Tag: Mauritius

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Tamarind Falls

The third and final part of our Mauritian adventures with Yanature (the tour company), was a half-day hike to the Tamarind Falls, also known as the 7 cascades. A must do apparently for anyone visiting the shores. Again, we had organised transport to pick us up from the hotel. We had a later pick up on this morning which was greatly appreciated! It meant we could enjoy breakfast before leaving.

The first hiccup of this trip occurred when we walked out, a taxi driver ushered us to jump in and he drove off hastily, clearly working to a tight time schedule. Half asleep we naively just followed him. Not until he left the complex did he and we realise that we weren’t the right guests for him to pick up, and he had to make a quick and embarrassing U-turn and return us to reception where our taxi was waiting. We quickly changed over before leaving for a second time. We then made the rather peaceful journey, inland and north of where we were staying.

On our arrival we were greeted by our hero Rowin, our guide from our first “hike”. Our mix up before we left meant we were the last to arrive, and this time we weren’t so lucky as to have our own personal tour. We were to be accompanied by two couples from Czechoslovakia, making us a group of 6 plus Rowin. We were dropped off on some fairly flat ground and on the edge of some sugar cane fields, we made our way around the edge of the crops. As we progressed, Rowin said that we were to take the small gap in the trees. Clearly this was a gap with which he was well acquainted. He had warned us that this hike wouldn’t be as difficult or technical as the mountain one which meant we were in relaxed spirits. We then started the descent down a steep track, using the trees, branches, roots and anything else we could lay our hands on for support (these would have been great on our first hike). Our hike was to navigate and see 5 of the cascades on the river Tamarin (see the second Mauritian second blog). Had we done the full day hike we would have seen all 7.

We arrived at the top of what was the second cascade, and clearly the highest point of the river we were to see. The area a hub of activity, as different tours were setting up or off. If the first cascade was also here it wasn’t that impressive as we didn’t even notice it, I fear it may have been nothing we hadn’t seen before. On the edge of the flowing water we walked around a few groups who were evidently going to be taking a more direct route to view the waterfalls. Rowin encouraged us to come close to the edge to look over the waterfall. We were going to get used to this as it happened again and again throughout the hike. Hannah watched from safe ground and at a distance as I laid down to peer over. I’m sure there are more daring “travellers” out there who will try to capture a more daring shot. I was happy just to say that I had peered over.

Customary snaps captured we found a safe place to cross the flowing water and started to make our way down the steep forest to the bottom of the 2nd cascade/waterfall. We zigzagged our way down, Rowin carefully guiding us as we dodged trees and stumps. Some of our other group’s members shoes probably weren’t appropriate as they tackled this section. As we came down we began to realise that we were going to be walking behind the waterfall. Whenever this happens it is an incredible experience. There were a couple of viewing points where we could grab a picture of the water falling from above. Rowin informed us that when we got to the bottom we could go for a swim. Already sweating in the heat this was music to my ears. We skirted our way around the edges to find our own little spot where we could gain access into the natural pool. I stripped off, climbed on top of the rock as I was told before jumping out into the pool. So cool and refreshing. I swam around the pool, before swimming underneath the falling water. I returned to the others and quickly dried off so we could carry on.

We left waterfall/cascade number 2. An impressive drop of water we hoped that the rest would be equally as impressive. For the moment we had done the serious descending, we went through some trees and navigated a muddy section before we arrived at the third waterfall. This one was tucked away on the other side from where we were hiking so wasn’t as impressive as the second one, we had just left behind. We quickly captured our custom photos.

Sadly the 4th waterfall wasn’t that impressive either, on our approach there was a pool where a few people had stopped and whipped off their shoes for a natural fish pedicure (personally I couldn’t think of anything worse) but it did lead us to the top of 5th and final waterfall we would be visiting. Again, there was a ledge where the water was falling, now more confident we were able to grab a spot near the edge for a photo, Hannah more confident and daring now, Rowin as always, our willing photographer.

Photo’s duly taken we made our final descent around the edge of the water through the local foliage to arrive at the final destination. By now we were all ready to cool off. We quickly stripped off and a combination of sliding graciously in and bombing were witnessed. I managed to climb up a little bit of the waterfall for a full shower this time before bombing off. Nature’s gift provides much more fun than the latest smart phone or video game. After playing about in cool and fresh water, we climbed out, and, after navigating the uncomfortable ground back to our clothes, got ourselves ready to descend back to civilization.

