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The following report is based off of one persons experience. All information is current as of March 2008, but things change, and therefore common sense is imperative to global travel. In other words if I say this waterfall is good, and you go and see there is no water, don't go hucking yourself on to rocks, and blame me. Thank you. Prologue It is always fun to travel half way around the world, turn on the TV, and there is not a football game, basketball game, or baseball game, anywhere to be found. Instead, cricket, rugby, and soccer fill the stations. Mauritius is located about 560 miles east of Madagascar in the Indian ocean, and is its own country. Mauritius gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1968, is about 787 square miles. The official language is English. Most people speak French or Creole as their first language, but most either speak or understand English. Why? When I told people that I was going to go to Mauritius, they either responded with "where?" or "How did you pick Mauritius?" I picked Mauritius, by deduction. I had a month off from work, and my wife wanted warm. (southern hemisphere) I said far away (no south america) she said no Africa, (I have no idea why) and flights to Australia and New Zealand were full, so I chose Reunion island. (mostly because of kayaking video's) There were two options for air travel. The first is through Paris, and direct to Reunion, and the second is through Johannesburg South Africa, and then Mauritius. I had little knowledge about the place, and was up for some adventure about half way around the world. My team consisted of myself and my wife. (who does not kayak) My primary goal was to kayak, although I knew that I would have to find someone who did it, and a boat to do it with. (I decided that it would be too much of a hassle to bring my own) Before I left I found out as much information as I could about Mauritius, but that was not saying much. My big questions were " Can I rent a creekboat?" and "How much does everything cost?". Neither of the questions I was able to answer before I left. Because I decided not to take a kayak with me, I realized that it could mean that I may not be able to kayak at all. I took a deep breath, packed a paddle and the rest of my kayak gear, and headed out. The Beginning I started out in Boise Idaho USA, and traveled Delta Airlines to Salt lake city (1 hr) then to Atlanta (4 hours) and then to Johannesburg with a fuel stop in Dakar (18 hours) I had to spend the night in Jo burg due to flight times not matching up, and started again the next day to Mauritius. (4 hours) Total flight time in the air (not including connection times) was 27 hours. I was unable to find out the rental car agencies that would in the airport in Mauritius, so when I arrived I decided to just walk counter to counter and ask about rental car rates. I was surprised to see that even though the local currency is in Rupee's, most of the car rental prices were given in Euro's. I ended up spending almost four hours haggling over car rental prices, and finally received a good rate at nearly $50.00 USD per day. After receiving our car, we were ready to get out of the airport. Driving is on the left, steering wheel on the right, shifter on the left, and blinker on the right. There are almost no automatic cars on the island. The first night we stayed in a place almost on the beach in Suillac. The ocean breeze cooled our room to a more comfortable temperature, (as there was no A/C) and we could hear the ocean waves through our windows at night. We quickly learned that mosquito's are a problem. There are no screens on the windows anywhere on the island, so we found ourselves wearing mosquito repellent night and day. That night before falling asleep my wife said "what is that?" She pointed to a large dark spot on the wall. A huge cockroach had come into the room. I grabbed my shoe and smacked it with a nice crunchy splat. We fell asleep under a sheet that night just in case. When we woke up the next morning, I decided that I wanted to get a picture of the intruding roach. I went to where I killed it the night before, and there was nothing there. Confused, I asked my wife "Did you clean that thing up last night?" "nope" she replied, then concerned she asked "Why?" I looked at her concerned face, and replied "because its gone." (we found out later that ants come in and clean up for you) We decided not to stay in that place again, but definitely enjoyed the beach that morning. Suillac is one of the only places on Mauritius that the ocean waves come all the way to shore. The sunrise and rainbow was incredible, and definitely made this place worth seeing. I found that many thing were larger in Mauritius. On the beach that morning I found giant snails.
The next day was Sunday, and we decided to go to church. In the past, when I go alone on vacation, I have skipped out on the church thing. My wife on the other hand, really wanted to go. Once we arrived at church, we quickly began receiving all of the where to go's and what to see things that you could ever want. Many people wanted to show us around the island, and all of this, coming from people that just barely met us. I felt like we were the star's of the show, and everyone was desperately wanting to just say hi. The Mauritian people are known for being some of the nicest people anywhere, and this is where it showed. We were especially struck when we were invited to a wedding that week. It was hard not to look inward. (especially when we did not even invite some of our own family to our wedding.) After continuous invitations to the wedding, and a bunch of "are you coming?" we decided to go. After church, we decided to see the south part of the island, but first we needed to find a new hotel. Before I had left, I had researched, and found that many hotels went for around $300.00 per night, (way over my budget) so I wrote down a bunch of hostels. Driving, finding sign's, and just getting a decent road map is nearly impossible. Almost every time that I was looking for a place to stay, we were actually shown by someone else how to get there. That night we found a nice hostel with A/C called Le Bamboo. I actually found this one on my own. The rain had been going pretty steady throughout the day, and I was finally able to take some pictures. Le Bamboo overlooks a river, and is quiet. The owners live down the stairs and are as nice as can be. Click the picture below to see the video that I took partly from Le Bamboo.
