Coloured Earth, Giant Tortoises and Crocodiles

For the last year or so, me and Charlotte have been Geocaching.  For those that don't know what this is, it is basically a global Hide and Seek game.  People hide caches and post them on the Geocache website with a GPS location.  We started doing this as an activity we could do with each other that would get us out of the house and to places we wouldn't normally go to.  One of the great things about geocaching is that people place caches in locations in order to get you to go there.  So in planning for this trip we went through the geocaches located in Mauritius and selected some that we liked the look of.  In doing this we found some places to go to that we probably wouldn't have known about.

One of the locations on our list was Chamarel.

The village of Chamarel is home to some popular tourist attractions, most notably Chamarel Falls and The Coloured Earths of Chamarel (there is a rum distillery that you can read about in my brothers blog as well and some nice restaurants).  My mum had been here before so we may have come here anyway but the added bonus of finding a Geocache meant that we were definitely going!!

The drive took south along the east coast and then, after a sharp right turn, through the start of the Black river National Park.  This region is beautiful.  It's like driving through Jurassic Park (but without the annoying kids, film stars and dinosaurs!!).  The views as we climbed the mountain, winding around the narrow road were spectacular.  The Micras....sorry March's, performed admirably as we climbed and climbed until we peaked and then dropped down toward Chamarel.  After paying we entered the park and drove along the bumpy, narrow road following the signs for the Falls and Coloured Earths.  The drive was great fun, made more exciting by the feeling of being in the wild!  Palm and banana trees all around along with the ever present sugar cane pushing it's way in here and there.  As we came down a steep part of the road we didn't need the sign post to tell us that the Falls were on our left!  We could see the cliff face and hear the water.  We pulled into the car park and all piled out to get a better look.  I'm getting bored of using words like "beautiful" and "stunning" and "gorgeous" but as I'm not a very articulate person (I refer you to my brother for that!) it's all I have so sorry!  The view was beautiful.

The Nottingham Owadallys at Chamarel Falls

Chamarel Falls

 Looking across at the falls from the viewing platform, in the quiet surroundings was so relaxing.  I could have stayed there for hours.  We climbed up to a higher viewing point to get a better view and take some pictures and noticed that a lot of the leaves of the plants had names inscribed on them.  So while I was taking pictures my vandal of a wife added her handywork ;-)

You can take the girl out of Clifton.....vandalism by Tracey!

Once the pictures were taken and everyone got their breath back, we headed back into the cars and off to the Coloured Earth.   As we walked down past the ticket booth (hang onto your entry ticket as you'll need to show it) I was really impressed at how the site had been planted.  On the drive in you could see that they had been landscaping a bit and I imagine in years to come it will enhance the atmosphere of the park a great deal, making the drive along the road not just a means to get to the site but as part of the visit, a mood setter.  The Coloured Earths appear into view as you walk down the path from car park, a beautiful wave of earth in different shades rising in front of you.  The kids didn't seem too impressed and went off running around the gardens as I admired this wonderful natural attraction.  I'm not going to bore you with why it exists or even attempt to describe it using my crude vocabulary but if you come to Mauritius it really is worth a visit.  It's not an all day thing and you can only look at it from so many viewing points but it would be a shame if you didn't see it with your own eyes.

Coloured Earths of Chamarel

Coloured Earths of Chamarel

My Dad admiring Chamarel

After several pictures were taken I turned to see where the kids had got to and was surprised to see they had walked down a small slope and were standing by a fenced in area that contained several giant tortoises!  I went to investigate and found these melancholy looking creatures holding my attention for much longer than an old, slow moving animal should!!  As we were admiring them and the kids were making lots of "oo" and "aawww" noises mum told us that there were loads more at the Crocodile Park so it might be worth not spending loads of time with these ones!  A quick coffee in the cafe (where I got to watch sugar cane being pressed and the juice extracted for a drink) and then we were back off to the cars.  We headed back the way we came, through the relaxing scenery and back out of the park and onto the road south toward la Vanille Crocodile Park.

As with most attractions getting to the general area of the attraction is fine but then locating the actual entrance requires you to pay attention and keep an eye out for signs!  Of course if you hire a driver then you won't have any problems.  I was convinced we were going the wrong way, as we drove down another sugar cane field track, but suddenly the big sign for the entrance was in front of us.  We drove in and parked in the car park what is shaded by some large trees.  As we all disembarked again we noticed a huge skull on display just to the side of the car park and went to investigate and found it was a whale skull!  (There was a Geocache somewhere here and me and my nephews planned on looking for it when we came out of the park).

