So now we're down to our last few days spent in Mauritius. I don't want to leave! It will be freezing cold in England when we get back! Also, since the clocks went back in England, Mauritius time is now 4 hours ahead of English time, so my jet lag will be even worse! :(
So here's a breakdown of the last couple of days...
Friday 29/10/10
On the Friday night we both really wanted to go to a Divali festival that was going on, but didn't know where we could buy the tickets, didn't know where the party was happening, and we thought some of Tahnia's family was supposed to be going as well. So in the end we didn't end up going, which sucked quite a bit, but not much we could do about it! We found out the next day where we could buy the tickets from. How annoying.
Saturday 30/10/10
Today we met up with Tahnia's cousin Varuni, who is about the same age as us. We all went to Quatre Borne together for a shopping trip and lunch! Much fun was had by all and I bought a new dresss! Yay! We had to get 2 buses there and back, and we were sooo tired by the end but it was a really fun trip, even though it rained a little bit. And we all got souvenirs from the shopping trip! Later in the evening we went to a restaurant with Tahnia's grandparents, which was nice, but not as nice as some of the other restaurants we've been to!
Sunday 31/10/10 - Halloween!
Got up early again and got a taxi to the Black River Gorges National Park - FINALLY!!! We did the Macchabee Trail from the Visitor Centre to the Petrin Information centre - most people do it the other way around, so it's all down hill, but for some reason we chose to go uphill the entire trail... I don't know why. It took us AGES to go a really short way, coz the first bit was all uphill and in the sunshine. Then we got lost. So we had to stop and ask someone for help. But it turned out that the guy we asked was a Mauritian policeman who is chief of a department and goes walking twice a week in the National Park, so he offered to be our guide since he was going in the same direction. He was able to show us lots of cool stuff and told us a bit about our trail and where we were going. He encouraged us at the difficult parts and helped us up the really steep bits, which was really very nice of him! We never would have been able to do it without him! And he was able to take us into a part of the forest thats off limits to the public to show us the feeding stations for the endemic birds! Along the way, we were taken off of our particular trail a couple of times so that our policeman/guide could show us interesting things, such as the feeding station mentioned above, a massive roost of Mauritian fruit bats, a really beautiful reservoir, and several other things. The only problem with this is that we ended up taking much longer than we had intended to and we were much more tired than we would have been. So our policeman/guide called in a favour and got a police car to come and pick us up and take us to where we were meeting the taxi! So I have now ridden in the back of a Mauritian police car!
After the National Park, we went straight home, got showered and changed very quickly and ran round to Tahnia's great-grandma's house, as all of our walking made us late for dinner! Definately feeling it today. So tired and my muscles ache :( Oh well, at least I had fun!
Whilst in the National Park I saw lots of White-tailed Tropic birds, Pink Pigeon (endemic), Echo Parakeet (endemic), Ring-necked Parakeet, Mascarene Martins, Mascarene Swiftlets and a Mauritius Cuckoo Shrike (endemic).
Which means that whilst in Mauritius I have seen 6 0f the 8 endemic birds - found only in Mauritius! These are: (* = seen it!)
Pink Pigeon *
Echo Parakeet *
Mauritius Cuckoo Shrike *
Mauritius Grey White-eye *
Mauritius Olive White-eye *
Mauritius Fody *
Mauritius Bulbul
Mauritius Kestrel
Only 2 more to go!! And only 1 more day to go. Don't think I'm going to see any more birds in a day though, considering there are very few of them on the island! Tomorrow we will be packing up our stuff, resting, possibly visiting some of Tahnia's family and possibly going to the beach for the last time. It will be sad to leave Mauritius, but I've made a lot of useful contacts while I've been here, so I may be able to get a job or a voluntary position in Mauritius either next year or the year after, so I may come back soon to work here! See you soon England!
Monday 1 November 2010
Friday 29 October 2010
Photos! Finally!
