To confront Aldabra is to endure the island’s harsh conditions, but every effort is rewarded. A meeting with a tortoise, a sunset, a breathtaking landscape, the island gives back to those who care for it. But it never gives itself easily. It must be earned.
Wake-up call at five in the morning, surrounded by coconut crabs and ancient tortoises. The day ahead would be long. On Monday, October 13, Thibault, an engineer aboard Plastic Odyssey, and Simon Bernard, the expedition leader, set out to explore the southern coast of Grande Terre, one of Aldabra’s islands most exposed to the wind. Their mission: to map the most polluted sites in preparation for a massive cleanup operation planned for 2027.
The team began with a drone flight westward toward Takamaka, a point about two kilometers inland from camp. The first hour of walking went smoothly, but caution was still essential. “You have to stay alert at all times,” said Thibault. “One careless move can have serious consequences. The Takamaka camp is very basic, not maintained at all. The walls are made of sheet metal, and there are only two beds.”
To confront Aldabra is to endure the island’s harsh conditions, but every effort is rewarded. A meeting with a tortoise, a sunset, a breathtaking landscape, the island gives back to those who care for it. But it never gives itself easily. It must be earned. After lunch, the team set off again, this time heading toward Dune Jean-Louis (DJL), 18 kilometers away. “We each carried about 20 kilos on our backs,” said Simon. “It was exhausting because the terrain was so difficult. We walked over huge dunes, stepped across cracks in the karst rock. We probably should have roped up, because a single fall could have been fatal. Some sections had us balancing on the edge of cliffs above the sea. It wasn’t very high, maybe two meters, but if we had fallen, we’d never have been able to climb back up.”
Along the way, the team came across fishing buoys, a few plastic bottles, jerrycans, thousands of flip-flops, and tangled ropes. They also found large blocks of polystyrene eroded by the elements, resembling chunks of snow. Overall, the amount of waste was lower than expected. “There’s obviously plastic around, but much less than we anticipated,” said Thibault. “That’s encouraging when it comes to planning the big cleanup. But the problem will be extraction. In some sections, it’s nearly impossible to reach the shore by sea.”
The equation is complex. How do you remove 513 tons of plastic waste, scattered over sixty kilometers of harsh terrain? Simon Bernard has begun imagining possible solutions. Collectors could be equipped with wooden pack frames to carry the heaviest and bulkiest objects, such as jerrycans and ropes, to more accessible extraction points. Plastic buoys could be strung together and tied behind each cleaner, forming a kind of floating tail, a “wedding veil” trailing behind them. To move waste across the sharp karst, Simon suggested building bamboo slides, which are easy to find on the beaches. Linked together, these ramps could allow debris, pulled by a Zodiac, to glide across the rocky barrier and be retrieved at sea.
“As we walked along the coast, we logged GPS coordinates that will serve as reference points for extraction,” explained Thibault. “Some beaches could allow a platform to dock. Others, more sheltered from the wind, could be used as base camps. Each GPS point was filmed with a GoPro for logistical accuracy. Being on the ground helps us plan and visualize possible emergency scenarios too, like evacuation routes for injured people. Spending a few days on the atoll gives us an incredible amount of information that will be vital when it’s time to prepare for Aldabra’s big cleanup.”
By late afternoon, fatigue began to take its toll after twenty kilometers of walking with full packs. Suddenly, a drone appeared in the sky. It was Alexis, the professional diver working with UNESCO. The DJL camp was close now. A few more kilometers. The silhouettes of Maluha and François came into view. DJL was there, just ahead. What a relief.
Evening settled peacefully. Thibault, who had cut his leg on the karst rock, cleaned and disinfected the wound. Yes, Aldabra must be earned.
Author: Pierre Lepidi, Senior Reporter at Le Monde
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