DISCOVER SEYCHELLES’ HISTORY WITH A VISIT TO FREGATE ISLAND’S MUSEUM
(Posted 21st February 2016)
Most visitors to the Seychelles come to stay on the main island of Mahe, enjoying the luxury of the many top ranked resorts found across the archipelago’s largest of an overall 115 islands. Both granite and coral islands are spread over a vast area of the Indian Ocean with some a thousand kilometres apart.
Other visitors make it to the second largest island of Praslin, which is also home to the famous Valle’ de Mai – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – while even fewer travel on to La Digue, this correspondent’s own hot tip location.
Yet, smaller islands, with only one normally very small resort in terms of capacity, are also available but of course considerably more expensive, but in turn give their guests total privacy against the intrusions of paparazzi’s or nosey fellow guests wanting to rub shoulders with captains of industry, finance tsars and the glitterati from the film and music industry. As often before said, the Seychelles does provide excellent choices of accommodation for basically all pockets but are arguably best known of course for being THE glitz and glamour destination of modern day travelers.
While there is plenty to do on the main island of Mahe, on Praslin and on laid back La Digue, are treasures also found on some of the smaller islands. Some of them have been turned into nature and bird sanctuaries and those keen to see birds of the feathered kind cannot fail but be impressed with the variety of native and migratory species.
History too however can be discovered and one private island stands out for that purpose, Fregate.
The pirates of the old days, not the present day Somali ocean terrorists who were, to a good part thanks to the decisive response by the Seychelles’ government defeated, are the ones capturing visitors attention and imagination, and more than just a few locals and visitors alike keep searching for buried treasures from those days of the buccaneers.
The fortunes of La Buse, aka Olivier La Vasseur, who eventually met his fate on Reunion where he got tried and hanged, have given rise to many treasure hunts but not a coin of his massive bounty has been found until now.
At least visitors to Fregate will have the chance to see the collection of artefacts and clutter collected over decades, showcasing those old days, displaying weapons, utensils, tools, pictures, documents and even shells collected and kept and for the past almost three years now housed in the island’s museum.
To add to this comes the tale of the ghost of a headless woman which roams the island at night, making Fregate not only a target of treasure hunters and history buffs but also of ghost hunters.
(The plantation house and museum on Fregate Island)
Fregate can be reached by private charter from Mahe, both fixed wing and helicopter or by boat, which takes about one and a half hours compared to a less than 20 minutes flight. Fregate is part of the Oetker Collection and more information can be found via www.oetkercollection.com or else click on www.fregate.com
