St. Anne's Marine National Park

Sainte Anne Marine National Park is a 4.5-square-kilometer wildlife protection area located about 5 km off the north-east coast of Mahé. About 70 percent of the park is ocean, and the rest consists of six tropical islands with idyllic beaches. At the bottom of the ocean in the park is the largest meadow of seaweed in the Seychelles, which contributes significantly to the very diverse ecosystem of the marine park.

The area was declared a national park in 1973, making it the first marine protected area in the South-west part of the Indian Ocean. Two islands, Surf and St. Ann, offer hotel accommodations, and Long Island and Round Island are each currently under construction for a resort. The other two islands in the park are Moyenne and Ile Cachet. If you're not staying on one of the islands, day trips to the park can be arranged by local tour operators, including snorkeling, diving, and glass-bottom boat trips.

St. Anne Island

St. Anne's Island is the largest island in the Marine Park. The island was discovered at St. Anne's Day in 1747 by French explorer Lazare Picot. The island was the first on which the French established a colony, settling the island before they settled on Mahe, which was once teeming with crocodiles.

For much of the 19th century, the island served as a whaling station, which closed in 1915. During World War II the island was a seaplane base to monitor regional shipping lanes. A garrison was also stationed on the island and an artillery battery was built at Pointe Conan to defend Victoria Harbor on the main island of Mahe.

Between 1982 and 1996 a national youth center was operated on the island where young Seychellois aged 15 to 17 participated in voluntary courses for six months as part of a national educational program. Up to 800 students were living in three villages at a time. Education included gardening, farming, fishing, crafts, and the acquisition of various social, cultural, and political skills. When the program finished the island became briefly uninhabited until the opening in 2001 of the Sainte Anne Resort consisting of 87 villas which is now the only hotel on the island.

St. Anne has four beaches: Grand Anse, which stretches along the resort area; King's Beach and Turtle Beach, where sea turtles lay their eggs during the full moon from late November to February and Anse Manon Beach, which can be reached by walking along the coast and through the rainforest.

Cerf Island

Surf is the second largest island in the marine park. The island was named after the naval frigate Le Cerf, which arrived in Port Victoria in 1756. The ship's captain took possession of the island laying a possession stone on Mahe. The monument, the oldest in the Seychelles, is now exhibited at the National Museum of Victoria. During early colonization, the island was a quarantine station. Here was a hospital for the treatment of contagious white sailors.

Surf is the only island in the park with a Seychellois population of about 100, many of whom travel by boat to their daily jobs on Mahe. There are no stores or paved roads on the island. You can only get to Surf by boat or helicopter.

There are great diving spots around the island especially on the reef on the north side where divers can see more than 150 species of colorful fish, crabs, sea urchins, octopuses, starfish, giant turtles and clownfish.

Cachee Island

The tiny island is also known as Faon Island. The island's name means "hidden" in French, and, as the name indicates, it appears to be "hidden" either behind Surf or as part of Surf Island (you can walk around it at low tide). It is also rumored that pirates once buried some of their stolen treasure on Kashi Island. The island is a nesting place for seabirds.

Ronde Island

Round Island is the smallest island in the park (not to be confused with Round Island near Praslin). Until 1942, the island was used as a quarantine for leper women. In recent years the island has been used as a restaurants location.

In 2005, the island was purchased by a Seychelles family with Indian roots. In December 2013 was opened Enchanted Island Resort consisting of 10 luxury villas, restaurant, bar, and SPA on hilltop.

There are a lot of flora and fauna on the island's reefs and lagoons. Green sea turtles live on the edges of the coral reefs and sometimes closer to the island. There are butterfly fish, eagle stingray, murray and many other species of fish.

Longue Island

Longue Island is the third largest island in the group. It was once a quarantine station for sick sailors and slaves before the quarantine area was moved to Surf Island.

The island was a refuge for the last British colonial governor of the Seychelles who made it his vacation home until 1973. He used to sit and read under the Bonne Carré tree on the south-east beach of the island. Some ruins of his residence including a small plantation still remain.

Not long ago the island was a prison in one of the most idyllic places on earth! Prisoners were playing soccer and walking on the beach. However to their likely displeasure the prison was closed in 2007 to make way for building a luxury hotel. There are about 100 villas on the island and a cable car that takes guests to a wedding chapel and spa on a 90-meter-high hilltop with panoramic views of the island.

Moyenne Island

Moyenne Island is the home of former newspaper editor and British citizen Brandon Grimshaw, who bought it on his last day of vacation in the late sixties for only £10,000. After giving up his career in 1972 he moved to Moyenne and began to transform the island into a small nature reserve planting more than 16,000 trees, palms and shrubs, settling more than 2,000 wild birds and more than a hundred giant tortoises. More than two-thirds of the Seychelles' endemic plants are now located on this island. Grimshaw was the only resident of the island until his death in July 2012.

The island is now a national park and can be visited on organized trips. There are also small chapel, ancient pirate graves, a visitor center, a restaurant, and a bar on the island.

Reef

St. Anne's Marine National Park consists of three types of marine habitats: coral reefs (both sheltered and open fringing reefs), vast fields of seaweed and sandbanks. The park is home to a huge variety of fish and rare species such as green turtles.

Throughout the park, there are areas for diving, boating, swimming, picnicking, and other low-impact recreational activities. For example, all motorized water sports are prohibited in the ocean park area.

Cerf Island Explorer is the only company operating in the park that offers diving and snorkeling for groups of two to six people at any skill level. For more information, contact Mr. Philippe Blanchard at +248 57 00 43 or pal@seychelles.net.

The park is managed by the Seychelles Marine Research and Technology Centre - Victoria Marine Park Authority.