Africa: Magical Memories From Mauritius

Mauritius is and is not what I expected from this small island located in the Indian Ocean. The things I expected we found in abundance. These included palm trees, soft white sand, cocktails served to you by a very friendly waiter and clear waters lapping at your ankles as you stroll hand in hand with your loved one. Mauritius is perfect for honeymooners. Especially those who want nothing more than to relax after the stress and excitement of their wedding whilst eating nice food in 5* hotel surroundings. Now don’t get me wrong we all need downtime and I am no exception and indulged in plenty of it on my own honeymoon but not here. Here I wanted more. I wanted to explore this island which is in fact only a bit bigger than Central London.

So I set about finding out what more was on offer outside of the all-inclusive hotel that we were staying at. I was and still am amazed at the array of activities, trips, sights to be seen on this island. Here are my top 4.

Mauritius Top 4 

Pamplemousses Botanical Garden

Officially called Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden, named after the first Prime Minister of Mauritius. It is located very close to Port Louis, maybe you could combine a trip to both on the same day? It is possibly the most beautiful botanical garden I have ever been too. Obviously, plants, trees and greenery need to float your boat otherwise you may not be as impressed with this place as I was. It was first constructed in 1770 making it the oldest botanical garden in the southern hemisphere. It covers an area of around 37 hectares.

It’s now a plush, well grown, a mature garden that is a pleasure to spend a few hours walking around. The giant water lilies on the lake in the middle of the gardens are beautiful. It was also here that I first ever saw a Banyan Tree too. An actual Banyan Tree obviously not a hotel which is part of a luxury chain.

Port Louis

Port Louis is the capital of Mauritius and is very different to everywhere else on the island and is home to the island’s only port. The city is very modern with a number of bars and restaurants built in the Caudan Waterfront area including a ‘traditional English pub’ – the Keg & Marlin where we enjoyed a couple of cold ones overlooking the marina. Port Louis also boasts shopping centres, food markets, casinos, lovely boutique shops and museums including the Blue Penny Museum and the Mauritius Postal Museum. A nice place to grab some lunch and wander around for half a day or so. It’s very modern but probably the smallest capital city I have ever been to.

Boat Trip

I’ll be honest the Indian Ocean is my favourite ocean in the world and any opportunity I get to dip my toe in it or sail on it I grab. So taking a catamaran ride was up there on my things to do. Beautiful weather, beautiful catamaran, beautiful company = perfect day trip. Plus the added bonus of free booze swung it even more for me! There are plenty of companies that will take you out to chill out, sunbathe, swim, snorkel, dive – whatever takes your fancy. There are a number of tiny islands off the coast of Mauritius. They can be accessed via a catamaran or boat trip. We were joined for the ride by a pod of dolphins who happily swam next to the catamaran for over an hour giving us plenty of opportunities to take snaps of them.

Chamarel

Chamarel is a tiny village in the south-west part of the Island. It has a population of fewer than 1000 people. It is popular today for its range of natural attractions including”:-

• Seven Coloured Earths. A small area of sand dunes which are made up of seven different colours (red, brown, violet, green, blue, purple and yellow).
• Chaparral Falls. The most famous and most recognisable waterfalls on the island at a height of 83m (272ft). You can view from an upper or lower viewing deck. Or even go swimming in the shallow water at the bottom.
• Black Rivers Gorges National Park. This area of lush greenery became a national park in June 1994. This is the perfect place if you are interested in hiking or bird watching.

So if you had the picture-perfect image in your head of what Mauritius is like…..then you’re not wrong! But if you allow yourself to step outside of your hotel you will also find so much more to do and see on this beautiful little island. Ideal for honeymoon or adventure!