We went into the park and the first thing you see is the crocodile pen.  They looked bored but well cared for.  I get confused at "zoo" type parks.  I realise why they exist and I am grateful for them otherwise I wouldn't be able to see the animals that are there but I do have twinges of feeling sorry for the animals at times as I walk round them.  To be fair to la Vanille it was well kept and the animals seemed to very well cared for and not in any distress (although the monkey pen, that we saw last, did look out of place and unnecessary).  Anyway we immediately headed to the main attraction at the park; the Giant Tortoises!!  I figured we'd pop up to see them, have our pictures taken with them and then head off.  How wrong could I have been!  We were there for nearly an hour!  The main area has about 100 giant tortoises of various ages, the oldest being about 70 years old.  As I walked between the groups of tortoises I fell in love with them!  Weird looking creatures, who look miserable and at times vicious, either relaxing in the sun or dragging themselves around the large landscaped area they live in.  Brilliant!  We were then able to buy some branches of some plant from the keepers that we could feed them with and suddenly realised they could move quite quickly and you could get surprised by several tortoises bearing down on you!!!

  After going to see the breeding area (it is also a conservation site as they try to increase the population) and then, rather embarrassingly, witnessing a rather horny tortoise mounting a poor female tortoise we walked around the rest of the park.  Again this is another attraction that is planted to enhance the atmosphere of your visit.  Just walking through it was a pleasure.  There are a few other things to see at the park (including Fruit Bats, a brilliant Insectarium and few more crocodiles) which we did and we headed off pleased to have been.  As we walked to the cars the girls noticed some deers and donkeys that are kept in large pens off from the car park (me and Ethan went to find the geocache while they were being all girly!!!).

The drive back to the apartment was along the south coast and we were able to take in the views of the Indian Ocean as the sun set.......

Day at the Races

My brother came up with the best idea of his life today (well I'm sure the idea was thought of a while ago but today was the day we were to action it!).....to go to Champs de Mars racetrack in Port Louis!  As sexist as this sounds the girls (mum, Tracey, Charlotte, Sara plus Ethan and Ollie) were going to my cousins hair salon while the boys (me, Dad, Stewart, Jamie and Liam) headed out in the car to Port Louis.  The 1st race was at 12:15pm and we arrived in Port Louis at about 11:30am.  We parked at the waterfront and then set off down one of the roads that runs NE/SW toward the track.  I love this city.  It is mixture of beautiful buildings, which line the main street and contain most of the banks in the city and dirty buildings lining badly paved, smelly market sections.  The different people mix without a care with suited business types wandering through the markets while less than smart locals wander past the old colonial buildings.  It's brilliant.  Anyway, we got to the main entrance, that was right at the end of the long palm tree lined street, with 10 minutes to spare.  Well we thought is was the main entrance.  It certainly looked like it.

Walk up to Champs de Mars

Turns out it was just a crossing into the centre of the track, and because the races were due to start soon the gate was closed!!  So we headed off to the left and around the outside of the track to the pedestrian entrance.  Looking to the right, as we walked around the road, you could see right into the track.  We were walking alongside the grass course, separated by a small fence that people were jumping over to get to the free area in the centre of the track and also leaning on waiting to watch the days races.  Not quite Cheltenham!!  The location of the course is stunning.  The roads in Port Louis run straight, like an American city, and it is at the end of the roads that the track is found.  It's nestled at the foot of the mountains so it is the last thing in Port Louis as there are no roads running past it and no buildings in the mountains.

View of track as you walk up the road to the entrance

We got to the only thing that looked like a turnstile and Stewart went off to buy our tickets to enter the main grandstand.  He came back with a smile on his face announcing that it only cost 125 Rupees per ticket (about £2.50) and we went through the gate into the course.  It basically consists of a large, 3 storey, concrete stand that was filling up quickly, overlooking the track with a packed centre area where the free entry is.  We followed the crowd and walked through an entrance into the area behind the stands and found where the bookies and tote booths were.  And also found thousands more people!!!!  Is was very busy, with everyone trying to get bets on for the 1st race and we joined them.  Going to the nearest of the many Chinese bookmakers, I realised taht waiting politely for the attentions of one of the staff taking the bets was not the way to go!  Eventually I communicated that I wanted to but 200 rupees on Port Albert and got my ticket.  Once we had put our bets on we rushed to the trackside and watched the first race from ground level.  The race set off and the crowds cheered.  A lot!  I had read that the fans here were very passionate and it was worth going to the races just to see their reaction when the races finish.  Well what I read wasn't wrong!!!  The first winner of the day crossed the line and owners of winning tickets went mental!!!  PEople jumping around, cheering and singing and then rushing to the edge of the walkway that the horses are lead down after the race.  There they waited for the winning horse to be lead through last and would scream the jockeys name in celebration.  This happened for every race!!!  It was brilliant to see.

After the first race we got some drinks worked out the tote betting and found the paddock.  We thought we would find a way into the stands and get a better view.  From what we could see the lower level was for normal folk and the top level was for private boxes.  This was blatantly obvious by the dress of the people on the different levels (and colour of the skin).  I stopped to take some painkillers as they all walked off and it turns out I went a different way to them.  Stewart, Dad, Jamie and Liam ended up on the lower area while I went up.  And up.  And up!  Past the private boxes, past the Members Only area and onto the roof.  Each flight of stairs I went up I was expecting to be stopped but no-one did.  The view I was greeted with was spectacular.  I phoned Dad to find out where they were and explained where I was.  They said they would join me after the next race.  With Tote booths up here and drinks stalls we spent the rest of the day up there watching the races.

