Bird Island lies on the edge of the shallow Seychelles Bank about 95 km north of Mahe, the largest island of the group. It is low, sandy and flat with coconut palms and is home to the natural nesting place of the sooty tern. We set sail in our yacht Nkwazi from our base at Beau Vallon on the evening of Monday 3rd Sept 1973 bound for Bird Island and arrived the next day at lunchtime and anchored on the western side inside the coral reef.
The trip had been easy due to almost a fresh following wind and in the morning two small tuna were caught with lures. We went ashore and booked in to the local hotel that consisted of a main building for the reception, dining room and kitchen. The accommodation consisted of separate bungalows with palm frond roofing. After a rest we all went exploring the island and looking for shells on the beach.
At 4:30pm the local ornithologist took us to the breeding ground of the sooty tern. It was estimated that 2 million birds nested in this location! It was amazing to see them each guarding their own bit of territory where their eggs were. They always return to this island every year to breed.
We spent the night in the bungalows after a lovely Creole dinner and the next morning was spent lazing and beach combing. After a huge lunch we boarded Nkwazi and headed back to Mahe at 4:00pm. Due to the headwinds and rough sea conditions (and the huge lunch!) everyone except the skipper was very seasick. After a night of bashing into the seas and the wind we finally arrived back at our anchorage off Beau Vallon at 11:00pm.
Credit: My own blog and photos.