Or click here for the lower quality version. (1.35mb) The next morning the sun was out, and it was time to go to the beach. We were told about Blue Bay, and how nice it was. Blue bay is a marine preserve that is frequented by glass bottom boats, that you can hire on site. There is a swimming area also, but we decided not to. We were also told that it was a touristy type of area, and there were a bunch of "salesmen" on the beach. We decided to check it out anyway. The scenery was amazing, and it was even fun to hear the same sales lines that we had been told that they would use. "It costs nothing to look!"
That night was the wedding, and as promised we decided to go. On Mauritius all weddings are performed in a court by a magistrate. It does not matter what religion you are, they are only valid if done this way. The first thing that happens is the bride and groom go down to the court house, and are pronounced man and wife. After this is done, they go their separate ways and get dressed, for the ceremonies that night. Everyone met at the church that evening, and the traditional ceremony began, including ring exchange. Then afterwards we all drove to an event center that the reception would be held at. Earlier in the week, we had learned that most lower end Mauritian people live on less than 50 USD a month, and many families live in one room apartment style houses. As we went to the wedding, we expected a less formal/elegant deal. When I was married, my wife and I tried our best not to spend a ton on the reception and wedding. We assumed the same for this couple. As we pulled into the reception hall, we could hear music, and the place was decorated. As I entered, I was blown away at what I saw. As I walked under a hallway of balloons and flowers, I was handed a glass of fruit juice, and looked up to see a gigantic room decorated with a 20' wide movie screen, a 10' in diameter disco ball, a full photo/video crew, something like 7 wedding cakes, and an enormous catering crew. As I sat down at a table, the catering staff set a plate of orderves in front of us, and the drinks and food did not stop from there. I was introduced to everyone at our table, and began to ask questions. My first question was in regards to whether or not this type of extravagant wedding was typical. The answer was that when most Mauritian's are born, the parents begin saving for this day. The parents stash away money, and live on rice and french bread, so that they can blow it all in one day. I began to feel guilty, after all I had just met these people, and I am sure that my seat did not come cheap. After talking to the people at our table for about an hour, the real production began. Traditional dancers came out and began their routine. Minutes later, a couple of cakes were set ablaze by sparklers. More food was brought out, and as the guests eat, the bride and groom come and meet the guests. There is no line. A couple at our table invited us to stay at their house for the week, we did not have a hotel reserved for the night, and we gratefully accepted. It was really nice to be able to stay with people who could answer almost all of our questions. The couple we stayed with were from South Africa, and were here on business. The place we stayed was in a town called Flic en Flac, and was right across the street from the ocean. The rooms were the nicest we had stayed in so far, and we were grateful for the invitation.
We were told that we should not leave Mauritius without seeing a few things. One of those thing was their national park. At Black River gorges national park you can hike to your hearts content, swim in the warm river, and see waterfalls. The river is paddleable in stretches if there is good water, but while we were there, water was not much more than a trickle. If you go, bring mosquito repellent, good hiking boots, and sunscreen. The visitors center has some animals, and also a picnic area. This is a good place to get away from it all.
A category one cyclone named Ivan is scheduled to hit Rodriguez just barely north of Mauritius. The cyclone very well may get both of us and locals are beginning to talk. The Cyclone has been reported to have 50 mph winds. A cyclone is a large scale atmospheric vortex, characterized by low central pressure and counter clockwise rotation in the northern hemisphere or clockwise in the southern. We are scheduled to leave near the date of the Cyclone, but they are not sure when it will be here. I have been swimming in the ocean on a daily basis, and the coral is great. Tons of fish, and I see something new every time. Yesterday I saw Lily pad looking coral. These Lily pads were 3 feet in diameter each and covered a 50 x 50' area. I also went to the market today. I was glad to have a guide, as it was extremely crowded. We decided to take the bus, as parking is a nightmare. The bus is extremely easy and quick (because I don't get lost) and I don't have to find parking. The market was so busy that it was like new york city on a crowded day. The fruit market was my favorite thing that we saw. My wife has been able to try tons of different fruits that we have never heard of. Lechies, are a round fruit with a semi hard shell, they have a large pit, and are red in color. Nartjie; these look and peel like an orange with a different citrus taste. Laghon, look like a Lechie, only brown, and are called the mock Lechie. Laghon's taste a bit different apparently. Fresh papaya grows ten steps from the door of where we are staying, and my wife gets a half of one every morning. Mauritian banana's are smaller than ours, and are sweeter. I am allergic to banana's and papaya, so I did not get to try either. At the market we saw a ton of fruits and vegetables that we had never seen. There is a ton of sugar cane here on the island. All of the sugarcane is planted, and then harvested at the same time. (nobody knows why) There are 5 different types of sugar here, and the local supermarkets sell the brown kind for cheap. Although I did not price the sugar, I was told that it was about 20 cents for a 10 pound bag.
