SPECIAL OFFER -SAVE £500 PER PERSON SplenDOUrs of THE SEYCHELLES AN islanD HoppinG EXpeDITion CRUISE THroUGH THE SEYCHELLES ABoarD THE MS CALEDONIAN SKY 18TH TO 29TH NOVEMBER 2020 Curieuse Island e find it difficult to imagine a more perfect way to escape the British winter than to SEYCHELLES INDIAN OCEAN Praslin, Grande Soeur, enjoy the warmth and beauty of the Indian Ocean aboard the MS Caledonian Sky as Aride & Curieuse sheW undertakes exactly the type of itinerary which suits her many talents best. In the depth Amirante Islands Mahe of winter at home, you can join our all-suite vessel for an exploration of the islands and Aldabra Island atolls of the Seychelles, one of the world’s most pristine and picturesque archipelagos and a Group Alphonse Islands veritable feast of beauty, the natural world and island culture. Farquhar Islands Our expedition focuses on the remote Outer Seychelles, tiny untouched islands and atolls of the Amirante Islands, Farquhar, Aldabra and Alphonse Groups. These minute dots on an atlas are truly magical places. For many the greatest highlight will be our visit to Aldabra, the world’s largest coral atoll and the last breeding ground of the giant tortoise and in addition to seeing some of these endearing creatures you should also encounter dolphins, turtles and whales as well as countless birds including the flightless rail, the last flightless bird in the Indian Ocean. Totally untouched by the modern world, Aldabra was described by Jacques Cousteau as ‘the last unprofaned sanctuary on this planet’. It is one of the most difficult places on earth to access and a lack of fresh water has saved Aldabra from any tourism development. There is no landing strip and the only viable means of reaching this and other Outer Seychelles islands is with an expedition vessel such as the MS Caledonian Sky. With our fleet of Zodiac landing craft we will be able to access wonderful places denied to larger ships and accompanied by our onboard experts you can learn of the marvellous flora and fauna during nature walks along the island trails, experience the underwater world when swimming or snorkelling and discover the sparkling lagoons from the Zodiacs. The Itinerary Day 1 London to Mahe, Day 3 Mahe. Spend the morning endemic plants which include the explore the ‘Vallee de Mai’, the Seychelles. Fly by scheduled at leisure enjoying the hotel world famous coco de mer palms. last remnant of the original high indirect flight. facilities, relaxing or exploring Transfer to the MS Caledonian Sky canopied Seychelles palm forest independently before we check in the late afternoon and enjoy and home to the coco de mer. We Day 2 Mahe. Arrive this morning and out of our hotel. After lunch we welcome drinks and dinner as we will walk its paths looking out for transfer to Le Meridien Fisherman’s will make our way to Victoria, sail the short distance to Praslin for the rare black parrot and enjoying Cove (or similar) for an overnight one of the world’s tiniest capitals our overnight anchorage. its natural beauty. Return to the MS stay. The remainder of the day is where we visit the market and the Caledonian Sky for lunch as we at leisure to acclimatise before we Botanical Gardens, home of the Day 4 Praslin & Grande Soeur. This sail the short distance to Grande meet for dinner this evening. giant land tortoises, fruit bats and morning we will land on Praslin to Soeur, an idyllic uninhabited island. www.noble-caledonia.co.uk Frigate bird Aldabra Island Aldabra Giant Tortoise Exploring by Zodiac Spend the afternoon walking the and casuarina trees. Hawksbill are still to be surveyed and we will world and snorkel in colourful coral island trails which link the island’s and green sea turtles come to explore some of them by Zodiac. waters. white sand beaches and maybe the islands to nest and several of This is an important bird area with catch sight of some of the giant the Farquhar Group’s islands are all three species of booby found Day 9 At Sea. Enjoy a relaxing day Aldabra tortoises or enjoy our Important Bird and Biodiversity in the Seychelles including the last at sea as we head back to the Inner first snorkelling opportunity in the Areas. We will spend the morning breeding site for the brown booby. Seychelles islands. Our lecture turquoise waters. either snorkelling over the coral Also spot sooty terns and great programme will continue or maybe reef or exploring the island’s past frigate birds. Additionally we will find a spot on deck. Day 5 Amirante Islands. Arrive over wandering around the settlement spend time on Aldabra, the island breakfast at the 28 islands in the which once housed a thriving copra