March 2022/Day 1: We arrived to Mauritius via the Seychelles Islands via Seychelles Air with only two days to visit the country before continuing on to Burundi in mainland Africa. To maximize our time and see as much as possible while in Mauritius, we rented a car at the airport. From the airport we drove to our hotel in the south of the island. I chose a hotel that was located near the trailhead of Le Morne mountain so that we would be able to easily do the 4 hour round trip hike. This plan sadly never materialized because no one in the group was very interested in climbing any mountains.
About Mauritius
Maurius is an island archipelago off of the east coast of Madagascar with its largest island being Mauritius, which is where my wife, friend and I. Mauritius like the Seychelles was un-inhabited prior to the arrival of the Europeans. It was colonized by both French and British. The majority of Mauritian citizens are of Indian descent as a legacy of the indentured servants that were brought over from India by the British to help on plantations. Mauritius is well developed with a huge tourism industry. It is considered the safest country in Africa, although most citizens would not want it to be compared to Africa.
Location of Mauritius off of Madagascar
Hindu Temple
Half of the citizens of Mauritius are Hindu while the other half are Christian. Churches and Hindu temples can be found side by side throughout the country. We stopped at this Hindu temple which was un-occupied at our time of visit and we walked freely about it taking photos.
Outrigger Resort
I don’t normally stay in resorts, but the Outrigger was in a good location close to the hike I had planned and was cheap considering we had our own beach bungalows facing the ocean. Mauritius also required that foreigners only stay in Covid certified hotels. As a result, certified hotels are required to rapid test all guests upon arrival. As soon as we arrived at our hotel, we were all rapid tested and thankfully we all passed. Instead of exploring or climbing the mountain like I had planned we did something that I normally abhor, we stayed at the resort and relaxed.
View of Resort
Our Pretend Romantic Dinner that I wish I set up for Paula
Incredible Sunset
Sunset
A small herd of wild Tenrec-hedgehog like creatures that were roaming around at night at our resort attracting the attention of guests.
Le Morne Mountain
Day 2: Early the next morning we set off in our rental car to explore. I figured if I wasn’t going to climb le Morne peak, then at least we would drive up to it and get some good views. We drove down a bumpy dirt track into the forest and mangroves surrounding Le Morne mountain, which is also considered a world heritage area.
Le Morne Mountain
Paula posing in front of le Morne
Paula in front of a Giant fig tree
Le Morne
Colorful little songbird in the World Heritage Forest
Chamarel Waterfalls
Changing the flat tire
After visiting Le Morne, we returned to our hotel for the free breakfast and picked up Jimmie on our way to visit the tallest waterfalls in Mauritius-Chamarel Falls. We weren’t impressed with the park. it was too commercialized; we weren’t allowed to swim in the falls and were stalked by park rangers that were enforcing mask protocols outside. With more time to spare before our evening flight to South Africa, we hoped to visit Rochester Falls, where we knew we could swim but, on the way, we had a flat tire and the remote dirt track to Rochester falls was too risky to do with no spare tires. So sadly, we set off to the airport without swimming in a waterfall.
300 Foot Chamarel Waterfalls-tallest falls in Mauritius
Chamarel’s Seven Colored Earth-a small area of colored volcanic sand in the jungle
Departure Plane Stripped Off Airworthy Certificate
We almost ended up stranded in Mauritius because our departure flight on British Air operated ComAir had a spate of safety mishaps during the months leading up to our flight, which include engine failure, landing gear issues…As a result, the South African aviation authorities suspended indefinitely the air worthiness for Comair, which is based in South Africa. Our flight remained suspended up until only a few days prior to our departure and we were unable to receive a refund or even know for sure if our flight would depart until just before our trip. It was stressful not knowing if we would have a major disruption of our itinerary and we were relieved when it was announced our flight would resume. Of course, there was still a little apprehension that remained regarding the safety issues associated with Comair. Luckily our flight went smoothly and on time.