Before we left the river, Rowin wanted to show us the top of the sixth cascade which I think was perhaps the most impressive. It certainly looked the highest of all the ones that we saw. Hannah, invigorated from her swim and hike through nature’s playground, was brave enough to join me to peer over the edge. It certainly looked a long way down and can see why it was a full day hike to complete all 7. Perhaps next time we can tick those final two off.

                 

As the saying goes, what goes up must go down, or should I change it to what goes down must go up, sadly we had done the down first so we needed to get back up to starting point, where those sugar cane fields were. Rowin led the way and picked a gap in the trees which was an apparent path to the top. No struggling this time for us both, we were able to relax and enjoy this thoroughly compared to our experience on the mountain. Our only mistake was not re-applying the mossie spray, as they could clearly tell we weren’t local. We finally reached the top, after what seemed an age when we came out further into the sugar cane fields, we had earlier started in.

We walked slowly along a designated flat footpath back to where all the cars parked, and our taxi was waiting. It was here that we had to say goodbye to our guide, Rowin. He had been superb!! He provided us with two thrilling days of adventure, and certainly had taken us out of our comfort zones. Both days beat sleeping on a sun lounger. I’m sure we will keep in touch – he and his son are big Man Utd fans (yes I know that isn’t much fun these days). He is a fan of modern technology so this makes this cheap and easy to stay in touch. Common ground shared and a friendship built through travel is what travel is all about.

Join us as our next set of blogs as we look at some of the places we visited on taxi tours of the island.

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Tamarin Trawling

Tales of our second trip will seem tame in comparison to those of our first adventure. Another early wake up was required for today’s activity (so much for relaxing). We were picked up at 0530 by taxi. It was the same driver that we had already met. We meandered our way a little further back up the west coast than we reached in yesterday’s trip to our next meeting point. You could feel the sun was rising, although we couldn’t see it yet. As each minute passed, the darkness that we experienced as we set off began to dissipate. There is something truly magical about watching or being awake for the sunrise. A glorious sunrise is spellbinding and often captivating It is certainly a great start to a new day and gives a chance to reflect and be grateful for another day. It provides inspiration to live for the day.

The sun was rising behind the mountains that covered the terrain on this part of the island. We arrived at the former fishing location of Tamarind Bay. The fishing economy having long gone, this was now a tourist hub for watersports. Laying peacefully in the bay were jet boats that would take tourists out onto the crystal-clear waters in sporting pursuit of mother nature. Our day was going to be by paddle power. We ignored the boats as we left our activity centre carrying our sea kayak. Tired though we were, we were both excited and invigorated by this new holiday hobby we had embraced. This day was a stark contrast to the first time I booked Hannah onto such an activity in California. We made our way to the water’s edge. We waited for another couple to join us and for our guide. The beach wasn’t as clean as the one at our hotel. There was more seaweed here. We put our toes in the sea to get used to its temperature whilst a couple of local dogs ran merrily around the beach chasing each other. Such energy for first thing in the morning and a reminder of what we had left behind in England.

Our guide arrived, not with a kayak but a paddle board along with the other couple. We quickly established that they were French, and our poor guide was going to have to speak in both English and French as both couples weren’t strong enough in a second language. We had a quick lesson / recap on how to kayak and the importance of working together in unison, before pushing in the kayaks and jumping on. Someone had made a joke that kayaking can be the grounds of serious disagreements that tests the strength of a relationship!! This may have been true the first time we tried this out but this time we were quietly confident of our ability to have a good time. As we left the shoreline the sun was just peeping up over the mountains to say hello. The sun rose higher with each stroke, to keep us very warm.

We paddled our way out to the entrance of the bay, on what must be said were very calm waters. To our left was the mountain (Le Morne Brabrant) that we had climbed the previous day and to our right was the start of one of the island’s famous coast lines called Flic en Flac. Behind us, I believe, were the mountains called Trois Mamelles (literal French translation – 3 udders) and Rempart (French for fortification).

