Mauritius and Rodrigues 2015 and 2017

Time for a new adventure and this time we are off to Mauritius (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritius) and another small island called Rodrigue s(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodrigues). Mauritius is about 2.000 kilometers east of Africa and Rodrigues is about 560 kilometers further east of Mauritius.

We started our trip by flying to Dubai where we stayed overnight at the airport hotel (this we call slow traveling) to catch a morning flight to Mauritius. We found a great place while doing some research on the internet, we were picked up at the airport and headed off to the Silver Sands apartments (http://silversands-studios.com/Studios.php) in the city of Flic en Flac (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flic-en-Flac). This is on the other side of the island from the airport (for those who wish to drive it is on the left hand side). Upon arrival, after talking to the owners, we found a food basket to welcome us and a large room with a kitchen and a large bath. It was very quick to find our way around as we were close to the supermarket, restaurants and very close to the beach.

The temperature during the day is about 27 to 30 degrees Celsius and in the 20s in the evening. The water temperature is about 25 degrees Celsius and has amazing shades of blue and green crystal clear water. After breakfast it was time to head off to the beach for sun and of course snorkeling. We placed our sarongs on the beach and headed for the water, it was amazing, we saw so many things from the first snorkeling trip to the last.

Snorkeling:

Some of the things you may see : moray eels, mantis shrimp, leaf fish, banded shrimps, lion fish, sea horses, moorish idol, banner fish, angelfish, athenas, raccoon fish, gobies and much more.

After so much snorkeling it was time to try something different, We hopped onto the local bus (use the bus while in Mauritius it's a wild ride and if you do not want to drive it is a good way to get around) headed for the bus stop at the mall for a connection going north to Port Louis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Louis). When we arrived at the bus terminal at Port Louis there were no buses heading further north so we took a short taxi ride to Grand Baie where we stayed overnight as we had something very special planned for the next day.

Next morning we were up early to get a taxi drive to the air field where we are going skydiving (tandem), yes that's right skydiving, I have never tried skydiving before but my partner she has so it's time to go a little crazy.

First off the plane ride was fantastic as we could look out over the island with the beautiful mixture of blues and greens and the amazing different colors of blue in the ocean when you looked out over the barrier reef. It was time to take one step onto the clouds, what a rush, we had a great view around us and then we were in a cloud. It took a little while to get out we could not see what was around us and there was the green land and ocean again, all to soon we were spiraling slowly down to ground and then it was over. A little dizzy and full of adrenaline we made our way back to Grand Baie (http://www.info-mauritius.com/english/blog/guide-grand-baie-mauritius/) for some rest.

For the next day we had booked an all day sailing and snorkeling trip to some of the islands off the coast. The boat was pretty full but the trip out was pleasant and after about a hour of motor sailing we arrived at our first stop between two islands (Île Plate and Îlot Gabriel). (Coin de Mire second snorkel site)

The first stop was between Plate and Gabriel, the thing we noticed was how much coral there was and the second thing we noticed was the how fast the current was moving. A little dingy took us ashore to a small island with pearly white sand and the remains of a old ship wreck that was brown with rust . We walked around the island but there was not much to see so we put on our masks and went for a bit of snorkeling. 

Sad to say there was not much to see (moray eels and some other small fish and there was a a really strong current which made snorkeling difficult). After drying off we took the dingy over to the other island which was very pretty and had a colony of sea birds so we had to be careful not to get too close as you might get attacked. Back on the boat we moved on to the second stop for lunch and more snorkeling. 

Lunch was a bit of a disaster as some of people thought it great to take food with their hands instead of waiting for the crew to provide utensils and even when told not to they still persisted (the crew were not happy and neither were we). The snorkeling was much deeper but there were a few fish and but the corals were amazing, not very big though there were a lot of corals. After about forty five minutes it was time to pack up and sail back to port, it is amazing how tired you get after a day at sea and how relaxed you get.

Back in Flic en Flac we spent our time sun bathing, snorkeling and taking long walks on the beach. After watching the sunset in the evening there was always a good place to eat along the beach road and a lot of variety. As for breakfast and lunch they were at the flat or sometime we had lunch at the beach at one of the food trucks (really good food at some of the stalls). The supermarket and local fruit stalls was just up the road which made meals easy and if we wanted more variety we just took the bus to the local shopping mall.

One sunny day we took the bus to the end station and started walking down the beach to see the Black River and the surf town of Tamarin. This a beautiful walk and very picturesque even though there are a few high end hotels with ok beaches but not very good for swimming (Flic en Flac has a much better beach).

Tamarin is a sleepy little town with not much to see (salt flats), it's the surroundings area makes it worth visiting, the Black River slowly winding down from the jagged mountain peaks in the back ground and the sun baked hills that surrounded the city.