Mahebourg market and waterfront
A coconut palm tree
Lacombuze beach
Blue Bay beach
Pretty purple tree
Papaya tree
Bananas growing on a tree near the house in Rose Belle
The Bois Cheri tea plantation which stretches on for miles
Massive statue of the Hindu god Shiva at a Hindu holy place at the top of a hill
A monkey at the Shiva statue
View from the Alexandra Falls viewpoint
View from the Black River Gorges viewpoint
One of the 2 beaches we visited at Flic en Flac - this is the first one we visited, a 5 min walk from the house
The second beach we visited in Flac en Flac where we swam with fish - further away but definately worth it!
Giant Lily-pads at the SSR Royal Botanical Gardens in Pamplemousses
Giant Tortoises at the Botanical Gardens (we also saw them at the Crocodile park)
Just one of Mauritius's many colourful bus stops - this one advertising Kraft cheese
Pereybere beach at sunset
Me and Tahnia drinking cocktails!
Me, Tahnia and one of our guides on our horse-riding adventure on a hill overlooking La Roche qui PleureMore photos to come soon!!
More fun in the Sun!
Been pretty busy the past week or so!
Sunday 24th
We did not go to Mahebourg in the end. Tahnia's back was really bad, and as it turns out, everything in Mauritus closes at 1 on a sunday! So we had a lazy day sitting around in the sun, reading and watching films. We also went for a short walk in Rose Belle and in the evening some of Tahnia's family came to visit and we watched another film!
Monday 25th
Tahnia's back was still pretty bad but we got bored and decided to go shopping in Curepipe, which turned out to be the funniest day in Mauritius! Tahnia's grandparents dropped us off and we wandered around a couple of shopping centres, but didn't really buy much, as the shops there weren't great, despite everyone telling us it was awesome in Curepipe! So we went and had lunch instead (£4 for 2 people's lunch and drinks = WIN!). Just when we decided to give up on Curepipe and go home, we came across a much bigger shopping centre, where we bought several very cheap (pirate) DVDs from a random stall! I was slightly worried they would all be in French or just be really bad quality, but they're actually pretty good! And only £1 each! Then we came across a market near the bus station and had a look around before getting the bus back to Rose Belle - which was funny in itself - the bus kept driving past all the signs to Rose Belle!! But it took us there eventually! We made a quick stop-off at Winner's (supermarket) and then headed home.
Quick Tip: Don't dance in the middle of a shopping centre when a song you recognise comes on. It just attracts unwanted attention...
Tuesday 26th
As Tahnia's back was feeling a bit better, we visited La Vallee de Ferney - a nature reserve/leisure centre where I had the chance to see the Mauritius Kestrel, the Mauritius Bulbul and the Mauritius Grey White-eye, along with many native Mauritian plants and lizards. Tahnia's grandparents and one of her uncles came with us, but only me and Tahnia did the hour and a half trek. It was really nice! Unfortunately though, I did not see the Kestrel or the Bulbul, but I did see the Grey White-eye, several different species of native Mauritian plants, millions of butterflies, and lots of Mauritian Fruit bats (which are MASSIVE by the way!). We also saw lots of deer (as people also pay to go hunting there), and some Grey Francolins, which I have never seen before (they look kind of like big Quails).
Wednesday 27th
WATERPARK!!!
Me and Tahnia visted Le Waterpark with two of her cousins - Ashley and Selwyn! Tahnia's uncle picked us up at 7am as it was a long drive to get there, and we stayed all day! There are loads of cool waterslides, swimming pools, jacuzzi's and a wave pool, as well as a restaurant and some fun fair rides. I would definately recommend it to anyone planning a trip to Mauritius! The only problem is that the ground is all paved and it gets ridiculously hot in the midday sun. It literally hurts to walk on the pavement. Me and Tahnia had to run between patches of shade! Also, I got really badly sunburnt :( I just didn't realise it was happening! I kept putting on suncream, but I still managed to get burnt! Even so, I really enjoyed it!
In the evening we went for dinner at Tahnia's great grandma's house which was all very tasty! I was soooo tired though!
Thursday 28th - Happy Birthday Becky!
