying every whim of its visitors. It was green and equally lush as Denis, but with an edge of sophistication. Golf buggies to take you from place to place in the resort if you can’t be bothered to walk. St Anne’s has fabulous pools, lots of waiters everywhere and an amazing beach, calm and shallow at first allowing you to wade out and see the rays gliding about in the shallow water, and then deep and beautifully still. Lush and clever planting ensured the privacy of each bungalow was maintained. We had a gorgeous bungalow with plasma telly, huge bedroom with the most gigantic bed, enormous bathroom and walk-in wardrobe. For a supplement you could have dinner in an Italian restaurant nestling in the trees on the side of a hill with a terrace overlooking the sea. Needless to say, we were happy to pay the supplement almost every night to enjoy the view, the exquisite food and especially the child-free environment.
I took myself off to the spa for a few treatments during our stay which was lovely. Excellent skilled therapists providing soothing, calming and very professional services in a gorgeous, serene setting. I ordered a buggy to take me back to our bungalow after a long massage to prolong that wonderful, relaxed a sleepy feeling.
Would certainly recommend both islands, but there was a definite edge towards Denis for us – that slightly castaway feeling is intoxicating
Peter and Angela Warrener travelled to Denis Island and St Anne's in the Seychelles with Beachcomber Holidays.
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