View from the top of the grandstand with a good looking tourist in the shot :-)

We had to leave before the end as there was to be a large gathering of Owadallys and a big meal in the evening and after putting our last bets on we watched the race from trackside.  I hadn't won all day and was hoping that my lat bet would come in.  After seeing on the big screen that my horse was a long way off at the back of the field I tried to get some pics of the horses as they came up the final straight.  It wasn't until I tracked the group and took a picture that I realised my horse had come from way back and won!!!

My winner!!

We headed back through Port Louis (via the market so Stewart could grab some food!) and then drove back to the apartments.  After a quick change we loaded the cars up with everybody and drove to The Owadally Coachworks.

Upon arrival we were greeted by a lot of people!!  There were at least 50 people here that we were introduced to.  There was no chance of remembering who was who so I just enjoyed the fact that everyone was pleased to see us at last!  The coachworks garage had been cleared of all coach-like-stuff and a long table had been set up down the centre.  It was very apt that one of the coaches that was being worked on was at the end of the table!

The table with coach at the head!

This was a fantastic night.  One thing I noticed, I as looked around the room, was the family resemblance.  There were at least 2 women that looked uncannily like my sister!!  The Owadally nose was in abundance!  Then the huge pot of biryani was revealed and my favourite meal was served!

The huge pot of Biryani!!

There seemed to be a shift system in place for who eats when but I never quite worked it out.  I think the "main" Owadallys (Uncle Ahmed's, Uncle Siad's and Uncle Sharif's households) were the hosts for this evening and doing the serving and making sure everyone was being fed.  I say their households but it was really the wives and children doing it all.  It was a little weird being waited on by the family and I was constantly asking if they needed any help or if they wanted to sit an eat but they always refused and offered me more food!  This was one thing that I couldn't get used to the whole trip.  The family serving us first and the men not helping.  Guess it's a cultural thing.

Anyway the evening started to come to a close and I was struggling to stand up straight due to the alarming amount of biryani I had eaten and then we got called to have photos taken.  The next 30 minutes involved different groups of cousins, uncles, girls, boys.......any combination they could think of having photos taken outside the workshop!

The UK family!

Mum and Dad

The whole evening was amazing.  To finally meet people that I had only heard my Dad mention in passing and speak with them was....well, amazing!  We eventually packed the kids into the cars and headed back to the apartments, all very happy  :-)

Pool Day and meeting my namesake

After all of yesterday's excitement of driving off road and then through Port Louis and then the strenuous time we had to endure sat on a beach in Grand Baie, today was a nothing day.  We all got up late and the kids spent the day in the pool and the adults by the pool (I got to rest my leg that has not got any better since we got here and didn't walk about much!).

Later in the afternoon I got bored of sitting around and decided to go and check out one of the beaches that is further up the coast from where we are staying.  For some strange reason (although I imagine it is to do with the private hotel resorts) the coast road from Flic en Flac stops abruptly a few miles along the coast.  So to progress around the west coast you have to go back up to the main road and then drive back down until the road brings you back onto the coast.  It's this little drive that I embarked on by myself so taht I could visit Tamarin beach.

This was the first time I had driven this way and so the views were new to me and I drove down the road with my jaw dropped and head swiveling at the new landscape.  I say new , it was still sugar cane and mountains but from a different angle!  Lucky the road is fairly straight!!!  After taking a wrong turn that took me into the Tamarin Beach and Hotel Resort (looks a bit posh!!) I got into Tamarin and turned right down a little side road that lead to the beach (thank you Google Maps once again!),

It was very busy.  With not much space to park.

I managed to squeeze into a space at the end of the "car park" and jumped over the small fence and strutted through the younger, trendy looking tourists as they all turned to check me out, women and men alike.....(well I didn't do that at all as I'm still hobbling around with a bad leg but "limped through the pedestrian gap in the fence, stumbled and kicked sand everywhere as I navigated through the groups of hot tourists who were probably wondering what this dodgy looking old bloke was doing here and proceeded to try and cover themselves up from me" didn't have the same ring to it!)

It was busy today, probably to do with it being the Eid holiday, and there was definately a different type of people here compared to Flic en Flac.  This was full of more surfer/"cool" types whereas Flic en Flac felt more family/local/Barry Island-ish.  This was probably due to the fact that there were waves breaking on the beach here rather than half a mile out at the barrier reef.  So I got stripped down (to my shorts!!!) and gracefully glided into the sea, diving like a dolphin into the first wave as it broke on me....... ;-)  I'd borrowed a waterproof camera bag from a friend and decided to try and use it here.  Not the best place considering how turbulent the water was!!!!

After about 20 minutes in the water it was time to head back as we were going to my Uncle Ahmed's house to see them on Eid.  Got stuck trying to get out of the car park behind a bus but getting stuck in car park with a stunning beach on your right hand side, listening to some Kids in Glasshouses and Exit_International, and knowing you are going to be popping over to the family you haven't seen all your life for tea isn't so bad!

