Never a dull moment on Mauritius
Mar 6 2009 by Jo Travis
Jo Travis finds there’s plenty to do on paradise island.
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If you fancy escaping the city’s credit crunch woes and our boomerang winter weather then there is no better place than Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.
Mauritius is straight out of an advert for paradise – a sub-tropical island surrounded by a coral reef, fringed with white, sandy beaches and bathed in sun all year round. But there is a lot more to it than that if you have the inclination to take a closer look.
We stayed at the Grand Mauritian hotel on the north west of the island, which only opened last year.
It is a five star resort built on a marine nature reserve and is probably the most luxurious place I have ever stayed.
One of its main delights is its fine dining. Award-winning chef Stephane Brallet presides over the Seasons restaurant which includes dishes from around the world. He demonstrated how to make a mouth-watering venison dish for us in the hotel’s show kitchen.
The Mandara spa at the Grand Mauritian is Balinese and has a quietly spiritual and luxurious feel. Each room has a courtyard with a soothing water feature and outdoor shower built with volcanic rock.
It is tempting not to leave the hotel but we tore ourselves away from the luxury for the day to visit the Domaine du Chasseur nature reserve. It is billed as eco-tourism and offers trekking, mountain biking and hunting. Deer and wild boar roam wild through its 3,000 hectares of countryside
We spent the morning blasting our way over rutted tracks through the trees on quad bikes before reaching a hidden mountain lake. We cooled off in the icy water underneath a stunning waterfall that looked like something from a film set.
When we returned to the hunting lodge we were treated to a millionaire’s salad made from palm heart and a tangy venison curry – traditional Creole fare. Having seen the green heart of the island it was only right that our next destination was the ocean.
Mauritius is surrounded by coral and you have a number of options to investigate it, from snorkelling and submarines to diving.
If you are not a fully-fledged Jacques Cousteau there are easier ways to explore the life aquatic. Blue Safari offers submarines which can dive to 35 metres, but we opted for the mini-subs that you pilot yourself - it’s like being in a James Bond gadget, most of you is the water but your head and upper body are in a perspex bubble and you can breathe and talk normally. Divers guide you around the coral and to where the fishes are. It was a very strange but unique experience and a fantastic way to explore the seabed.
Mauritius is also a key destination for golfers. Whilst we were there we visited La Belle Mare Plage golf club for a lesson with the club pro. The course is lush and green and has a spectacular backdrop of mountains – it made me wish I had spent more time at the driving range.
The most famous Mauritian is the dodo, eaten into extinction by Dutch sailors in the 15th century.
The island passed from the Dutch to the French and from the French to the British and its wealth was derived from the slaves who worked the sugar cane.
After slavery was abolished hundreds of indentured Indians were brought to Mauritius and they have been followed by Tamil and Chinese workers.
The result is a multi-cultural melting pot population which gets on well because all Mauritians like to party.
At one point 90 per cent of the island was dedicated to growing sugar cane which means none of the original flora and fauna exists. But a short boat ride to Illes des Aigrettes shows what the island looked like before the sailors arrived.
Whilst they cannot resurrect the dodo the conservationists are doing their best to preserve other endangered Mauritian species, like the pink-billed pigeon which flourishes on the island.
The day we were due to leave the islanders were bracing themselves for cyclone Gael, albeit in a very laid-back sort of way. They removed loungers from the beach-front and balconies and began to cross the hotels large plate glass windows with tape, but no-one seemed to view it as a major worry.
A storm began rumbling away in the background as I packed and I could not help but think that there are worse places to be stranded in the rain than paradise.
* Travel Facts
* Air Mauritius flights from £563. Book online at www.airmauritius.com or call 0208 834 5800. Flights are via a short change at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.
* Deluxe rooms at The Grand Mauritian start from £227 per night including breakfast, based on two sharing. Visit www.thegrandmauritian.com
* To find out more about Mauritius visit www.mauritiustourism.co.uk