Went to visit Le Morne beach with Tahnia's grandparents and one of her uncles. It was a really nice beach but I was still very burnt so I didn't go swimming, as I didn't want to make it worse! We had a picnic and cocktails on the beach (i got to eat curry bananas, which was actually really tasty!), then we took a drive up to Gris Gris beach - so beautiful! Gris Gris is the most southern point of Mauritius, so there is no more land until you get to the Antarctic! After that we headed to La Roche qui Pleure (the rock that cries) so I could get a proper view of it (we saw it in the distance when horse riding). Unfortunately it was low tide when we got there, so I didn't get to see/hear the rock cry, but we went right to the edge and it was really beautiful!
Today (Friday 29th) we went early to the Terre Rouge Estuary Bird Sanctuary - a wetlands centre - so that I could see some wetlands birds in Mauritius. It was low tide when we went so the birds were out in full force! I got to see some birds that I've seen in England in different plumage (as they don't breed in Mauritius) as well as some new birds! The guide was very helpful and was able to point out quite a few species to me. And since he knew I was interested, he took us down quite close to the mudflats so I could get better views of them! He also took my email address, as he would like me to send him some photos I've taken of these birds in their breeding plumage (in England) and to send him some information about the birds so he can put posters up on the walls! Yay me! Afterwards we went to Caudan shopping centre in Port Louis (the capital of Mauritius) and did a bit of shopping! Got presents for people and generally had fun! It was WAY too hot though, so we didn't stay long.
Been a good week so far, not long to go now! We leave next Wednesday! I don't know if I want to leave or not though. On the one hand, it's hot and sunny and pretty here, and England will be freezing cold on rainy and bleak. But on the other hand, it's REALLY hot here, there are some things about Mauritius that I don't like (mostly all the litter and animal cruelty), and England will be nice and cold, and everyone speaks the same language!
More photos to come soon - I've taken sooo many! I'll try to put a few up on here, but may not be successful. Looking forward to seeing everyone soon!
Sunday 24th
We did not go to Mahebourg in the end. Tahnia's back was really bad, and as it turns out, everything in Mauritus closes at 1 on a sunday! So we had a lazy day sitting around in the sun, reading and watching films. We also went for a short walk in Rose Belle and in the evening some of Tahnia's family came to visit and we watched another film!
Monday 25th
Tahnia's back was still pretty bad but we got bored and decided to go shopping in Curepipe, which turned out to be the funniest day in Mauritius! Tahnia's grandparents dropped us off and we wandered around a couple of shopping centres, but didn't really buy much, as the shops there weren't great, despite everyone telling us it was awesome in Curepipe! So we went and had lunch instead (£4 for 2 people's lunch and drinks = WIN!). Just when we decided to give up on Curepipe and go home, we came across a much bigger shopping centre, where we bought several very cheap (pirate) DVDs from a random stall! I was slightly worried they would all be in French or just be really bad quality, but they're actually pretty good! And only £1 each! Then we came across a market near the bus station and had a look around before getting the bus back to Rose Belle - which was funny in itself - the bus kept driving past all the signs to Rose Belle!! But it took us there eventually! We made a quick stop-off at Winner's (supermarket) and then headed home.
Quick Tip: Don't dance in the middle of a shopping centre when a song you recognise comes on. It just attracts unwanted attention...
Tuesday 26th
As Tahnia's back was feeling a bit better, we visited La Vallee de Ferney - a nature reserve/leisure centre where I had the chance to see the Mauritius Kestrel, the Mauritius Bulbul and the Mauritius Grey White-eye, along with many native Mauritian plants and lizards. Tahnia's grandparents and one of her uncles came with us, but only me and Tahnia did the hour and a half trek. It was really nice! Unfortunately though, I did not see the Kestrel or the Bulbul, but I did see the Grey White-eye, several different species of native Mauritian plants, millions of butterflies, and lots of Mauritian Fruit bats (which are MASSIVE by the way!). We also saw lots of deer (as people also pay to go hunting there), and some Grey Francolins, which I have never seen before (they look kind of like big Quails).
Wednesday 27th
WATERPARK!!!
