Seychelles

I arrived home to rainy Scotland 3 weeks ago after taking part in the Island Conservation Programme in the Seychelles. I find it very difficult to put my experience into words- It was Incredible! GVI gave me the chance to completely remove myself from my comfort zone and experience things that I will never forget. Such as joining the Worlds leading Coco de Mer Palm expert on a 6 hour hike through The Vallee de Mei which is a Unesco world heritage site. I got to Witness, on several occasions, Hawksbill turtles laying their eggs in their natural habitats. On a daily basis I could immerse myself into the world of Coral Reefs and spy on Whitetip reef sharks, reef Octopus and hundreds of species of reef fish.
Not only that but Curieuse Island is a protected National Marine Park so is therefore virtually uninhabited. I got the opportunity to live on this un-spoilt Island and wake up in my bunk bed every morning to a view of the Indian Ocean.
Base was very rustic but i believe that any updating would have ruined the experience of Island life. We had everything we needed.
The staff are brilliant. They are what makes Curieuse home. I genuinely would not change a thing, I only wish I could have stayed longer to see through some of the Survey Projects that we started.

Without a doubt I would encourage anyone to go on a GVI expedition! I just returned from an amazing 5 weeks in the Seychelles and am hoping to take part in another expedition at some point in the future.
I found the whole experience well organised, personal and smooth from general enquiry to returning to the UK. I found the staff to be really friendly and helpful, and were always happy to answer any questions I had, no matter how trivial! My emails were replied to quickly which was reassuring and after applying (which I did about 8 months before I actually left) I had regular email contact to provide more specific information and answer questions.
When I arrived in the Seychelles I was met at the airport and taken to the base, which was about 30 seconds walk away from a beautiful bay where we went diving each day. The staff on base were brilliant - most of them having been volunteers in the past, then interns before becoming staff and so had a vast amount of knowledge of the area and base, and knew the answer to almost every question or problem which could arise!
The expedition wrote a weekly blog which was uploaded onto the website which was great for family and friends to keep updated with what we were doing.
Overall I think every £ spent was worth it. I came back an Advanced, Rescue, Coral Reef Research Diver with some lifelong friends and unforgetable memories.