Travel Guide Cousine

5 km from Praslin, here are 25 ha of exuberant nature with more than half of endemic plants and a very rich fauna. The island is surrounded by coral reefs and the marine life is equally spectacular. A great spot for exceptional dives, with hawksbill turtles that come to lay eggs on the kilometre long white sandy beach. Cousin is very quiet, a helicopter breaking the silence from time to time to drop off the lucky ones.After discovering the garden where vegetables thrive in greenhouses (tomatoes, bringelles, cabbages, peppers...) and fruit trees (banana, lemon, mango, avocado...), head for the heights of the island! You can, in particular, discover the Emmanuel glacis at the top of which the view is exceptional. In the undergrowth leading to it, you will be able to admire the residents of the place, among others the fouquets and straw in tail, which nestle in the tangled roots of the huge mapous (only twenty-five years old!) who share the dreary with the coconut trees (numbered). Not frankly fierce - the men here have never been hostile to them -, these birds nevertheless remain on the defensive. There is no question of caressing them, especially since their beaks cut like a knife. You can only touch them with your eyes, very closely!If the terns, which come in many species, are the most numerous, many other birds have invaded Cousin's land and sky, whether they nest there or are sedentary; from the island blackbird to the toc-toc and from the Dutch pigeon to the hummingbird, no less than 58 species have been recorded, including the imperial frigatebird (found on the island's logo) and, above all, the Seychelles magpie robin, the black and white magpie with only a few dozen individuals left in the world. It is a species closely monitored by the Bird Life International association, which has been carrying out a programme to repopulate this rare bird since 1990. The turtles (also numbered) have also found their paradise there. The sea turtles lay their eggs there in complete peace and those on land are at home. One still finds millipedes (of 20 cm!), whose dried rings remain by thousands on the ground, and large lizards. You can even sometimes see them snooping around on the long granite bar. They are at home here, in this land of heritage, which even has its own scientific station, and whose rare visitors must first and foremost be nature lovers. Wealthy enthusiasts