When we got to Uncle Ahmed's house everyone was in a good mood (no doubt to the fact they can now eat during the day!) and we were given some Vermicelli; a sweet, milky drink that contains nuts, raisins and vermicelli pasta.  It was very nice (although I'd have prefered it without the raisins in!!!) and several people in the group had a second cup!!

While we were with the family I finally got to meet the uncle that I am named after; Uncle Sharif.  I'd read my brothers description of him but I was not prepared for the whirlwind that I was greeted with!!!  Smiling as he came in wearing his black and white checked scarf and rasta wooly hat, I couldn't help but beam back at him as I shook his hand.  After some quick introductions and some broken English humour about being to remember my name at least he headed off with the promise of seeing more of us tomorrow at the family meal.  

It was nice to have a relaxing day that wasn't spent rushing around trying to see things and also to celebrate Eid with my family, and finally meeting Uncle Sharif.  I'm not religious, as you might be aware, but that doesn't mean you don't have to respect others who are and also enjoy some of the benefits.  This celebration was an example of some of the good things in religion;families coming together and people helping people who aren't as well off as them.

Top Gear driving challenge and Sara's birthday

Today was Sara's birthday and we were going to celebrate it with a meal in the evening.  Before that we decided to drive north and head to the beaches in Grand Baie.  So we loaded up all 3 cars and the "Top Gear" convoy set off in the usual order of drivers: Stewart(Hamster), Jamie(Clarkson) and me(Captain Slow).

My Mum had mentioned something about trying to take the scenic drive up the West Coast and so she was directing Stewart, so he says.  This meant that we took a left turn not long after joining the main A3 road and headed off down some poorly maintained road.  And then down a dirt track.  And then another track through some sugar cane fields and past a Private Property sign.  It was about half a mile after this that we stopped and had a quick discussion that ended with us turning around and heading straight back the the A3!!!  After that Mum's confidence in her navigation skills must have taken a knock as we must have taken a wrong turn just before Port Louis and ended up driving straight through the centre of it.  I'm sort of glad we didn't take the M1 that by-passes the centre as I wouldn't have experienced the most chaotic driving experience of my life!  The Mauritian driving technique is something you have to see to believe, a collection of horn beeps and mental overtaking maneuvers with little regard for other drivers, road markings, signs, lights or pedestrians!!  There aren't many roads in Port Louis and it seemed everyone was on them today.  Eventually we got through Chinatown and then the roads cleared and we carried on with our drive....which took us in slightly the wrong direction.  So another discussion involving mum and dad looking at their paper map and me looking at Google Maps on my phone, and we worked out which road to take to get us to a beach.

We finally arrived in Grand Baie and parked in a shopping mall car park and walked the short distance to one of the many small beaches on the North Coast.  This was another stunning beach but in a different way to the others we had seen already.  This was more like a "standard" stunning beach; soft sand, clear waters, sun loungers....it felt very south of France! (not that I've been there but I've seen pictures!)

One of the many beaches in Grand Baie

It was a beautiful day spent lounging on the beach or messing about in the water, with a trip to a couple of the food vans parked on the side of the road for some lunch.  One thing that I have loved seeing all around the island is little food stalls at the side of the road.  Today these were bigger vans, like you would see in the UK, but most of the time they are little tables with food laid out on them and if you are lucky a little uPVC windowed viewing box.  These little stalls sell anything from fresh vegetables and fruit to home cooked local snacks.  I've only stopped at a couple but the food I have had is delicious.  The fun part is working out what the food is by speaking in very broken French and then hoping that you have worked it out correctly before you bite into it!

Anyway we eventually had to pack up and leave this mini part of paradise and thought we would pop into one of the new shopping malls that we saw on the way in.  This seems to be happening a lot here; new, modern constructions popping up everywhere.  Also there are huge improvements going onto to the road system across the island and this is very obvious around the north of the island.  Sometimes this all looks a bit strange in amongst all the older, battered looking buildings but here it looks right.  The whole area seems to be more "up-to-date", for want of a better phrase.  It looked like we could be in the UK, albeit with much better weather!  So after a little detour where I decided to show my wife and daughters some of the less well driven parts of North Mauritius (I got lost!) we ended up at the big shopping centre.  It really wouldn't look out of place in Nottingham or Cardiff.  Very clean and well designed buildings and the shops that were there were mainly designer stores.  We met up with the rest of the family at a coffee shop and then left them after a quick drink as we wanted to get some food for the apartment and said we would meet them back at the complex.  Yes, I said to my Dad, I know the way back.  You can't get lost, I said to him.  There's only one road and if I go the wrong way I'll just head south, I said.