Once back to Flic en Flac we spent more time on the beach and snorkeling and basically just enjoying how relaxed and easygoing the people were.

Time to adventure again, the owners of the Silver Sands had a friend that agreed to take us to the Black River Gorges (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_River_Gorges_National_Park) to see the national park and some of the surrounding area.

The ride up was fantastic, our first stop was at the start of some of the hiking trails, surrounded by tall trees, everywhere the sun peeking through here and the great stillness in the woods. We soon took the winding road further up the mountain where we walked to the view point, looking down the valley all the way to the ocean. In the other direction was a towering Alexandra waterfall that fell to the forest below.

Next stop was Seven Coloured Earth (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Coloured_Earths), this area looked like lava had flowed down the mountain into seven colors spread across the hill which you can walk around and the whole area was surrounded the green tropical forest . On the one side there were several tortoises wandering around in a closed area (there use to be a lot of tortoises but a lot of them were killed for food by passing ships). By the cafe they also had an old sugar cane press where you could pick up something up for your sweet tooth.

Next stop Grand Bassin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganga_Talao), the first thing you will see is an enormous statue of Shiva which is the entrance to a large crater lake. This is an important place of worship to the Hindu people and a beautiful and tranquil place (more information on the Wikipedia page).

Moving on we head down the mountain side to the coast of Le Morne Brabant (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Morne_Brabant) peninsula where we once again meet up with the blue green ocean waters . The area is fairly flat but in the background is Le Morne Brabant which you can climb and see breath taking views of the ocean and surrounding countryside.

Our next adventure starts on Christmas day at six in morning, we are off to swim with dolphins, we thought that it's time for some excitement and to have a close look at the wildlife. We traveled north by boat to a bay that not too far away and to our surprise we spotted dolphins right away, but will they come out and play. There were only a couple of other boats out at the time so it made it easier to follow and we got dropped in close to the dolphins. After a few in and out of the water the dolphins got used to us and soon we were right in the middle of 30 to 40 dolphins and got some really good videos close up (the video can be viewed on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28s1F1yqkHg)

This blog post is actually two trips so I will go into the second trip as well.

Mauritius and Rodrigues 2017:

Back to the Silver Sands and more beach, snorkeling, walks on the beach and romantic sunsets.

We have friends that own a flat in Grand Baie (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand-Baie) and it was time for a visit. Taking the bus to Port Louis were we were supposed to meet at the large vegetable market (the market is well worth visiting). There were people everywhere plus the smells, the sounds, cars, and mopeds . When we got there we were to meet at the main entrance but we soon found out that there were six entries points! It was hard to find anyone with all the people there, in the end they found us or Paul found us and tried to sell me some DVDs (I had never met Paul before). We had a big laugh and decided it was time for lunch. After lunch it was time to check some street art, there is some really cool stuff so we spent many hours walking around to see as much as possible before it was time to set off for Grand Baie. 

Next morning we headed off to the beach where we relaxed all morning and after lunch it was time to head back to Flic en Flac.

We did not spend much more time in Flic en Flac and time to pack up for our trip to Rodrigues (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodrigues). The flight took about an hour and our first view of Rodrigues was stunning, in front of us was a small island surrounded by a coral barrier reef that extended about a kilometer from shore in some areas. Rodrigues has a very small airport so things are easy and transportation is just outside the door. We were staying at the Mourouk Ebony (https://www.mourouk-ebony-hotel.com/) which is about 15 to 20 minute drive first up the mountain and then down to the coast. Rodrigues has a low coast areas surrounded by low mountains, which you have to drive over most of the time as a lot of the coast roads are not always that good.

The Mourouk is a beautiful hotel on the side of a hill overlooking the ocean with an infinity pool and you can walk down the steps and straight out on to the beach, where the beach Cafe is located. The sand is pearly white and if you look out in the distance you can see the outer reef. This beach is also a popular place for kiting and snorkeling.

A funny thing we found is that on the grassy areas along the beach you will find cows and goats and in the area surrounding our rooms there were chickens running around.

The snorkeling was right off beach in front of the Cafe, there is a rock outcrop about ten meters from from shore and a strong current between the shore and the rocks. There's a lot of fish in the inner lagoon around Rodrigues. There were a lot of big fish: Trevally, batfish, snappers, tarpon, emperor angelfish. We also saw octopus and pipefish. If you go by boat there's a place to snorkel where it's quite deep and there were a lot of pretty corals and big schools of fish (trevally, wrasse, barracuda, titan triggerfish).

The hotel was very good, this also included breakfast and dinner which was good but there was always a bit of a rush to get the food.

We heard and had been reading about a walk along the beach that was supposed to be very interesting so that was our next plan. Taking a taxi to the best starting point and we walked towards the beach (this is a hot and long trip so bring lots of water and lunch).

