St Helena: A breath of fresh air
- Tom
- May 2
- 6 min read
The tourist office has posters using the slogan, "St Helena - a breath of fresh air". For those seeking an adventure holiday and the outdoors, a new airport and regular flights to South Africa has made the island much more accessible. It is 'early days' for tourism but the seeds have been sown.
I chose to take a (very reasonably priced) course on free diving, where you (literally) need one (very big) 'breath of fresh air' with each dive. I have never been taught to free dive, assuming it was just snorkelling with a few kicks below the surface. How wrong can you be?
I learned how to dive down efficiently without expending much effort, how to equalise my ears much faster than any scuba diving techniques I had learned so you can swim down fast, how you should kick with fins (my technique is terrible but at least I now know what to aim for) and different exercises for holding your breath for longer. There are quite a few wrecks in Jamestown Bay and we dived on two of them.
For those who prefer scuba diving, there are several operators organising courses or trips including Antony, who runs a PADI certified school.
The island is also visited by humpback whales and whale sharks each year. December to March is the best time to take a trip swimming with whale sharks
The trips are a small fraction of the price I paid in Indonesia for a similar excursion. In addition, this trip was much more 'ethical' as the whale sharks were swimming freely and the boat had to find them (not being lured to a known spot with food). The water was warm and crystal clear making it a great experience.
As well as aquatic adventures, St Helena is known for it's 'Post-box hikes'. At the destination a weatherproof post box has been installed which houses a notebook, pen, ink pad and stamp. A guide to the walks is available in the tourist office. After the description of each hike, there is space to add the stamp to 'prove' you completed the hike. You can also add your name in the notebook for posterity.
The only hike which starts in Jamestown is a coastal walk which heads east to Rupert Bay, then on to some gun emplacements with Sugarloaf and Flagstaff as final goals. This side of the island is barren, volcanic and reminded me of Lanzarote.
In my opinion, a better way to do the route would be to take the bus to Longwood, Napoleon's home, then hike to the top of Flagstaff in less than an hour, and then come back along the ridge to Sugarloaf before descending to the coastal path (I did it both ways).
The route from Longwood to Flagstaff takes you past a POW camp used during the Boer War. It is on the top of a really windy plain.(There are wind turbines now installed close to the site). The prisoners were kept in tents so it cannot have been fun for them. However, they were allowed to start small businesses, farm and trade with the islanders. There are some examples of what they produced in the (excellent) museum in Jamestown
In contrast to the east, the west of the island is lush and green. This is where most farming takes place (although the island is very far from being self sufficient). One of the nicest walks is Peak Dale, which starts just before you reach High Peak on the main ridge road. It is the first time in my adult life that I have followed a sign directing me to Fairyland!
The walk is along a good track which goes past fields and which is undoubtedly used to bring agricultural machinery into the fields.
Having reached the shelter with the Peak dale Post-box, there is a path back up to the ridge road to allow a simple 2.5hr circuit. However, the lady in the tourist office recommended to continue along the track all the way to the coast and to take in Blue Point as part of an extended circuit.
It was a good recommendation with colourful, endemic vegetation along the route and excellent views from Blue Point.
Lemon Valley is another good hike. The valley is further west, along the coast from Jamestown but is, similarly, a potential landing site. The Portuguese used it and planted lemon trees to provide an ample supply of Vitamin C to their passing ships, hence the name. Actually, today 'Prickly Pear' Valley would be a more apt name as the cacti have taken over. The East India company worried about unauthorised landings and built a garrison and fortifications close to the beach.
Today, Saints treat it as a weekend destination, ideal for a picnic and swim. A bus goes to the (inland) start of the walk and it is a 1 hr hike down and 90 minute hike back up. You get nature, history, a hike and a swim all in one day.
The island is full of these white birds (Atlantic white noddy's?) They appealed to my romantic side as couples always fly together, synchronising their flight paths with military precision.
Jamestown also has an excellent swimming pool. A number of years ago, several children drowned and it was decided that swimming should become part of the school curriculum. The only problem - there was no swimming pool. It was built on the site of a tennis club and is used by schools throughout the morning. However, it is available to do laps from 08.00 to 09.00 and usually has less than 5 customers. In true idiosyncratic British style, it has been built to that standard size of 33 metres long!
I really enjoyed the social life on St Helena with many yachts who we knew from South Africa passing through at the same time. In addition to making new friends, boats we ran into again included Gary (SV Manxman), Barry (SV White Shadow), Keith and Helen (SV Amica), Colin and Becks (SV Zephr), Ian and Ella ( SV Mr X), Mike Golding and crew (SV Traverse), Sanne and Wim (SV Bounty) and Jon (SV Hecla)
Barry, aka 'The Old Seadog' has a successful Youtube channel, attracting viewers by turning the most mundane situation into life threatening, high drama. His family hail from St Helena and he spent weeks in the government archives and church records tracing his family roots. He even discovered that one of his ancestors was the governor (way back when). I expect he will turn that into an episode or two (although I fail to see the jeopardy in searching archives).
Of course, all that research is thirsty work and he became the 'go to' reference to where the best pubs and beer could be found.
St Helena Yacht Club is situated in a modest building built into the cliff. What the building lacks in stature, the club makes up for in services. It is an important 'hub' for visiting yachtsmen offering wi-fi, a washing machine for laundry (no dryer), toilets and showers and a bar, serving double gin and tonic for £3.50!
The Yacht Club also hosts a 'fish fry' night on Wednesdays. Instead of cod, you get tuna cooked over a barbecue, served with chips and salad. It is always well attended and, to my surprise, also provided malt vinegar.
So where there any downsides to this wonderful island?
Well provisioning was not easy. Like any island, they are reliant on the (once a month) supply ship. How easy it is to provision depends on your timing. I did, eventually, manage to get most of what I needed but fruit and vegetables were a challenge and I did not see a tomato on the island in shops or restaurants the whole time I was there. Surely a business opportunity for somebody?
I really enjoyed St Helena but all good things must come to an end. So, on March 23rd, with my rigging fixed, provisions on board and only six weeks of the Caribbean season left it was time to head off. But this time as a solo sailor.
More of that, next post.
Gorgoeus photos. We loved St Helena!
Great blog, Tom. Hope you are keeping well!