The main reason for kayaking out here was that this was a renowned feeding ground for the local dolphins. They must have known that we were coming and decided that other local bays would be more appealing than showing us their playful nature. We waited patiently bobbing up and down on the ocean. We shared stories with our guide, who was also a big fan of Italy. Today wasn’t our day – the other bays must have been preferred – and our guide suggested instead that we return to the shore and picked up the river that flowed into the bay and kayak upstream. We all agreed and turned and headed for land. I must confess that I couldn’t see where we had started so we had to have full trust in our guide that we were paddling in the right direction. By now the sunshine was there but a stiff morning breeze was blowing the wrong way for us. We certainly had to power our way back to the shore.

Upon arrival, we climbed out of our crafts and dragged them through the very shallow mouth of the river. It was noticeable how quickly the water colour changed from the ocean blue to the brown and murky river. Once we cleared the shallow water we jumped back in the kayaks and made our way upstream of the Rivière du Rempart. This was one of two rivers that converged at the shoreline with the other being the Rivière Tamarin. It so happened that we were to explore more of this river on the next day on our third outing (watch out for the blog on this).

Back to our exploration of the river Rempart we noted that there were large houses belonging to wealthy people that were dotted on one side of the riverbank as we set off up stream. Every now and again a deafening noise of birds or local building works would disrupt the solitude. As we passed the final house our guide was quick to point out that this was one of the most important house on the island. It belonged to the head of the Christian church of Mauritius. A beautiful red roof rested on the arches surrounding the outer porch. There were well-maintained lawns. Through these arches a cross with Jesus on was clearly visible.

It was here that we left civilization and went more into an overgrown area. I was expecting Tarzan to swing in front of us as we ducked low level tree branches. We swerved around the low level rocks. Our guide informed us this was a place that he would come to escape, chill and relax. How true this is I will never know but it certainly wasn’t a place for us as we would have been eaten alive by the mossies. So, we thankfully turned the kayak around before we retraced our steps (sorry I mean strokes) back to the confluence of the two rivers with the sea. It was here that I was becoming fascinated with a local bird a ‘striated heron’, I believe. They were everywhere you looked.

Sadly, our time on the kayak had come to an end, which was good job as we were now both starting to feel rather hungry, and the mossies were certainly getting well fed on us. These early morning starts are great, but they mean missing breakfast at the hotel!! On a positive note, the early start means that one is back in time to spend the rest of the day lounging around, which isn’t a bad thing.

Watch out for our next adventure as we combine the water and the hiking.

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Mauritian Mountain

We had arrived in Mauritius, the destination of our honeymoon. Our route involved a stopover in Nairobi. Getting out of Nairobi airport was an experience that I wouldn’t wish upon any traveller. Our residence for the next 14 nights was the very impressive Heritage Awali Golf resort and Spa in the Bel Ombre and South western corner of the island.

   

Every morning, we would walk along the beach after breakfast. It felt good to at least stretch our legs before finding a suitable location to lay down and rest for the day (even the local stray dog would do the same). Lying there we would look out on the beach and enjoy the same view each day. The wind would push the clouds every now and again and bring with it the odd outbreak of rain (we somehow managed to miss a passing cyclone). Ignore this threat of bad weather and picture a postcard, if you will. At the forefront are white sandy beaches, beautiful tall palm trees, and the backdrop is the ocean. The ocean was a fascinating two-tone colour highlighting the coral reef with which the bay was associated. Resting completely soulless on the water were a few boats. They looked somewhat as we felt – calm and relaxed and, I dream here, like us enjoying the fact they had nothing to do. The holiday vibes are encapsulated in this one view – a total escape from the mundane life back home. In the far distance, when the cloud and rain didn’t hide it, you could just make out the top of a mountain. The name of that mountain was Le Morne Brabant with its apex just peeking above the trees. How many people were blissfully unaware of its existence in our hotel I wonder?

A book was enjoyed, along with a couple of beverages, conversations were had, and new acquaintances were made. Life felt good, but something was missing. We’re not ones to easily sit still and there was an itch that was getting bigger as the days went on. We wanted to escape that zen and explore and learn about this island that we had chosen as a honeymoon destination. We had taken the hotel bikes out for an exploratory trip along the coast in an easterly direction the day before. This had whetted the appetite.

     

I found a local company (Yanature) with which to book a guided tour of Le Morne Brabant, completely unaware of the mountain’s significance to the island’s history. The tour was booked as we love walking, and the mountain was close by and registered as easy/medium difficulty. A couple of nights before our planned ascent we sat around a fire as entertainers breathed fire, sang songs and beat the drums. We had made friends with another honeymoon couple who were going to complete the hike the next morning. We duly met up with them the following evening to listen to tales of their adventures. It became apparent that our guide was going to be essential and that this wasn’t going to be “walk/hike” as we thought it might have been. Their tales certainly worried Hannah and me. How much we slept, I do not know; I certainly lay in bed contemplating the fear and stress for I had managed to sign up and take Hannah as well.