The drive back was fine until it started getting dark and raining and I hit the traffic in Port Louis.  And then missed my turn off the M1.  Then the fun started!!!  The road system in Mauritius is very simple.  There are only a few main roads and they run North/South and East/West.  Dead easy.  Except the roads South split at Port Louis and go either side of the Grand River North West and I was going down the wrong side!!  I'm not going to lie to you, I got a bit stressed.  Using Google Maps on my phone is not the ideal way to navigate through towns that I have never visited before, in the night, with very poor street lighting and sign posting.  Add to this that the Mauritian motorists are on par with London drivers but with a little less care and I wasn't having much fun!!!  I managed to get to a part that I sort of recognised and then saw a glorious sign for Flic en Flac that sent us in the correct direction (after taking a couple of dead end back roads that I thought I'd never get out of!!! Don't' tell my family that though!!).

We were going for dinner at a restaurant/hotel/spa that was a few minutes from our apartments call Aanari.  The dining and bar area is stunning.  We were shown to our table with the resident guitarist/harmonica player serenading us.  The meal we exquisite and everybody enjoyed it.  A great way to end the day :-)

The stuff Mauritius is made of

It is not possible to drive around Mauritius without seeing sugar cane fields and we went off to find a factory that would show us how they got it from the field to the packet.  So we drove to the local factory at Medine, just a short trip up the cost.  We turned from the "main" road and down a less well maintained road lined by trees and running between two huge cane fields.

View to Medine Sugar Factory

When we pulled into the factory car park things didn't look promising.  As we got out of the car were were met by a lovely lady who introduced herself as the Health and Safety officer for the plant.  She informed us that the factory did not conduct tours due to safety reasons and that this was also true for the other factories on the island.  I can understand why this is the case having seen the blase attitude people seem to have and the size of some of the machinery that is used to crush the sugar cane!!! So we all got back into the cars and headed off in our Top Gear style convoy of 2 Nissan Micras (or March as they are called here) and 1 Hyundai I10 back to the main road and south toward our next destination, Bois Cheri Tea Factory.

We've had a packet of Bois Cheri loose tea leaves in our cupboard at home for nearly 2 years now so I was quite looking forward to seeing where this came from.  We arrived at the site, parked up and all headed for the reception along with quite a few other visitors, including a large group of primary school children.  My Dad pointed out that the last time he had come here was on a school trip!  As we hurried to join on the end of a small tour I realised that they have not tidied up the factory for the tourists and that this was a working factory that was not hiding anything.  Our tour guide, who spoke excellent English and even understood our accents, took us through the storage area where they keep the leaves after picking and the drying and cutting processes to make the tea look like what we are used to seeing.  The process was fascinating.  One thing that struck me was how old the factory and equipment looked.  I imagine that there is not much investment in new equipment and if it is working why replace it?  Also I was surprised at how the plant seemed relatively small for the amount of tea that is produced each day and got me thinking how big a Tetley sized factory would be.  I might Google it if I remember at some point!  After the manufacture process we watched the teabagging (stop giggling!) process and then the packing process.  A quick look round the Tea Museum and we were back in the cars and heading to the beautiful restaurant for some tea tasting.  The drive up the hill to the restaurant was a bit bumpy but the landscaping was stunning.  The restaurant was a total contrast to the factory.

Beautiful view from the Bois Cheri restaurant

New and well kept, it was located on top of a hill commanding gorgeous views of the south coast.  We sat and tried some of the different flavour teas and then bought a selection before having lunch in the restaurant.  The food, building and views all combined to make this a very, very nice lunch.  I would definately recommend a trip to Bois Cheri to anyone coming to the island.  An informative and interesting tour combined with beautiful views and food.

While we were in the Tea Shop Stewart noticed a poster for St. Aurbin.  St Aurbin is a sugar plantation in the south and the poster said that there were tours of the site.  So, with hope of still seeing the sugar processing process, we headed off to St, Aurbin.  As we pulled into the tree lined driveway I could see that this was a well kept sight and clearly ready for the tourists.  We pulled up in front of a beautifully restored building and paid to go on the tour.  While we wouldn't see the sugar processing the tour would explain a bit about how the sugar gets to the plant and what other things St Aurbin offers.  After watching a DVD about what they do and are planning to do we were sent off to the next part of the tour.  I quite liked how th etour was done as you would walk between the parts yourself and not being rushed by a tour guide.  The gardens all around the site were amazing.  We went through the Vanilla process and got to see the vanilla plants growing and in different stages of drying (did you know it takes 18 months from planting before vanilla pods are ready for sale?) and then walked through another section of the gardens where they are growing various plants that I have only ever seen the end processed seed from!  We got to the main house that has been converted into a restaurant and we had a cup of tea on the veranda over looking the back garden that has a rum distillery in it.

Main house and restaurant of St Aurbin

Overall it was a very nice visit although it was a shame the sugar factory is not up and running yet as that would have been good to see.  Another site I would recommend to any visitors.  I imagine that when they have the factory running it will be set up for tours so check with them if you do go there in the future.