referred to by Sir Julian Huxley Day 10 Alphonse Islands. There are Amirante Group of islands which and fishing industry. Return to the as “One of nature’s treasures and three islands in the Alphonse group were discovered by Vasco de Gama MS Caledonian Sky for lunch as we should belong to the whole world”. which is located directly south of in 1501 and are considered to be continue our journey through the Aldabra is unique and every time the Amirantes. As we approach some of the most pristine and Outer Seychelles islands. we call at what is believed to the islands in the early morning, untouched islands in the world. If be the world’s largest atoll, we you will understand why they are conditions permit, we will spend Clownfish find something new of interest. regarded by many to be the most the morning on Desroches, the Sightings have been made of the beautiful of the 115 islands in the largest of the islands, although still extremely rare white throated rail Seychelles archipelago. On the only measuring six kilometres by and the atoll is also home to the main island the circular lagoon 1.5 kilometres. Enjoy nature walks world’s second largest colony of offers good snorkelling and there with our naturalists and the island’s frigate birds and to the largest are several tracks across the island conservation team observing the crab, the coconut crab. Whilst to enjoy island walks. Spend the flora and fauna and in particular exploring by Zodiac it is difficult morning exploring before returning the giant tortoises and nesting to know in which direction to look. to the MS Caledonian Sky for lunch turtles. Whilst keen snorkellers will The clear blue seas abound with and an afternoon cruising. have the chance to swim over the Days 7 & 8 Aldabra Island Group. life, the skies are alive with varied outlying coral. Return to the ship We have two days at the Aldabra birdlife and ashore giant land Day 11 Aride & Curieuse. We for lunch and a relaxing afternoon group of islands. Our itinerary will tortoises forage as they have done will use our Zodiacs to land on at sea. be in the hands of our Expedition for millions of years. We hope to Aride, one of the finest and most Leader and Captain who will explore Picard Island with a short important seabird islands in the Day 6 Farquhar Islands. This monitor the local conditions to walk to see some of the thousands Indian Ocean. Over one million morning we will arrive at the ensure we maximise our time here. of tortoises and numerous robber seabirds breed on the island Farquhar group of islands. We will Whilst our itinerary is flexible, we crabs or swim in the lagoon, a vast including tropical shearwater, use our Zodiacs to explore the will hope to reach Cosmoledo 17 mile stretch of shallow clear lesser noddy, frigate birds and sparkling lagoon of this remote where a huge ring of twelve islands water. From our Zodiacs we can roseate tern in addition to five atoll ringed island of coconut circle a lagoon. Many of the atolls watch the ever-changing undersea species unique to the Seychelles Coconut crab Fairy tern such as the Seychelles warbler nesting site for hawksbill turtles and Seychelles magpie robin. The and boasts endemic vine and Pre-Cruise Mahe Extension island is largely covered in native mangroves which we explore on 16th to 19th November 2020 woodland including the endemic an island walk. This evening we Wright’s gardenia, a shrub with will return to Mahe and moor beautifully scented flowers found overnight. Mahe If you would like to spend nowhere else in the world. We some time in the Seychelles will sail over lunch to Curieuse, Day 12 Mahe to London. before embarking the a rugged island which was once Disembark this morning and MS Caledonian Sky we are home to a leper colony and now transfer to the airport for our offering a two night pre- houses an eco-museum and visitor scheduled indirect flight to cruise extension staying at Le centre. The island is an important London. Arrive this afternoon. Meridien Fisherman’s Cove Hotel which overlooks Beau Vallon, the largest and most popular beach on Mahe. PRICES PER PERSON Based on double occupancy SPECIAL OFFER – SAVE £500 PER PERSON The Itinerary FOR A LIMITED TIME only Day 1 London to Mahe, Seychelles. Fly by scheduled indirect flight. Deck Suite Category Brochure Price Special Offer Price Days 2 & 3 Mahe. Arrive this morning and transfer to Le Meridien Castle Standard £6995 £6495 Fisherman’s Cove for a two night stay. You time is free to enjoy the hotel Caledonian Superior £7195 £6695 facilities, relax on the beach or explore independently. Promenade Premium £7395 £6895 Bridge Deluxe Balcony £8395 £7895 Day 4 Mahe.