Saint Helena - Island in the South Atlantic

A story about a little man, friendly inhabitants and friendly whale sharks

Travelling has actually become really easy: A few hours on a plane and you're on a beach under palm trees, enjoying your time. And then there are destinations that are still isolated and remote today ... you'd hardly think it possible!

Report by Jan Finsterbusch

One example? St Helena! A plane reaches the island once a week - sometimes not due to bad weather - a supply ship every eight weeks and otherwise the island's 5,000 inhabitants live largely isolated from the outside world. Internet is available via various Wi-Fi hotspots but is usually slow and the data volume maps are often unreliable.

But first things first. The journey usually takes place via Cape Town or Johannesburg, where it is advisable to take a day's break. This significantly increases the chance of having luggage for the onward flight. The planes then first head for Namibia, where the aircraft is refuelled on the tarmac. This is for safety reasons, should the weather change in the meantime, the aircraft has the opportunity to fly on to Ascension Island to use the less critical runway there.

At the airport, our Waterworld group is met by Keith and Craig Yon. The two brothers are like the multi-entrepreneurs of the island. Dive centre, car rental, hotel, restaurant, whale shark excursions, their own farm and a coffee plantation are managed by the two of them and we are sure to have forgotten some business in the list. But this flexibility is also necessary to be successful in such a remote location.

We head straight from the airport to Jamestown to the Dive centre and unload our diving equipment. Then to the ‘Blue Lantern’ accommodation. The rooms are simple but adequate and clean, each with its own washroom and a large communal room with various seating options for a deco beer and chatting shop after the dives round off the practicality of the accommodation. The food in the adjoining restaurant is solidly cooked, the menu is small and not everything is always available - welcome to one of the most remote places in the world. However, they are one thing above all - plentiful! Even requests for smaller portions rarely provided any relief.

Countless crawfish and other crustaceans

But that's enough talking about it! What's so exciting that our group of divers has travelled here? And it's not just us! Again and again, divers land on the island hoping for beautiful dives and close encounters with marine animals! The diving is a little reminiscent of the Azores. Clear water, seemingly endless visibility and the surf makes us float back and forth underwater.

There are numerous grottos and small caves in the basalt rocks, almost every one of which is inhabited by countless lobsters and other crustaceans. Some of them share their accommodation with moray eels. The numerous openings to the outside create a fascinating play of light. One day it looks like a laser show, another like a sunrise. So far so good, that alone would be enough to make the destination a beautiful diving area. But St Helena doesn't stop there, it's only just beginning to show us its underwater beauty.

Admittedly, the first week is a bit rough, with high waves crashing into the small harbour of Jamestown. Loading the dive boat becomes a balancing act and the choice of dive sites is also limited as a result. Nevertheless, a small group of Chilean mobulas (Mobula tarapacana) honoured us at the first dive site, Toms Ledge. After just one minute, the spectacle was over again, leaving behind a group of happy divers!

Napoleon on St Helena

Unfortunately, Poseidon continues to show his grumpy side. The waves in the small bay of Jamestown are getting higher and higher. So we decide to visit the island highlights first. Several if not all of these highlights are centred around Napoleon. If you're wondering how you know the name of the island, Napoleon was banished here after Waterloo. In the middle of nowhere to make sure that he didn't just come back from Elba like he once did.

Napoleon's banishment to St Helena doubled the number of inhabitants virtually overnight. As a result, the island was converted into a fortress. Cannons and walls everywhere bear witness to this period. No access to the sea was left unguarded and unprotected and every bay was provided with a defence wall.
 

Napoleon's involuntary stay lasted around six years and after his death in 1821, he was buried on the island in the place of his choice. In 1840, the French decided to bring him back to Paris to the Invalides.

However, Napoleon was not the only prisoner on the island; several Zulu leaders and the Sultan of Zanzibar also spent some time on St Helena. On the island you can admire Napoleon's original grave from a distance and also visit the Longwood House where he died.

Whale sharks and mobulas!

But now back to, or rather into, the water! One of the island's main attractions is undoubtedly the whale sharks that can be seen en masse during the season (from February to April). It is believed that the largest fish on earth meet here to mate. However, the regulations for interacting with the animals are quite strict. No diving with scuba equipment; if a whale shark interacts with the group during a dive, the dive must be cancelled. This is controlled by a ‘spotter’ from the local conservation organisation, who takes part in the dive and has the final say here.

Snorkelling interaction is permitted, but of course always at a respectful distance. However, this does not make the experience any less impressive. We follow the slowly drifting giants for minutes. Sometimes they react to us and swim towards us with interest, sometimes they are completely indifferent to us. Sometimes there are five of the filter feeders around us and with visibility of around 40 metres, it is always possible to capture more than just one in one picture. And even if it's not the first whale shark encounter for many of our group, it really gets under your skin! Definitely an experience you don't get everywhere. Especially as the whale sharks here are not fed and still inspire with close and intense interactions.

The behaviour of the mobulas is similar. Sometimes they come curiously and interact with us divers as if they were part of our group. Sometimes they just float past and glide elegantly back into the endless blue.

On the island, an animal (whale shark or mobula) that interacts intensively with divers is described as friendly. However, the islanders are anything but unfriendly. Everyone greets everyone else, which surprisingly includes the tourists. Whether walking or travelling by car, a smile and a raised hand are standard. You can also have a brief small talk almost anywhere and with anyone. Whether it's the 88-year-old inhabitant of the island who quickly accompanies us on a walk or simply the women waiting outside the bank when we want to exchange money.

As is so often the case on such trips, time passes far too quickly. Actually, we should be packing our bags now instead of writing this report. But our enthusiasm is better reflected while the memories are fresh. And seriously, these memories are putting a big smile on our faces even now as we sit in Cape Town and revise this report. A place where fox and hare, uhhh sorry, whale shark and mobula say goodnight? Definitely worth repeating for us!

We'd better pack up now. In just two hours we're heading back home.

More Informationen:
Waterworld Tauchreisen
Into the Blue Divecenter Jamestown
St. Helena auf taucher.net