St. Pierre Island - Curieuse Marine National Park Praslin, Seychelles - National Parks of the World on Waymarking.com

In 1979 Curieuse and surrounding waters were declared the Curieuse Marine National Park in order to protect the native wildlife. Today it is the home of roughly 500 Aldabra Giant Tortoise, 300 of which live at the Ranger's Station and approximately 200 in the wild. In the late 1970s a conservation project was started to move tortoises from Aldabra to Curieuse. On the southern part of the island is a mangrove swamp which is traversed by a walkway for park visitors. The island is also known for coco de mer palms, giant takamaka trees, a large hawksbill turtle rookery and several bird species including the rare Seychelles Black Parrot Coracopis nigra barklyi, which is found only here and on Praslin.

Most visitors to the Curieuse Marine National Park disembark at Baie Laraie where the shallow water is known for its population of large humphead parrotfish growing up to 1.2 m in length. At the rangers headquarters a number of giant tortoises move about. There is a trail from Baie Laraie to Anse St. José on the other side of the island passing over the boardwalk through the thick mangrove forest. The ruins of the leper colony is now well blended into the landscape and includes Creole colonial architecture which consists of a doctor's house turned into a museum containing all the information about Curieuse Island. On the beach in front of the Doctor's House sea turtles lay their eggs.

Park Name: Curieuse Marine National Park Historic/Cultural Park: no Natural Park: yes Wildlife Refuge: yes Type of Listing: Other Fees in Local Currency: 0.00 (listed in local currency) Dates of Access: From: 01/01/2011 To: 12/31/2011 Hiking: no Camping: no Bicycling: no Horseback Riding: no Off-Roading: no Swimming: yes Snorkling/Scuba: yes Boating: yes Rock Climbing: no Recreation Area: Not Listed Other Park Type not listed above: Not listed Park Website: Not listed Other Type Detail: Not listed Hours available: Not listed Fishing: Not Listed Other Activities: Not listed

Visit Instructions:

A log will require a recent photograph at the coordinates. Some of these locations will be placed for the scenery, so a gpsr will just ruin the picture.

If you don't have a digital camera post a descriptive log.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   02/19/2012 luzzi-reloaded visited it