Me and Tahnia visted Le Waterpark with two of her cousins - Ashley and Selwyn! Tahnia's uncle picked us up at 7am as it was a long drive to get there, and we stayed all day! There are loads of cool waterslides, swimming pools, jacuzzi's and a wave pool, as well as a restaurant and some fun fair rides. I would definately recommend it to anyone planning a trip to Mauritius! The only problem is that the ground is all paved and it gets ridiculously hot in the midday sun. It literally hurts to walk on the pavement. Me and Tahnia had to run between patches of shade! Also, I got really badly sunburnt :( I just didn't realise it was happening! I kept putting on suncream, but I still managed to get burnt! Even so, I really enjoyed it!
In the evening we went for dinner at Tahnia's great grandma's house which was all very tasty! I was soooo tired though!
Thursday 28th - Happy Birthday Becky!
Went to visit Le Morne beach with Tahnia's grandparents and one of her uncles. It was a really nice beach but I was still very burnt so I didn't go swimming, as I didn't want to make it worse! We had a picnic and cocktails on the beach (i got to eat curry bananas, which was actually really tasty!), then we took a drive up to Gris Gris beach - so beautiful! Gris Gris is the most southern point of Mauritius, so there is no more land until you get to the Antarctic! After that we headed to La Roche qui Pleure (the rock that cries) so I could get a proper view of it (we saw it in the distance when horse riding). Unfortunately it was low tide when we got there, so I didn't get to see/hear the rock cry, but we went right to the edge and it was really beautiful!
Today (Friday 29th) we went early to the Terre Rouge Estuary Bird Sanctuary - a wetlands centre - so that I could see some wetlands birds in Mauritius. It was low tide when we went so the birds were out in full force! I got to see some birds that I've seen in England in different plumage (as they don't breed in Mauritius) as well as some new birds! The guide was very helpful and was able to point out quite a few species to me. And since he knew I was interested, he took us down quite close to the mudflats so I could get better views of them! He also took my email address, as he would like me to send him some photos I've taken of these birds in their breeding plumage (in England) and to send him some information about the birds so he can put posters up on the walls! Yay me! Afterwards we went to Caudan shopping centre in Port Louis (the capital of Mauritius) and did a bit of shopping! Got presents for people and generally had fun! It was WAY too hot though, so we didn't stay long.
Been a good week so far, not long to go now! We leave next Wednesday! I don't know if I want to leave or not though. On the one hand, it's hot and sunny and pretty here, and England will be freezing cold on rainy and bleak. But on the other hand, it's REALLY hot here, there are some things about Mauritius that I don't like (mostly all the litter and animal cruelty), and England will be nice and cold, and everyone speaks the same language!
More photos to come soon - I've taken sooo many! I'll try to put a few up on here, but may not be successful. Looking forward to seeing everyone soon!
Sunday 24 October 2010
More birds!
Horse riding on Friday was really fun! We went on a trail through the sugar cane fields up to La Roche qui Pleure - the rock that cries - where I got to see the White-tailed Tropicbird, the National biord of Mauritius, which is soo pretty! It wasn't too hot either, so the trail was really enjoyable. Our instructor, a woman named Lindi, was really nice and a really good instructor, she explained everything really well, and we even got refreshments afterwards! I would definately recommend it to anyone that comes to Mauritius. Afterwards we went to La Vanille Crocodile Park which was really nice as well, and pretty cheap! All in all a good day!
Yesterday we went to visit Ile aux Aigrettes, an island off the East coast of Mauritus designated as a Nature Reserve and run by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation. Cost us 800 Rupees each (about £16) for an hour and a half tour around the island. The tour was really good though, our guide knew alot about the island itself, how it was formed, the plant life, the animals and birds and about the people that live and work there. She showed us 3 birds that are only found in Mauritius - The Pink Pigeon, the Mauritius Fody and the Mauritius Olive White-eye (extremely rare even in Mauritius). So I have now seen 4 of the 8 birds endemic to Mauritius! The birds are all free to leave the island (i.e. are not in cages) but are encouraged to stay by the use of feeding stations. All the birds there have been bred in captivity to increase the population, as there are very few left in the wild and they are monitored everyday by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation. All of the plants there are plants native to Mauritus, mostly Ebony forest, and the mammals on the island have been eradicated so there are no predators. Our tour guide gave me the email address of somebody that I can contact about volunteering there, which woulld be awesome! Spent the rest of the day at the house, as Tahnia has hurt her back and it's really painfull so we spent the rest of the day relaxing.