As it was getting late in the day we thought it best to start heading back to the apartments.  Before we did thought Stewart mentioned that Rochester Falls was nearby and his guide book says that you should visit them.  So off we headed to find the falls.  It was pretty easy to find.  You just get in the general location of the falls from a map and then follow all the hand painted signs!!  Trust the signs.  Believe me I thought on several occasions that we were being lead into some local trap!!!  Once you turn off the "main" road the rest of the drive is on dirt tracks through sugar cane fields.  The tracks must be there for the use of the sugar cane trucks because they are not built for cars!!!  This now truly felt like a Top Gear special with the 3 small cars being bounced around the road because of huge potholes and massive rocks everywhere!!!  I was convinced that we were going to lose our exhaust at one point and then that were were not going to make it up and incline that were encountered.  But we did and the little Nissan March that we were in survived and got us through it.  I'm surprised no-one has made a horror movie about something that lives in the sugar cane fields as the eerie setting once you get even 10 minutes from a road is quite something.  So we arrived a t a point where a couple of locals were telling people to leave their cars and we walked down a track to where we were told the falls were.  We felt slightly better seeing other tourists walking back up the track!  After a couple of minutes walk (this is NOT buggy friendly!) we made it to the bottom of the hill and were greated by Rochester Falls.

Elinor and Charlotte in front of Rochester Falls

 It is a beautiful sight, as it cascade into the large pool of water.  The sight itself felt a bit grubby with litter dotted about.  There was a scout group there camping so this must be a well used and visited place.  Not quite magical but worth a visit even if it is for the drive to it!

We drove home a very tired bunch after what was a very productive day of tourist visits :-)

Capital City

Now that all 3 families had a car (the Newmans got theirs in the morning) we planned on a trip into Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius.  So we all piled into the 3 cars and headed out.  It's pretty easy to get to Port Louis; you just get on one of the 2 main roads and head north!!
The drive was an experience in itself.  You go from beautiful views of the coast and roads surrounded by sugar cane to a typical city with everyone trying to better everyone else as you drive toward tall buildings.  While it is very typical of any capital city it is still small compared to anything I've seen before.  We drove toward the waterfront and found a multistorey car park ("It's just like one at home!!!", the kids exclaimed as we took our ticket and headed up the ramp!).  I was hoping to get a view of the city so kept on going up as the other 2 cars parked.  Up I went to the 8th floor only to find they didn't have a roof level.  I tried not to sulk as we drove back to the 3rd level and parked next to the other 2 cars.  The view was still amazing from here, better than any other city car park I'd been in!

View from the car park in Port Louis

Once we had unloaded everything from the cars we headed down into Port Louis.  The waterfront area where we were, is very much like we expect in the UK.  Nice shops, well designed walkways, beautiful views of the bay.  It felt familiar.  As is usual of the Owadally/Ward/Newman family the 1st thing we did was find somewhere for a coffee and tea!!  

The family (excluding mum who was taking the picture!)

View of the waterfront from the coffee shop

Then we crossed under the subway (there is no way we were risking a walk across the main road!!) and entered a different world!  Immediately there were people trying to sell me sunglasses, clothes, food....anything!  The streets were grubby and there were a lot of people carrying out their daily business.  It was very chaotic and I would have loved it if I hadn't been with my daughters.  I was very aware that they looked uncomfortable and I was constantly alert for any possible problems.  That said I was still enjoying taking all of this in.  I think this part of the city will start to get squeezed out and the markets will disappear, as they have in other major cities, over the next decade or so, judging by what I have seen so far here.  I'm sure it will take a fair bit of time but I can't see it staying as it is.  This is a shame but it happens the world over.  That's progress for you I guess.

We went into the main food market and was hit by a wave of noise and smells.  Every stall had piles of fruits and vegetables, some familiar but a lot that were new to me, with sellers shouting out the prices.  I can't understand these people in Nottingham when they are selling fruit and veg so I didn't even try to understand these!!! 

Port Louis Food Market

Port Louis Food Market

 We went to the next floor and look at all the souvenirs and fabrics that were on sale and then after everyone had had a look around we headed out.  Elinor and Charlotte didn't want to carry on  to the next market so me and Tracey headed back to the waterfront with them while everyone else went exploring.

We returned to the shopping centres and had a look around and then went to the craft market and bought a few souvenirs (and I got a lovely Hawaiian style shirt!).  After a coffee and then lunch in the food court (curry for me and Elinor while Tracey and Charlotte played it safe at Pizza Hut!) we carried on shopping and waited for the rest of the family to meet us.  We found them in Pizza Hut!  While they were waiting for food me and Tracey went for a walk to try and find somewhere that sold cigarettes for her.  You'd think this was easy, wouldn't you?  We had to walk back to the market area and then found a little hut that had loads of tickets hanging up.  No idea what they were but we saw people buying single cigarettes from the woman in the hut!  So I used my amazing grasp of the French language and mimed smoking a cigarette and Tracey said "light" and the old hag slapped a pack of 20 Dunhill Blues on the counter and said, what I assumed correctly, "150 Ruppees!".  So we paid and headed back to the waterfront!

