Sports & nature

Sport: Island hopping whether by boat, plane or helicopter promises a true sense of the islands’ diversity. Each has its own character: a timeless miniature world, flourishing in splendid isolation far from the hubbub of modern life. Nature trails wind their way through granite peaks and lush mist forests, and hidden coves harbour secrets that few, if any, have discovered. Scuba dive in an ocean of kaleidoscopic colours and swim alongside 40-foot long, plankton-eating whale sharks or skim the surface of the turquoise waters on water-skis, a kayak or a catamaran. Indeed, if the world’s best fly-fishing can’t tempt you why not, from the comfort of the boat, enjoy unrivalled deep-sea fishing instead? Your catch could include marlin, sailfish, green jobfish and skipjack tuna. Nature: Safe inside the boundaries of one of nature’s last sanctuaries, the spectacular diversity of endemic and indigenous species is almost impossible to comprehend. Nowhere else on earth will you stumble upon the Jellyfish Tree, the Seychelles Paradise Flycatcher, the world’s smallest frog, the heaviest land tortoise, the world’s largest fish and the Indian Ocean’s only flightless bird. The islands also boast some of the most spectacular seabird colonies in the world, where there are 13 species and 17 subspecies that occur here and only here.