We had planned on visiting the Black River Gorges National Park today to see the rest of the endemic birds of Mauritius, but as Tahnia has hurt her back, we decided it would be best not to aggravate it further. Hopefully she will be well again soon and then we can go! So today we are taking it easy. Going into Mahebourg (pronounced my-boo) soon so we can send off our postcards (finally!) and buy presents for a few select people!
I have put quite a lot of photos on Facebook now (but not all of them as I have millions and the internet here is kinda slow) so if you want to see them, click on the link below. it's too much effort for me to put them on here as well!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=242816&id=517753245&l=73b4e26b41
Yesterday we went to visit Ile aux Aigrettes, an island off the East coast of Mauritus designated as a Nature Reserve and run by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation. Cost us 800 Rupees each (about £16) for an hour and a half tour around the island. The tour was really good though, our guide knew alot about the island itself, how it was formed, the plant life, the animals and birds and about the people that live and work there. She showed us 3 birds that are only found in Mauritius - The Pink Pigeon, the Mauritius Fody and the Mauritius Olive White-eye (extremely rare even in Mauritius). So I have now seen 4 of the 8 birds endemic to Mauritius! The birds are all free to leave the island (i.e. are not in cages) but are encouraged to stay by the use of feeding stations. All the birds there have been bred in captivity to increase the population, as there are very few left in the wild and they are monitored everyday by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation. All of the plants there are plants native to Mauritus, mostly Ebony forest, and the mammals on the island have been eradicated so there are no predators. Our tour guide gave me the email address of somebody that I can contact about volunteering there, which woulld be awesome! Spent the rest of the day at the house, as Tahnia has hurt her back and it's really painfull so we spent the rest of the day relaxing.
We had planned on visiting the Black River Gorges National Park today to see the rest of the endemic birds of Mauritius, but as Tahnia has hurt her back, we decided it would be best not to aggravate it further. Hopefully she will be well again soon and then we can go! So today we are taking it easy. Going into Mahebourg (pronounced my-boo) soon so we can send off our postcards (finally!) and buy presents for a few select people!
I have put quite a lot of photos on Facebook now (but not all of them as I have millions and the internet here is kinda slow) so if you want to see them, click on the link below. it's too much effort for me to put them on here as well!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=242816&id=517753245&l=73b4e26b41
Thursday 21 October 2010
The past week or so...
Been very busy recently so haven't been able to write a new post. But here's a quick break down of what we've been up to out here in sunny Mauritius!
Thursday 14th October
Visited Alexandra Falls in the Black River Gorges National Park, as well as the Gorges view point - big spots for tourists, really really gorgeous views of forest, mountains and with the sea in the background. On the way to visit the Park, we stopped at a giant statue of the Hindu god Shiva, which was really cool too! Saw quite a few new birds - Mascarene Swiftlets, Mascarene Martins, Madagascar Turtle Doves and 2 of the 8 birds found only in Mauritius, the Mauritus Fody and the Mauritius Grey White-eye, both of which are really nice! In addition to this, we also saw a couple of monkeys, a mongoose, and some frogs, geckos and lizards (a daily occurance), as well as all of the birds previously mentioned, which are common all over the island.
Friday 15th
Mostly just stayed in the house and packed our stuff ready for the weekend, which we spent in Flic en Flac in the West with some of Tahnia's family. Went for a bit of a walk early in the morning, but that's about all really until we got picked up to go to Flic en Flac. On the way though, we got the chance to do a bit of shopping in the shopping centre at Quatre Borne which was good!