We woke bright and early. I say ‘bright’ loosely; it was still fairly dark at this point. The rest of the hotel was certainly sleeping as we made our way through the hotel for our 0515 taxi pick up. The taxi driver very kindly drove us to a deserted shopping mall where we were to meet our guide. Our taxi guide shared stories about how he had climbed it along with most of the locals. Our guide (Rowin) arrived a little later than us, then we followed him to our parking point. We got out of the cars, completed the introductions and signed the waiver. We then left the parking area and started making our way into a wooded area and onto a track which led us up the ‘mountain’. When I think of mountain I think of something in excess of 1000m high. The highest point on this trip was to be 500m, 56m short of the summit!! Sounded easy!!

    

The early stages provided us with great shelter from the rising sun. Every now and again there was a gap in the local flora and beautiful views of the lagoon we had left behind were seen. At about the halfway stage on the ascent we took rest on a couple of benches. Bins overflowing caused Rowin to express his anger. It was here that we left the walking we envisaged it might have been to the top and started climbing! As we approached the technical section there didn’t appear to be an obvious route to the top. Rowin (who runs up and down the mountain for fun!) clearly knew which way to go. For an experienced climber this second part of the ascent would have seemed easy. We, however, were tourists. Rowin began to realise that we were proper tourists with a lack of hiking/climbing experience!! We both had a steely level of determination to reach the top and thoughts of nothing else would be contemplated. We crawled and climbed our way up the first section, Rowin directing our hands and feet movements. I believe at this point Hannah informed the Rowin that she wasn’t good with heights. I appeared to be fine with all this, which was surprising when you consider I had struggled up the Eiffel tower and the Golden Gate bridge and Hannah had loved both experiences. What we didn’t realise was that we were following in the footsteps of Maroons (this was called the slave route). The island has no natives. Most people were brought to the island through the slave trade. These people managed to escape the sugar plantations and slavery and used the mountain and trees to hide/live from their masters. When the soldiers/masters came up the mountain looking for them, some decided that rather than be caught they would jump off the mountain and die rather than be recaptured.

After completing the first technical section we arrived at a pinch point. This was an exposed area of the mountain where the views where incredible and on both sides of the mountain. On the one side was the view of the lagoon, and on the other side a view of the west coast of Mauritius with Benitiers island standing out (I mention this as we visited this island later in the trip and this is going to be the subject of another blog). We enjoyed the views and we could even see an eagle flying. I must admit to not wanting to look at it and purely focus on completing the last and stressful part. Rowin made a joke with Hannah that when we reached the top he would make the phone call for the helicopter to come and collect us. She looked at him with a sense of true optimism, but, alas, he was trying to provide some kind of joke and some added fun to the experience.

 

We waited for a group to descend before we took off for the final climb. It was short and sharp. Hands and feet were both essential to complete the climb. We zigzagged our way to the top. A white cross a sign of reaching the top. We collapsed on the floor and took stock for a while before we slowly grew some courage to take some pictures. Upon completing the formalities, we turned to realise that what must go up must come down. There was going to be no helicopter to provide us with an easily way out. Rowin led the way, helping Hannah with every step of the way. The short sharp final section completed we stopped so I could take a few more pictures before we started the long descent of the technical part. We crabbed on front and back as we descended the steep staircase. Rowin expertly providing us with the exact locations to put our hands and feet. At times he would stop us to help both individuals and couples who had attempted to tackle the climb on their own without a guide. They looked even more touristy than we did. One certainly felt without Rowin we would not have made it. After what seemed like an age, we made it on to solid ground. No longer did we need to use our hands as much as our feet. We retraced our steps back along the path through the trees and back to the car. We thanked Rowin; he had been superb. He very kindly informed us that we would be seeing him again on another adventure we had booked with the company. This was great and reassuring to hear. We jumped back in our taxi and returned to the hotel before noon. After a quick shower and a return to our beach wear, we made our way back to that postcard view. This time though we had a story to share, a sense of achievement, which meant the drinks were more of a reward than a mere social lubricant.