After 7 hours in the capital we drove out of the city and went to Highlands where my family live.  We still hadn't met 2 of my uncles, Syed and the uncle I was named after Sharif, and hoped to catch them there tonight.  By the time we got there is was dark (sunset is at about 6:30pm here and it happens pretty quickly) and we all went into the family home and had a cup of tea.  We met Uncle Syed first and then I got to meet my namesake.  All my other uncles had been quite quiet, almost shy but Sharif was not!  The smallest of the brothers he is certainly the most flamboyant and loud of them!!  His smile as he saw us all lit the room up as he was introduced to us all and shook our hands.  While we were there he was quite animated and talkative, speaking with broken English and looking around at us all in wonder.  I forget that this is probably as big a thing for my family here as it is for me and I was starting to realise it now.  We finished our drinks and drove back to Flic en Flac after saying our goodbyes and that we'd see them all at the family meal on Saturday.

Sleep was the only thing on the agenda when we got back as everyone was exhausted!!!

Partial rest day!

The morning of Monday dawned and we were all up at a reasonable hour....about 9ish!  My Ethan, being the early riser he is, came running across to our apartment and was knocking on our door to tell us they were all going for breakfast in a hotel on the sea front and to find out what we were doing.  The prospect of a cooked breakfast was to tempting for us all and we hurried to get dressed!  We got to the hotel and as we had missed the actual breakfast sitting we had a choice of plain omelette or cheese omelette.....well at least I wasn't cooking it!!  A plain omelette accompanied by some coffee later and we were walking back to the apartment to plan out the day.

This turned out to be a day that we spent by the pool enjoying the sun as we had not been able to find any cars to rent!  We had visited a few places before breakfast but they didn't have any cars available, so Dad called the guy he hired his car from.  It all sounded a bit dodgy but I couldn't find anything online and what I did find was twice as much as Dad's Dodgy Car Rental Man, Farook!  He got through and we arrange for him to drop a car off near us later in the day.

While all this went on the everyone else was in the pool or sunbathing.  I got bored.  So me, Mum and my brother went to the local supermarket in the one car we had along with Liam and Elinor to pick up supplies for the apartments.  It's located in one of the shopping malls that have apparently started popping up at the edge of huge sugar cane fields near the main junctions across the island.  The malls all look new and modern and so out of place but you can see where the island is going when you look at them.  With access to the rest of the world via TV and the internet, I imagine the people of Mauritius are wanting more and are able to visualise what they want based on what they see in Europe and USA.  I guess my Dad's generation and their children didn't have this visualisation as they didn't know any different.  They didn't have access to the same media outlets as my cousins generation has.  They didn't really know any different.  Now it must feel like they want it all!! Why shouldn't they have the same tech that Europeans and Americans have access to?  Why shouldn't it be the norm?  Anyway, I digress.  That is the sort of thing my brother should discuss!

Shopping was great fun!  All these foreign brands, new flavours and products (foreign Fanta is amazing!!! So many new flavours.  Get them in the UK, Fanta!!) to choose from.  We tried not to be influenced and buy items for the sake of it but it was difficult!  Then there was the "how much is this in pounds?" question everytime we picked something up.  Got bored of that in the end so we stopped bothering to work it out!  And I got to try and speak some French!  Thankfully most of the staff could speak enough English to converse but I gave it a go anyway and got by to a certain extent!

View from the supermarket!

When we got back everyone was still in the pool.  Me and my Dad went to meet the car guy and then dropped him off at a bus stop so he could get home.  I am now the driver of a battered silver Nissan March (micra to us)!

We spent the night in the apartment where I got to enjoy some of the local Phoenix Beer! :-)

1st Real Day in Mauritius - Sunday

After such a hectic 48 hours I was able to have a lie in on our 1st Sunday in Mauritius...until 11 am!  As it was fairly late to start any long expeditions and as we only had one car, it was decided that we spend the afternoon at the beach.
So we all got our shorts and bikinis on (please note that the girls put bikinis on, not me....), packed out bags with towels and suncream and headed off down the road to Flic en Flac beach.

BEach through the trees

I've dreamt of going to a beach in Mauritius for a very, very long time so I was a little bit excited as we walked along the narrow pavement toward the sea.  We turned a corner and then the beach came into sight through some trees.

It was beautiful.  We crossed the road and headed toward the sand.  The view took my breath away.  I couldn't stop grinning.  I was finally on a beach in Mauritius!!!

Flic en Flac beach

Flic en Flac beach

We headed down toward the water and put the bags down on a nice spot on the sand and me, Jamie, Stewart and the kids all ran down into the sea!  Cold at first but great after a few minutes.  The water was so clear.  I have never seen the sea this clear and it was great to see what was underwater.  Even thought it was very clear it was even better to put on the goggles and snorkel that we had bought before coming and get an even better view!  Only had a brief stint using them but I'm looking forward to using them more later in the week.

