Tropical Eden; barefoot luxury

Located around 30km from the main island of Mahé, North Island (or Ile du Nord as it is known locally) comprises of 210 hectares of lush tropical vegetation, coconut palms and takamaka trees and lies cradled between three granitic outcrops.

The comprehensive rehabilitation and conservation plan undertaken by Wilderness Safaris and dubbed 'the Noah's Ark Project' has profoundly altered this previously neglected miracle of nature. North Island is quickly returning to the pristine island paradise it once was.

The warm, clear waters surrounding North Island are filled with an abundance of sea life. On the ocean floor, hard and soft corals brighten the depths: dead man's finger, green tree and staghorn corals, palmate sea fans and a variety of sponge life flourish. Nudibranches are often seen. Hugging the reefs are an endlessly colourful array of fish, such as spotted eagle rays, parrotfish, round ribbontail rays and white-tip reef sharks. Many members of the kingfish family, giant barracuda, wahoo, and sailfish move confidently through the depths. Seasonal whale sharks and giant sleepy sharks are an awe-inspiring experience.

More than 200 plant species have been identified in 16 different habitat zones and a number of endemic invertebrates and reptiles thrive on the island. The marshland of the central plateau plays host to giant tortoises and a variety of waterbirds, including a small breeding population of the rare Yellow Bittern. Prehistoric looking Pandanus trees with buttressed roots, cling to the sides of the outcrops and bright green, endemic day geckos with almost fluorescent orange markings clamber impossibly over vertical and horizontal surfaces.

Large Seychelles fruit bats, the so-called flying fox, are often seen, their impressive 1m wingspan allowing surprising aerial skills and daytime flying displays. Wedge-tailed Shearwaters nest colonially on one of the granite outcrops, while resident Seychelles Kestrel use another. White-tailed Tropicbirds are often seen offshore. Seychelles Blue Pigeons and Seychelles Sunbirds, rare or absent in 1997, are now relatively common and together with the Seychelles Kestrel, Seychelles Swiftlet and introduced Seychelles White-Eye comprise the five endemic bird species present.

Emerging from the ocean to nest on North Island's beaches in growing numbers are green and hawksbill turtles, respectively classified by the IUCN as Critically Endangered and Endangered.