For centuries St Helena has been one of the most remote settlements on Earth, only reachable by ship. For modern-day tourists that meant stepping aboard the RMS St Helena in Cape Town for a five-day voyage to the island. You’d spend a week on the island, before taking another five days to sailing back. Who has that sort of time?
Luckily, in late 2017 all of that changed when South African airline Airlink touched down at the island’s new airport to herald the first commercial flights in the history of St Helena.
Here are our top highlights of the island to experience when travelling direct with Airlink.
St Helena is a walking island, quite literally as there are limited roadways for the around 3,000 cars on the island.
A hikers highlight is a trek up to Diana’s Peak, the highest point on the island, which delivers panoramic vistas down to Sandy Bay, the capital of Jamestown to the north and the glinting Atlantic Ocean on all sides.
A detour to Sandy Bay will take you down rocky path that lead to the famous tidal pools known as Lot’s Wife’s Ponds.
For less avid hikers, a gentle amble through the George Benjamin Arboretum, where Fairy Terns dive and wheel through the boughs of towering Cape Yew trees, is also not to be missed.
Discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, St Helena soon became a crucial stop for the ships of the British East India Company on trading voyages to the Far East.
It also proved useful as a prison island. In the late 1800s, Zulu King Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo spent nearly a decade here in exile, while between 1900 and 1902 the island was home to more than 5 000 Boer prisoners of war.
It’s a fascinating history best discovered at the charming St. Helena Museum in the heart of Jamestown, the island’s small capital. In a series of exhibits, the small museum unpacks the island’s colourful history, with everything from Spanish cannons to Boer woodcarvings and ancient manuscripts on display.
Easily the most famous – or infamous – prisoner to call the island ‘home’ was Napoleon Bonaparte. The French commander was exiled here in 1815 after losing to the British at the Battle of Waterloo, and spent the last six years of his life at Longwood House in the heart of the island.
“Like a dank cellar,” Napoleon grumbled in his diaries when he saw the renovated farmhouse where he was to spend his days. Today, much of the house has been restored to how it would have been in Napoleon’s time, and in his private apartments – even the furniture in his private apartments the furniture is mostly original, from the large billiards table to the deep copper bath and iron bedstead.
The British were paranoid that Napoleon would escape, and so visiting ships were banned from leaving the harbour until the garrison had confirmed that Napoleon was accounted for. They needn’t have worried: Napoleon took his last breath his last in Longwood House on 5 May 1821, the self-proclaimed emperor succumbing to stomach cancer. From Longwood House, his coffin was carried to the Sane Valley, where it lay for nearly 20 years, before being exhumed and interred at Les Invalides in Paris.
Today Longwood House is a tranquil corner of the island, and a wander down the grassy path is well worthwhile.
A slightly quirkier piece of island history has also become one of the island’s most popular attractions. At the bottom of Jamestown, a few steps from the seafront promenade and small harbour, you’ll find Jacob’s Ladder, where you’ll need to lace up your walking shoes.
The 699 steps of the Ladder were built in 1829 to link Jamestown to the settlement of Half Tree Hollow on the hilltops above. But this is no ordinary staircase. Each step is at least 30cm high, and with the Ladder inclined at up to 45 degrees it’s no small feat to reach the top. In fact, the Jacob’s Ladder Challenge has become a highlight of the annual Festival of Running, with the record currently standing at a shade over five minutes.
The trek up Jacob’s Ladder is especially worth the effort for Twitchers who will likely be rewarded with sightings of Red-billed Tropic birds wheeling in the updrafts, their long white tails streaming out behind them.
From these remarkable seabirds to the endemic wirebirds that nest on the windswept Deadwood Plain, there’s certainly plenty to keep twitchers happy on the island.
The rich seas surrounding St Helena offer superb marine adventures, from deep-sea fishing to scuba diving. Daily boat-trips skirt the sheltered northern edge of the island in search of the resident pod of pan-tropical spotted dolphins, while from June to December, humpbacked whales are often spotted in these waters.
St. Helena is one of the best places on the planet to swim with whale sharks, and between December and March dozens of these gentle giants congregate in the warm, clear waters that fringe the island.
Tick St Helena off your bucket list by booking an Airlink flight via your nearest Sure Travel agent.