Saturday 16th
After getting settled in at the house in Flic en Flac, we went to the beach nearby (literally a 5 minute walk to a pretty good beach!) with Tahnia's cousins Ashley and Selwin. Lots of corals on that beach though, so not brilliant. Went to a different beach in Flic en Flac in the afternoon, which was a bit further away, but nicer! There was a large rock quite close to the shore, with a lot of fish living in it! So we bought some goggles and went swimming with the fishes, which was really fun! It was a lot hotter there though and I got burnt a little bit :( had lots of fun though! At the house, there is a Mango tree and a couple of coconut trees, so Tahnia's uncle cut us down a bunch of coconuts! So we got to eat a lot of coconut :) the mangos weren't quite ripe enough to eat though. Also played a lot of ping pong!
Sunday 17th
Much the same as Saturday really. Went back to the beach to swim with the fish again, but were less successful, and I cut my knee :( played a lot of ping pong, ate a lot of watermelon and pineapple, watched a few films, helped clean the place up in the evening and then came back to Tahnia's grandparents house. Only saw a couple of new birds - some Common Waxbills, House Crows and Zebra Doves! All in all a very good weekend!
Monday 18th
My Birthday! Yay me!! :D
Travelled up to Pereybere in the North with Tahnias grandparents to stay for a few days. On the way we visited the Rivulet Terre Rouge Estuary Bird Sanctuary (for wetland birds - the only Ramsar site in Mauritius) but unfortunately we came too late - it was high tide and too hot for the birds, so only saw some Common Terns and a Green-backed (Striated) Heron, but we are planning another visit. Also went to Pamplemousses Botanical Gardens, which was really beautiful, and we got to see bats! I also saw a Moorhen (not very exciting) and a Parakeet (but I couldn't tell which one as it flew too fast). After that we went to a sugar cane factory museum, which was very interesting, before heading to the bungalow in Pereybere.
Tuesday 19th
Went to Pereybere beach which has the nicest sand in the world! We also visited Grand Baie beach, where we (unfortunately) witnessed a man butchering a shark that he had caught, right in the middle of the beach. Disgusting human behaviour. Then back to Pereybere to go on a glass-bottom boat trip, which I really enjoyed! Got to see all the awesome corals and fish etc. out in the deeper ocean. Tahnia was a bit seasick though :( Saw some more bats in Grand Baie and another Striated Heron fishing by the boats in the bay which was nice :)
Wednesday 20th
Took the bus to Grand Baie in the morning and went shopping, and ate lunch on the beach (which cost us a grand total of £1 for both of us!) then went kyaking in Pereybere, then to La Cuvette beach, where I cut my foot on a hidden rock :( Me and Tahnia went to a bar in the evening before dinner and had some very nice (but rather expensive) cocktails and watched some Sega dancing, then went to a restaurant for dinner, and then straight back to her grandparents house in Rose Belle.
Just been relaxing today, but went for a long walk around Rose Belle. Going horse riding tomorrow and then to a crocodile park! Thats all for now!
Thursday 14th October
Visited Alexandra Falls in the Black River Gorges National Park, as well as the Gorges view point - big spots for tourists, really really gorgeous views of forest, mountains and with the sea in the background. On the way to visit the Park, we stopped at a giant statue of the Hindu god Shiva, which was really cool too! Saw quite a few new birds - Mascarene Swiftlets, Mascarene Martins, Madagascar Turtle Doves and 2 of the 8 birds found only in Mauritius, the Mauritus Fody and the Mauritius Grey White-eye, both of which are really nice! In addition to this, we also saw a couple of monkeys, a mongoose, and some frogs, geckos and lizards (a daily occurance), as well as all of the birds previously mentioned, which are common all over the island.
Friday 15th
Mostly just stayed in the house and packed our stuff ready for the weekend, which we spent in Flic en Flac in the West with some of Tahnia's family. Went for a bit of a walk early in the morning, but that's about all really until we got picked up to go to Flic en Flac. On the way though, we got the chance to do a bit of shopping in the shopping centre at Quatre Borne which was good!
