Paradise ISLAND

During an extraordinary visit to the Bahamas, Zoe West met some VIPs with a difference

It was my first child-free holiday in 10 years, and the last thing I expected was to find myself paddling with pigs in the Bahamas. Yet here I was, frolicking around in the turquoise waters with Ginger and Wilbur.

Swimming with pigs is an experience that regularly features on travel bucket lists, and I soon find out why. There really is nothing more joyous than seeing them bobbing in the undulating waves with snouts in the air. They look like they were born to do this.

But, of course they weren’t. No one really knows exactly how the pigs came to be on these lush tropical islands – they’re certainly not native. But the story the locals tell is they were shipwrecked nearby and then swam to shore. Not the worst place to be stranded…

Pigs in Paradise

The more famous, wild swimming pigs of the Bahamas can be found on the Exuma Islands, a two-hour boat ride from where I was staying in the capital, Nassau. I opted for a ‘closer-to-home’ experience on Rose Island – a mere 25-minute boat ride away.

This uninhabited tropical oasis is the perfect playground – not only for the pigs, but for visitors too. There’s snorkelling, beach volleyball and kayaking, as well as a relaxed beach bar where sipping a pina colada or two is a must. The island is also a sanctuary to protected wildlife such as peacocks, curly tail lizards, ocean reef life and, of course, those pigs.