African explorer helps celebrate new map of Seychelles

The CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board, Alain St.Ange, with his Deputy CEO, Elsia Grandcourt, and Tourism Consultant, Glynn Burridge, had much to commemorate on Wednesday, August 17 at the Hilton Nor

The CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board, Alain St.Ange, with his Deputy CEO, Elsia Grandcourt, and Tourism Consultant, Glynn Burridge, had much to commemorate on Wednesday, August 17 at the Hilton Northolme Hotel when they met with legendary African explorer, Kingsley Holgate, his wife, and son shortly after their arrival in Seychelles.

Mr. Holgate is a world-renowned South African explorer, humanitarian, and author. A fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, he has been described by Getaway Magazine as “the most traveled man in Africa” and has modeled himself on David Livingstone. Holgate has also written several books about his expeditions and fronted several National Geographic documentaries.

Holgate, often referred to as the grey beard of Africa, on account of his striking white beard and imposing frame, is traveling with his wife, Gill, and son, Ross, on the final leg of an African tour to complete a forthcoming travelogue, Mama Africa, in which his Seychelles experiences will fill the last chapter entitled “Saving the best till last.”

Coincidentally, his week-long visit to Seychelles takes place at exactly the same time as the publication of the Tourist Boardโ€™s new, 90 x 55 cm, poster-sized map of the archipelago. The new “Seychelles Islands… another world map,” which is the work of local graphics designer, Erwin Burian, who has worked in close collaboration with the Tourism Board on the project, has been designed to provide the maximum information on the Seychelles islands in the form of an attractive, characterful, olde-worlde chart of the islands with a distinctly ancient look and feel.

“We are most pleased with our new map of the Seychelles islands,” stated Alain St.Ange, CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board, “because it fills an important information gap with potential clients who are not always aware of the exact geographical specifics of Seychelles. We have designed the map to be an object of beauty, a collectorโ€™s item worthy of being framed and of occupying pride of place in a household or office. What is especially fascinating, is that Michael Adams, a famous local painter, has discovered in the book, ‘Island Africaโ€™ by Jonathan Kingdon, that Seychelles was once located at the epicenter of the ancient Supercontinent of Gondwanaland โ€“ at that time, effectively the center of the world. It is especially fitting that such a discovery, which is reflected on the new map, should be celebrated in the company of Africaโ€™s most famous modern explorer.”

Kingsley Holgate was offered a copy of the new Seychelles Map by Alain St.Ange.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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