Silver Haired Gappies
Group Travel Africa
12 day tour Atolls of the Seychelles
Day 1 Dar Es Salaam
Stay MS Herbridean Sky
Arrive Dar Es Salaam, transfer to MS Hebridean Sky. Comfortable ship, all meals eaten onboard.
Day 2 Zanzibar
Visit ​
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Tour of Stone Town
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Old Fort
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Former Mkunazni Slave Market
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Livingston's House
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Jozani Forest Tour
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Spice Farm Tour
Day 3 Kilwa Kisiwani
Stay MS Hebridean Sky
Island off Tanzanian coast, Kilwa Kisiwani is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and contains some of the world's best Swahili ruins, including those built by the Portugese and Omans.
Visit
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The Gereza fort
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The Great Mosque, once the largest in East Africa
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The Small Domed Mosque
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The Makutaini Palace
Day 4 At Sea
Stay MS Hebridean Sky
Day 5 Assumption Island
Assumption Island is a single coral island. It has an uninterrupted coral sandy beach of 3 miles. The airstrip supports access by local scientists, however there are proposals to build a lodge on this remote, stunning island to enable tourists to visit the Aldabra Atoll.​
Visit
Nature walk & snorkel
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Day 6 Aldabra Atoll
Stay MS Herbridean Sky
The Aldabra Atoll comprising of a lagoon and 3 surrounding islands 21 miles long, 8 miles wide. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to a dedicated research station. All visits were post intense biosecurity preparations and checks.
Visit ​
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Zodiac early morning cruise
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Drift snorkel into the lagoon
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Long walk, passing old settlement and visit the research station.
Day 7 Cosmoledo Atoll
Stay MS Herbridean Sky
Cosmoledo Atoll measures 53 miles by 32 miles, and lies about 68 miles east of Aldabra. Like Aldabra, it boasts some of the richest biodiversity in the outer islands of the Seychelles.
Visit - Ile Sud Ouest ​
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Zodiac tour of Cosmoledo lagoon on Ile Sud Ouest.
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Snorkelling and walks on Astove Atoll cancelled due to inclement weather.
Day 8 Farquhar Atoll
Stay MS Herbridean Sky
The Farquhar Atoll (named after a former Governor of Mauritius) extends over 65.8 sq miles with a land area of 3.2 sq miles. It lies on the most southerly point of the outer Seychelles.
Visit ​- Ile du Nord
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Nature walks
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Drift snorkel off the platform
Day 9 Bijoutier
Stay MS Herbridean Sky
The indisputable jewel of the Seychelles. This 2 acre island is fringed with beach shrubs and coconut palms.
Visit ​
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Nature walks on island
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Beach combing and swimming
Day 10 D'Arros Island St Joseph Atoll African Banks
Stay MS Herbridean Sky
Morning - St Joseph's Atoll, comprising of 16 islands. D'Aross Island is separated by a one kilometre wide & 70 metre deep channel.
Afternoon - African Banks - made up of 2 small islands continually eroded, and now exposed only at low tide.
Visit ​
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Nature walks on the uninhabited islands
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Snorkelling in the channels
Day 11 Aride & Curieuse
Stay MS Herbridean Sky
Finally arrived in the touristy part of the Seychelles. Both islands accepts day trippers from the 3 main holiday islands to visit their nature reserves.
Visit ​
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Aride - nature walk guided with a local ranger.
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Curieuse - Boardwalk nature walk and swim.
Day 12 Praslin & Grand Soeur
Stay MS Herbridean Sky
Praslin - tourist island with hotels and towns. It is the 2nd largest island of the Seychelles.
Grand Soeur - available for day trippers to visit national park and to swim in its marine park.
Visit ​
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Praslin - walk the Vallee de Mai Nature Reserve to see unique Coc de Mer monocot trees (UNESCO site).
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Grande Soeur - snorkel in the waters rich in marine wildlife.
Day 13 Fly home
Excellent trip with Staff on the Hebridean Sky going to enormous lengths to ensure all went smoothly. Had no idea we were going to cover such an enormous area at sea - the 115 islands lay in hundreds of thousands of square miles of ocean.
Stone Town, Zanzibar; the uninhabited Atolls; time with the researchers based on these atolls; drift snorkelling, stroking wild aldabra giant tortoises, swimming with turtles and baby sharks.
Travel: London - Dar Es Salaam
Mahé (Seychelles) - London
Organised by Noble Caledonia
Group Travel Africa
10 day tour Namibia
Day 2 & 3 Sesriem
Stay
Situated at the Entrance Gate to the Namib-Naukluft Park, it provides easy access to the highlights of park listed below. Magical place to stay sleeping under the stars, with pool, sundowner deck, al fresco terrace and floodlit waterhole attracting wildlife.
Travel from Windhoek
Drive 5-6hr through Namib-Naukluft National Park
Visit
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Towering red sand dunes
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Famous salt and clay pan of Sossusvlei
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Dead Vlei &the scorched trees
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Sesreim Canyon
Day 4 & 5 Swakopmund
Stay Zum Kaiser
Pleasant stay - hotel no longer operating.
Travel from Sesriem
6 hr - includes 2 hr stop in Solitaire
Visit​
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Forbidden Coast Scenic Flight
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Sandboarding
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Mondesa township
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Lively market with arts & crafts
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Dinner with local family
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Explore town's shops, museums
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Holy Rosary Catholic Church
Eat
Jetty 1905
Day 7/8 Etosha NP
Stay Okaukuejo Restcamp
(not on Expedia)
Famous for its floodlit waterhole this camp is suitably situated 17km within the Etosha NP. Service and camp accommodation more reflected those of a motorway service station. Enjoyed 2 days of sunset and sunrise game drives.
Travel from Damaraland
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4-5 hr drive
Visit - on journey to Etosha NP
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Petrified Forest National Monument - tree trunks of approx 280 million years
Fabulous country to drive through with spectacular scenery. Fantastic roads. Distances are long, but could easily self-drive. Desert safari so very different to the lush ones in Botswana.
Sesriem; Swakomund: Mondesa Township, flight over Skeleton Coast, dinner at Jetty 1905
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Holy Rosary Church, Swakomund
Part of a Trip: Namibia, Jock's Lodge (Kruger SA)
Organised with: G Adventures