Seychelles – Bird Island – Turtles
The only large land animals in the Seychelles are giant tortoises. Although tour companies never tire of mentioning that Aldabra is home to a large colony of these animals, it is only allowed to enter this remote nature reserve with special permission and you can admire giant tortoises of the same species in enclosures on many of the inner islands and sometimes (for example on Frégate or Bird Island) in the wild.
On the island of Bird Island, there are still free-roaming turtles to be found. Before our flight to the island, we are curious to see whether this prediction will come true. After we have left the small Islandhopper (that’s what we call our flying machine with which we came to the island), we unpack our sparse luggage from the plane and go to the nearby beach restaurant.
Here the owner of the island is already waiting for us. A few small bungalows in the style of Seychelles construction are to accommodate the handful of guests. The bungalows are quickly distributed and we prepare ourselves a little for the coming days. But now we are already curious about the wildlife living here. We don’t have to look long.
Behind our bungalow, a curious guest is already making himself felt. It is a giant tortoise that goes on an exploration tour at turtle speed.
She is just as curious to get to know the island’s new guests as vice versa.
“Esmeralda”, the heaviest and most famous Aldabra giant tortoise in the world at 298 kg, is over 150 years old. When humans and turtles get closer, the true dimensions become really apparent. Esmeralda has the privilege of being allowed to move freely on the island of Bird Island.
Esmeralda has no fear of the human species, since the island belongs to her. The island of Bird Island is not only a bird paradise, as you can see here. After initial respect, we immediately make friends with this primordial species. Esmeralda follows us at every turn. As soon as we are on a hike around the island, Esmeralda steps up to us from the undergrowth to greet us.
When she is delighted, she stands on her feet and straightens up to us, as if she wanted to convey a secret message to us… or is it just a figment of it.
Well, the island quickly leads to all kinds of speculation. The longer we stay here, the stranger and more mysterious the wonderful nature seems to us.
We quickly notice that time and space merge into one on the island. Unimportant things suddenly become important and supposedly important things suddenly seem completely meaningless. After such a short presence, is this already the famous island fever that has gripped us? We do not want to follow this theory so easily. Maybe it’s just reality that catches up with us here.
There is no escape, we are condemned to deal here and now with the laws of Robinson’s life, which is unfamiliar to us. Our needs are reduced to the very few important things in life. “Esmeralda” apparently does not have these problems. She has her predetermined rhythm of eating, sleeping and “chasing us”.
We visibly get closer……..so close that she greets us happily on the small veranda early in the morning after brushing our teeth………….
………….. whether we will miss this trio after our return to civilization???
