Seychelles – Bird Island
Bird Island is very difficult and cumbersome to reach from the main island of Mahe. An irregular Air Seychelles flight service carries a small number of visitors to the island once a week. Accommodation consists of a few small local-style bungalows and a beachfront restaurant.
After a short flight, we land with a twin-engine aircraft of the Air Sechelles on the well-swept grass landing site of the island of Bird Island. The pilots receive extra training for landing on Bird Island, as the runway is extremely short. The touchdown point begins a few meters behind the white, fine sandy beach, which is close enough to touch during the landing approach. Immediately after touchdown, the engines are switched to “braking effect” with deafening noise. It is advisable to be well fastened with your seatbelt. The suitcases have to be taken out of the hold of the plane themselves. The terminal (on the right picture behind the plane) consists of a small palm hut with a diameter of 2 meters.
On the hand-painted site plans, which are hung on the outside of the restaurant wall, you can see the dimensions of Bird Island very nicely. You can clearly see that the runway takes up the entire length of the island.
On the left side of the map you can see the few bungalows, north of them is the small restaurant. The island can be easily circumnavigated on foot in an hour if the water level is right. This was part of our daily fitness program. However, it is advisable to take sufficient sun protection and clothing with you, as the radiation exposure here is extremely high due to reflection of the water and the white fine-grained sandy beach. The small, flat coral island is only 1.5 km long and 0.65 km wide. The highest elevation is only a few meters above sea level. In the north, the seabed drops steeply to a depth of 3000 meters.
In the northern and eastern parts of the island there is extensive and dense mangrove vegetation, which reaches into the water on the beach. When circumnavigating the island, you have to wade into the water up to your belly or even swim at high tide. The bungalows are simple and built in typical local style. Insects and geckos are our roommates at night. Apart from the fantastic animal observations and extensive swimming and snorkeling, the island offers no tourist variety. You should bring enough reading material with you. To explore nature and the birds that occur here, a few days are actually enough. If it weren’t for this addictive factor that makes some people think about staying here forever.
The information board shows the daily high and low water levels (tide). You can also rent a glass-bottom boat to study the underwater world extensively (for those who find snorkeling too strenuous).
For deep-sea anglers, pre-booked trips to the Blue Marlin can be organized. But then you should plan a few more days for your stay.
Hunting for the Blue Marlin is a tradition here. There are the largest specimens of the Indian Ocean in the waters around the Seychelles with record-breaking weight classes.
There is even a hand-made device with which the catches caught from deep-sea fishing can be weighed and found to be good. On the small terrace of the restaurant, which is located directly on the beach, you can let your thoughts run free and really relax.
We enjoyed the few days on the island very much and can recommend everyone to visit the island of Bird Island during a stay in Seychelles. The island is also a real experience for your soul.