We went to Rochester falls. The falls were kayakable, and close to 30 feet tall. I was excited, and bummed because I did not bring a boat. The locals were jumping, and diving from the top, and one guy wanted to give us a guided tour. Of course the guy did not tell us that we would need to pay, but I have seen that scam before, and I quickly said that I would not be paying for the tour. But before I shewed him away, he showed us a really cool plant that looked like a fern. When you touched its leaves, it went from fern to spike in a matter of 1 to 2 seconds. I got down to the bottom of the falls and realized that all of the locals were in on the one scam. The first guy would tell the others to dive off the falls, and everyone would get a cut. My mind started reeling. What if I did not pay? What happens then? All of a sudden I felt like the car was not safe, (as I could not see it) and it was time to go. Later I saw a picture of this falls in the guide book. The falls had only a trickle. I guess you have to catch it a perfect time in order to paddle it.
One of my favorite things that I did while I was there is to go see La Vanille. This incredible park is called a crocodile park, as they raise them for food in the tourist attraction, the restaurant, and for their skins. At first I thought that this would be just a big tourist attraction, kind of like a zoo. I was pleased that it was nothing like I had imagined. After the entrance, you are offered to take the tour. This free tour is great, especially since it was just my wife and I. Our guide was extremely informative and nice. In the park they had giant tortoises that you could actually ride. My wife loved how fun they were. If you massaged the turtles shoulders, they would stand up. One really enjoyed me massaging his shoulders more than I would have liked him to. My wife asked the guide "what is that" pointing near the tortoises tail, the guide said "I have never seen that before." We all got a good laugh from that. In the hottest part of the day, the giant tortoises like to get it on. The males mount the females, and the females run away, or drop their shells so that the guys have no chance. It is neat to see chameleons running wild, and I also liked to see the hand sized spiders. I think that my favorite part of la Vanille was the insect museum. Here they had the most extensive collection of bugs that I had ever seen. Some of these bugs were bigger than a foot tall. Almost all of the bugs collected were from either Madagascar, Mauritius, or surrounding islands. If they had just one line of bugs, it would have been 4 feet tall, and a city block long.
The other thing that I enjoyed was the Seven Colored Earth's. This park was incredibly beautiful. Upon entering the park you drive about a half mile, and come to a short hike to an incredible 200' waterfall. After the waterfall is the main attraction. The seven colored earths is a natural phenomenon due to decomposed basalt gullies. The hot and humid climate helps in the decomposition of the basalt into clay. As a result of the chemical breakdown of minerals by water, the soluble elements such as silicic acid and cations are washed, leaving a large composition of iron and aluminum which constitute a ferralitic soil. The iron's have a red color, and the aluminum's have the blue and purplish color. Although a small park, it is absolutely beautiful.
After being amazed by the seven colored earths, we saw a sign talking about the 21 colored earths. Although the colored ground here was not as spectacular as the 7 colored earth's, the waterfalls were, (in my mind) a lot more interesting. Many of the falls were runnable, (at correct water flows) and could easily be the spot of a first decent. One thing that you would need to be careful of is the trees. There were some places that the river went entirely through the trees. The scout is super easy, and you can look for yourself.
Mauritius was incredible and a ton of fun to visit. Here are a few more pictures that you may find interesting.
Planning your trip... Transportation: The airport does not have any city busses that run in and out of it. Your only option is to rent a car or take a taxi. Taxi hire is not too expensive, and would be the way to go if you are just going to go one place per day, and do not expect to do a ton of driving. You should pay about 1000 MRU or less, to go anywhere on the island. When we went that was about $35 USD. The city bus service is great on Mauritius. The busses seemed to be easy and cheap. Many times they were easier than driving, as parking is limited in most cities. What to bring: (things you might not think of) Things that I wish that I would have brought. An umbrella. Its too hot for a rain jacket, and it also protects you from the sun. Aloe Vera and sunscreen. These things are extremely expensive, or hard to find, and you will need them. A nice towel for the beach. A good hat that covers your neck, and shades your face. Lip balm sunscreen. Mosquito repellent with DEET. Some people have serious reactions to the bugs. Also bring something to help you when you get the bug bite. Click here to see a really bad reaction to the mosquito's. Quick dry clothing. Laundry can be really expensive, so next time, I will spend the money and get quick dry clothing, and just do the laundry in the sink. If it is quick dry, it will dry overnight. What to leave home: Don't bother bringing your lotion. The humidity will take care of your dry skin, and besides the bugs love the smell of your victoria's secret lotion. What to bring if you are a kayaker: If you are renting a car, it will be the size of a mini cooper, so your bags will fill up the back, and there are no racks on the roof. Plan straps, and something to keep your boat from rubbing the paint off of the top of the car. I will bring a breakdown paddle next time, as I was charged oversize in Johannesburg for it, and it was too big for inside the car. Make sure that you check your bags to your final destination. The weather is warm enough that many kayakers on reunion only wear rash guards for sun protection. I was glad that I brought river pants because the mosquito's bit everyone but me. Click here to find out my secrets to checking a Kayak. Click here for facts about Mauritius I hope that you enjoyed this write up on Mauritius. Check back for Reunion Island for some more fun, and some kayaking. |
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