Walking through the trees we reached one of several small coves along way and each one was breathing taking. The most famous is Trou d' Argent (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g480209-d3905880-Reviews-Trou_d_Argent_Beach-Rodrigues_Island.html) one of Indian Ocean's most beautiful beach cove, almost completely enclosed by low cliffs with crystal clear blue and green waters. There were several coves along the way to break up the walk and we did have to trek up and down the hills and sometimes the path was a bit unclear. From the path there are spectacular vistas that overlook the ocean and the sea that pound onto the cliffs. 

There is not much shade on the first part of the walk but after a while we reached long white sandy beaches with trees on the rocky outcrops. After lunch we set off along the beaches that go on and on, at times we had to head off the beach and sometimes we wade through the water (at some points there was a lot of garbage around and the rubbish bins were full). After about four hours we made it back to the hotel and well deserved a rest. We did try to snorkel but that did not work out too well.

After a day of rest we took a tour to Ile Aux Cocos (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Ele_aux_Cocos), this is one of 17 islands around Rodrigues and is the nesting site for the lesser noddy, brown noddy, fairy tern and the sooty tern. The island is 1.5 kilometers long and 150 meters wide and you really need sunglasses as the sand is so white and the sea so blue it hurts your eyes.

A guide will take you around a part of the island where you will see birds and they will tell you about them, there are birds in the trees, in a log, beside a tree and so on, everywhere there are birds and small chicks. 

It was time for lunch and for some a swim as it was hot, luckily for us the ranger station had a fair bit of shade where we could sit and watch out over the ocean. The way back to shore was same as the way, out long and slow due to the shallow waters.

There was always a lot of snorkeling between excursions and it was just as exciting each time and always something new each time.

Our last excursion was to see some turtles and tortoises at Francois Leguat Reserve (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Leguat_Giant_Tortoise_and_Cave_Reserve). This is a special place as they breed turtles, tortoises and replant native trees that were taken by the seamen of old for food or timber. There were lots of tortoises but a lot of turtles, even three or more from Madagascar where the turtles were slowly becoming extinct. At one we heard a strange knocking sound which we soon found out were turtles mating, what a laugh, there was a lot of knocking.

Our time is up on Rodrigues and it's time to get back to Mauritius and this we will be staying in a area called Blue Bay, Mauritius.

We stayed at a guest house called Chavenant which was right on the water with some good snorkeling in this area (just be careful of the boat traffic). The food at the guesthouse was very good but there were not that many other good places around to eat.

Next day was a snorkeling day, we packed our gear and walked to the boat harbor and got a boat across to a beautiful small island with a bar, sun beds, and small huts. We stayed on a small beach area by the boat dock as the area with a bar was private and you had to pay a fair bit of cash to use the area and there a lot people using this area. 

We were happy on the beach and we soon off for a snorkel, it was pretty shallow in the beginning but it did not take long until we were seeing a lot of large corals and a fair amount of fish (giant barracuda, snapper, juvenile emperor angelfish pipefish, and a blue spotted toby. We had to be a bit careful here as was a lot boats and lots of snorkelers, still it was great fun. After a long snorkel we took a walk around the island which was really not that exciting but it was a nice walk. Getting a boat back can be tricky as even if you arranged for a pickup at certain time they do not always show up so you are lucky one of the the other boats will take you back.

Next day we decided to visit a place called Ile aux Cerfs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Ele_aux_Cerfs). We took a speed boat to our first stop which was a small island (nature reserve) that was pretty and you could go swimming there but not go on the island. Next stop was a old abandoned light house that had a great view over the surrounding area and was a good place to take pictures. Moving on we soon arrived at a spot where there were lot's of boats waiting their turn (some boats were very impatient and tried to sneak ahead) and in the end we wound our way through the sharp rocks to see a waterfall cascading down into the ocean. To our surprise we also saw monkeys hanging around on the rocks.

After weaving our way through the rocks and boats we traveled up the coast to a beautiful little beach area where they promptly set up lunch (chicken, fish and lobster) and the BBQ. The weather turned by that time so we enjoyed our food under a tarp. The rain soon stopped and it time to explore, the ocean was beautiful with small inlets of light blue waters. Inland was very different just twenty meters away was a golf course for the rich so we were lucky not to have a golf ball land in our meal. We were soon in the boat again for a ride through a long cove where we found about twenty boats and a lot people. I have seen some pretty pictures of this place but at the time we were there I do not think it looked very nice. It was low tide and there were too many people there in the markets, adventure areas and a big restaurant. More rain and it was soon time to leave as we raced back to Blue Bay at full speed.

One more day of snorkeling and it was time pack up because lt's time to to head for the cold and dark north.