Saturday 16th
After getting settled in at the house in Flic en Flac, we went to the beach nearby (literally a 5 minute walk to a pretty good beach!) with Tahnia's cousins Ashley and Selwin. Lots of corals on that beach though, so not brilliant. Went to a different beach in Flic en Flac in the afternoon, which was a bit further away, but nicer! There was a large rock quite close to the shore, with a lot of fish living in it! So we bought some goggles and went swimming with the fishes, which was really fun! It was a lot hotter there though and I got burnt a little bit :( had lots of fun though! At the house, there is a Mango tree and a couple of coconut trees, so Tahnia's uncle cut us down a bunch of coconuts! So we got to eat a lot of coconut :) the mangos weren't quite ripe enough to eat though. Also played a lot of ping pong!
Sunday 17th
Much the same as Saturday really. Went back to the beach to swim with the fish again, but were less successful, and I cut my knee :( played a lot of ping pong, ate a lot of watermelon and pineapple, watched a few films, helped clean the place up in the evening and then came back to Tahnia's grandparents house. Only saw a couple of new birds - some Common Waxbills, House Crows and Zebra Doves! All in all a very good weekend!
Monday 18th
My Birthday! Yay me!! :D
Travelled up to Pereybere in the North with Tahnias grandparents to stay for a few days. On the way we visited the Rivulet Terre Rouge Estuary Bird Sanctuary (for wetland birds - the only Ramsar site in Mauritius) but unfortunately we came too late - it was high tide and too hot for the birds, so only saw some Common Terns and a Green-backed (Striated) Heron, but we are planning another visit. Also went to Pamplemousses Botanical Gardens, which was really beautiful, and we got to see bats! I also saw a Moorhen (not very exciting) and a Parakeet (but I couldn't tell which one as it flew too fast). After that we went to a sugar cane factory museum, which was very interesting, before heading to the bungalow in Pereybere.
Tuesday 19th
Went to Pereybere beach which has the nicest sand in the world! We also visited Grand Baie beach, where we (unfortunately) witnessed a man butchering a shark that he had caught, right in the middle of the beach. Disgusting human behaviour. Then back to Pereybere to go on a glass-bottom boat trip, which I really enjoyed! Got to see all the awesome corals and fish etc. out in the deeper ocean. Tahnia was a bit seasick though :( Saw some more bats in Grand Baie and another Striated Heron fishing by the boats in the bay which was nice :)
Wednesday 20th
Took the bus to Grand Baie in the morning and went shopping, and ate lunch on the beach (which cost us a grand total of £1 for both of us!) then went kyaking in Pereybere, then to La Cuvette beach, where I cut my foot on a hidden rock :( Me and Tahnia went to a bar in the evening before dinner and had some very nice (but rather expensive) cocktails and watched some Sega dancing, then went to a restaurant for dinner, and then straight back to her grandparents house in Rose Belle.
Just been relaxing today, but went for a long walk around Rose Belle. Going horse riding tomorrow and then to a crocodile park! Thats all for now!
Wednesday 13 October 2010
Visiting Family and the Beach!
Over the past few days I have met quite a lot of Tahnia's family that are still living in Mauritius. We are staying with her grandparents, who we spend quite a lot of our time with, coz they're pretty cool (although also quite strict, so we don't really go out in the evenings or at night unless we're with them). But as well as this, i've now met most of her uncles and aunties, cousins, great uncles, great aunties etc., who are all very friendly. These encounters tend to involve lots of kisses on cheeks, questions about where I'm from, my education, how I know Tahnia, if I want them to find me a Mauritian husband etc. and lots and lots of food! The food is all very tasty (I haven't found anything so far that I don't like) and most of it is vegetarian too! The only issue is that you eat like 5 meals a day here, so I'm constantly full up, but it feels rude to say no when they've made food just for our visit, so I eat out of politeness and feel even more full! But it's all good. I don't mind really.
Yesterday we woke up quite late due to jet lag (Mauritius is 3 hours ahead of England) and then we went to Blue Bay beach with Tahnia's cousins Ashley (14) and Selwyn (12). It was a very nice beach! The sea was much calmer there than at the beach we went to the day before (La Com Buze beach - where we weren't really supposed to swim as it can be dangerous) but it was also a bit colder, as it wasn't very sunny yesterday - still hot though! In the evening we went to Tahnia's aunties house for dinner and spent some more time hanging around with her cousins! All in all, a pretty good day!
