The joyful sites of Africa
Imagine stepping back in time to the age of Charles Darwin, with flocks of tropical birds, lime-green geckos and jumbo Aldabra tortoises shuffling slowly among the lush grasses. Spotless white sand, each with clever ‘Beach Occupied’ signs at the cliff-top path which can be flipped to ensure total privacy.
Seychelles is an archipelago country in the Indian Ocean. The capital of the 115-island country, Victoria, lies 1,500 kilometres east of mainland East Africa.
And herein lies the magic of Frégate in the Seychelles: it’s not only low-key and alive with all the rhythms of nature (resident conservationists take you on nature walks and, during nesting season, you can watch Hawksbill turtles paddle ashore to lay their eggs) but also smart, slick and smoothly operated by the Oetker Collection group with everything the savvy traveller could wish for.
The butler lays the table with different flowers each day and remembers where you like your cushions placed. Guests are provided with a little buggy which, come morning, is always ready to go: fully charged, packed with rolled towels and water, and facing the right way, no matter how haphazardly parked the previous night.
Positioned high in the hills, with its own beautiful water garden, the Rock Spa has a ‘fresh is best’ philosophy. Treatments focus on restoring balance and energy, drawing on age-old know-how and the healing properties of locally foraged plants, with lemon and cinnamon immune-building scrubs; coconut and avocado body masks to hydrate the skin, and scalp massages of hibiscus and holy basil. Massages run the full spectrum, from aromatherapy, Swedish and Balinese to Thai and hot stone. You can book yoga lessons, try a session to help strengthen your back, or plump for one of the new Ayurvedic programmes (three, seven or 15 days) with the lovely Dr. Haridas from Jodhpur.
The range of Ayurvedic treatments is impressive, majoring on the powerful effects of herbal oils, and powders known for their rejuvenating properties. Come with a bad knee and therapists will soothe it with pads of heated herbs applied with just the right pressure. The chef can rustle up Ayurvedic curries to suit your regime, but the normal food is so spectacular you might not want to miss out.
16 luxury villas, 100 differnet species of birds. Wow.
This unique Seychelles island is a bit of royal glamour and dreams come true for lovers of romantic nature, a perfect hot spot for honey mooners.
Perhaps you will also look for recuperation when you enter the island.
Frégate is a private island of outstanding natural beauty, a uniquely peaceful setting of tropical interiors and abundant nature fringed by seven dream beaches, each a brilliant sweep of powdery white sand sentinelled by giant, iconic granite boulders.
Pampering and luxury style is always only a phone call away, degrees south of the equator, just easy.
Royal gossip: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge booked their honeymoon here in the Seychelles, the couple said they want to have a private holiday without press after their very public wedding in Westminster Abbey.
The destination had been kept secret, but the Seychelles tourist office confirmed that the couple touched down at the Iinternational Airport on Mahé before heading to an undisclosed island.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spent their “time” in the Indian Ocean archipelago. Prince William is reported to have told islanders that the trip was the best holiday he had ever had.
Hmm, I do not understand why, haha.
Desroches is the main island, locations boasting exclusive resorts in the kind of settings well out of the reach of most honeymoon couples.
The archipelago boasts in total 115 islands, plenty of idylls to choose from, sure that that many guests take Fregate Island Private (just a 20-minute helicopter ride from Mahé).
Only a mile in length and less than a mile wide, Fregate has seven beaches, lush tropical vegetation and rare wildlife species eg a colony of giant turtles, there are around 2000 of them.
We enjoyed it here. Perfect for hedonists like me.
