Mauritius
We flew economy with Air Mauritius on the 12 hour overnight flight and it was fine. Of course landing in bright sunshine instantly restored our spirits!
Mauritius was named after the renowned trader Prince Maurice of Orange and Nassau by Dutch explorers in 1598, following which Dutch settlers arrived in 1638. Unfortunately their ships also brought rats, which together with the seaman hunting them for food, were responsible over time for the demise of the famous Dodo!
We drove right round the island’s coastline during the week, and what I hadn’t realised before was that Mauritius is almost completely surrounded by a coral reef which you can see a couple of hundred meters off shore. 70% of the island is given over to sugar cane plantations and these along with the backbone of hills dominate the landscape. Small villages are dotted everywhere and we saw many of the local people working their allotments or free holdings.
There are three main towns on the island. We visited modern Port Louis in the North West for a couple of hours: it has a busy harbour front, bustling centre with several markets and some great but expensive shopping! We drove through Grande Baie which is a little further along the NW coast: it has a great beach front backed by traditional bars, restaurants, some lively night life and shops. And then you had the inland town of Curepipe, pronounced Q-pipe, where there is duty free shopping nearby!
There is only one main road and that crosses the island from the airport in the South East to Grande Baie which takes just over an hour. We visited some 12 hotels in the week, so spent a lot of time travelling the smaller single lane roads of the island. Traffic generally flows well but if you get stuck behind a truck, then progress can be very slow indeed.
We stayed in the following hotels; Dinarobin, The Oberoi, The Residence and The Four Seasons.
Aside from these hotels, we also inspected a further 9 other hotels, either for just a site inspection, or better still a site inspection and a meal. I do have a précis of what I saw and thought which is available via email from me on request.
All in all, I found the accommodation to be of a really high standard. Each hotel has its own signature style, but they were all fantastic with great pools and great beach front locations. The sea of course is tidal and at low tide, the coral is exposed. This would affect the water sports availability, unless like the St Geran or Le Tousserok, you have access to deeper water in a lagoon area.
The golf courses we saw are stunning: tee off at Le Paradis just 20m from reception! At le Tousserok, we toured the course via buggy and there really are just the most amazing views from the course out to sea. It is absolutely beautiful.
We were really spoilt by our hosts as we were treated to 5* gourmet cuisine lunches and dinners all week so nothing to complain about for sure. The champagne flowed and the wine was poured!!
There are some beautiful botanical gardens on the island: there is also the Chamarel Cascade (100ft waterfall) and the Coloured Earth which is quite spectacular in the south west of the island.
But there are of course the more traditional family excursions such as the boat trips and submarine adventures. And you also have activities for the more adventurous such as the river kayaking, hiking or trekking and for the adrenaline junkies, there are the zip lines. There are several of these across the island.
All in all, I loved the natural wilderness beauty of the island, and I loved the hotels we had the fortune of visiting. This island has indeed got something for everyone and I would love to go back and explore further.