Today, we got up late again and went for a walk around Rose Belle after breakfast. On our walk we met a local Mauritan sugar cane farmer, who geve us some sugar cane for free, which was very tasty! You bite it and suck out all the sweet juices - yum yum!! It's like pure liquid sugar :) then we went to a few different shops with Tahnia's grandparents, had lunch at Nando's (thats right, they have Nando's here!) and then to visit Tanhia's Grandad's brother. Since it is Tahnia's grandad's birthday tomoro, we went for a meal in the evening as well, to a chinese restaurant - I'm sooo full now! I thin we're having a day of relaxing tomoro, as we are going to Flic en Flac with some of Tahnia's family for the weekend. It will be alot hotter there, with more mosquitos, but hopefully I'll be ok!
Au revoir!
Yesterday we woke up quite late due to jet lag (Mauritius is 3 hours ahead of England) and then we went to Blue Bay beach with Tahnia's cousins Ashley (14) and Selwyn (12). It was a very nice beach! The sea was much calmer there than at the beach we went to the day before (La Com Buze beach - where we weren't really supposed to swim as it can be dangerous) but it was also a bit colder, as it wasn't very sunny yesterday - still hot though! In the evening we went to Tahnia's aunties house for dinner and spent some more time hanging around with her cousins! All in all, a pretty good day!
Today, we got up late again and went for a walk around Rose Belle after breakfast. On our walk we met a local Mauritan sugar cane farmer, who geve us some sugar cane for free, which was very tasty! You bite it and suck out all the sweet juices - yum yum!! It's like pure liquid sugar :) then we went to a few different shops with Tahnia's grandparents, had lunch at Nando's (thats right, they have Nando's here!) and then to visit Tanhia's Grandad's brother. Since it is Tahnia's grandad's birthday tomoro, we went for a meal in the evening as well, to a chinese restaurant - I'm sooo full now! I thin we're having a day of relaxing tomoro, as we are going to Flic en Flac with some of Tahnia's family for the weekend. It will be alot hotter there, with more mosquitos, but hopefully I'll be ok!
Au revoir!
Monday 11 October 2010
Mauritius!
Yay I have a new blog! And for those of you that don't already know, I am currently in Mauritius! Me and my friend Tahnia caught our flight from Heathrow at 5pm yesterday, and arrived at about 5.45am today (which is about 8.45 Mauritius time). A 12 hour flight is never fun though, especially when there is lots of turbulence! Didn't get much sleep, so I'm pretty tired right now, and since the airline didn't know I'm vegetarian, I didn't get much of a meal, but apart form that it was all good!
We are staying with Tahnia's grandparents in the South of the island, in an area called Rosebelle, which is much cooler than in the North, although it feels pretty hot to me! They have a very nice, big house with lots of rooms in Rosebelle, as well as a little bungalow near the beach! We've just been relaxing today really, trying to ward off the jet-lag (which is surprisingly ok!) and just getting used to the heat. We went shopping for swimming costumes, and then straight to the beach, which was soo nice! Pure white sands and blue seas, and such warm water! It really was brilliant! Doing pretty much the same thing again tomorrow though I think.
Although we didn't go looking for anything, I did see quite a few interesting birds today, including:
Common Mynah
Madagascar Fody
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Zebra Dove
Spotted Dove, and
Village Weavers
All of which I thought were quite nice, although many of them have been introduced!
We are staying with Tahnia's grandparents in the South of the island, in an area called Rosebelle, which is much cooler than in the North, although it feels pretty hot to me! They have a very nice, big house with lots of rooms in Rosebelle, as well as a little bungalow near the beach! We've just been relaxing today really, trying to ward off the jet-lag (which is surprisingly ok!) and just getting used to the heat. We went shopping for swimming costumes, and then straight to the beach, which was soo nice! Pure white sands and blue seas, and such warm water! It really was brilliant! Doing pretty much the same thing again tomorrow though I think.
Although we didn't go looking for anything, I did see quite a few interesting birds today, including:
Common Mynah
Madagascar Fody
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Zebra Dove
Spotted Dove, and
Village Weavers
All of which I thought were quite nice, although many of them have been introduced!
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