As we were all getting a bit hungry we gravitated to where my Dad had set up home; next to all the food stalls at the edge of the road!  One by one we drifted over to find something to eat.  The kids ended up having a burger while I went for some sort of curry filled wrap that cost 50p!!  After a quick trip back to the apartment to get some painkillers (my leg was still killing me) I got to have my first "Pineapple-on-a-stick".  I say "on-a-stick" but it is actually the stalk.  It tasted delicious :-)

Pineapple "on a stick"

After everyone had had their fill of food, swimming and sun we decided to go back to the apartment.  Before we did, me, Tracey, Elinor, Charlotte, Liam and my Dad went for a wake further down the beach road of Flic en Flac to see what was there.  It is basically a load of bars and restaurants frequented by young Mauritians who all seemed to be wearing black t-shirts and sporting JLS style haircuts or young Mauritians sat on the wall across the road from these bars wearing black t-shirts and sporting JLS haircuts!!! 

The beach all along the road is beautiful.  The sea is clear and the white coral sand looks gorgeous.  All in all this was a great start of the week.

View of Flic en Flac beach

In the evening we all went to a local restaurant called "The Sunset Garden".  All seating is outside in a lovely courtyard under large parasols with a bar in the centre.  In a nutshell the food was very nice but the service was slow!!  Not that we cared, it was just something to moan about!!!  The only downside to the whole evening was that Elinor got a bit upset as we walked back to the apartment.  She said that she felt a bit unsafe due to the look of some of the locals and how they behaved.  Also the general look of some of the buildings (lack of uniformity and a seemingly scruffy look to them) and roads added to this feeling.  I did explain that there was nothing to worry about and that it was just the sudden change in environment that made her feel this way.  I think it was this change plus the fatigue of travel that has caused her to feel this way but I can understand what she means.  However I have assured her I would never put her in a situation that would be unsafe and that there is nothing to be concerned about.

First full day over and out.    

Travel day/Day 1....I think (Part 2)

So we were all finally together, suitcases, hand luggage and various baby related objects, stood at check in.  We then started reviewing all the items that we had in our possession that we couldn't take on board and we started drinking all the bottled water that Mum had left in her bag of provisions!!
My lot started the walk through security and it's zig-zag of various bottle bins and staff with clear plastic bags (and a funky "hologram" looking projection of a woman telling you what you can and can't have!), leaving the Newmans to work out what baby stuff they could and couldn't take through!  All went well for us as (luckily Elinor realised she had some make up stuff in her hand luggage and she chucked it in a clear bag before x-ray and only Tracey set off the metal detector!) but we had a delay while we waited for Jamie to get checked as he had forgotten about the bottle of hand cream in her bag ("If we'd have left a bottle of water or something in our bag", my nephews said to me as we waited, "we'd have got a right telling off by Mum and Dad!".  This was mentioned to their parents by them when they emerge from security!).

And then we had to hang around for an hour or so until boarding.  Mum bought us all a coffee and me and Elinor sat on the floor in a walkway next to a plug socket trying to get some charge into our phones!!!

We heard the last call for our flight (where were the other calls???) and headed to Gate 3.  The excitement was building as we got to the boarding gate and saw our plane out of the window!

Me at Boarding with our plane behind

We handed our passes over and headed down the tunnel thing to get on our flight to Mauritius.....

Family walking to plane

We're nearly on the plane!

Some people may laugh but I researched the plane a bit last week so that we were prepared for when we got on board.  Part of the reason was to make sure the kids knew exactly what to expect when we walked onto it so that they didn't have any concerns.  So when we did board the size, seat layout and where we were sitting was not a surprise.  We took our seats and started to get comfortable.

Tracey and Charlotte had both expressed a slight concern about flying (OK, Tracey has always said to me that I'd have to drug her to get on a plane and Charlotte has been saying that she has been scared of this first flight for a couple of weeks now), so I've been spending a while trying to keep them calm about it all (telling Tracey that we are getting on a plane so if she doesn't then she can stay with her Mum in Nottingham and explaining to Charlotte that the plane was nothing more than a "Super Bus"!!).  So I spent the whole pre-takeoff and then takeoff talking to Charlotte and telling her what happens and making it all a bit of fun (takeoff is my favourite bit of a flight!!).  Tracey's nerves were being kept in check because she didn't want to make Charlotte any worse.  A great cure!

And then we were in the air!  And then we were in the air for another 12 hours!!!!  I had banked on sleeping on this overnight flight, so after the inflight meal was served (er...not much choice and I think they are trying to be too fancy.  Airlines, keep it simple!!) I tried to get comfortable and get to sleep.  And I did this for the next 8 or 9 hours!!  As did everyone else!  The in flight entertainment wasn't great and with all the electrical devices drained of power the journey dragged on a bit.

But it didn't matter.  The boredom, the pain in my leg the crying baby at the front.....who cared....WE WERE GOING TO MAURITIUS!!!

So most of the flight was spent changing back to the live map of the flight and counting down the hours and being amazed at seeing names of places that we'd only seen on the news displayed on the map as we flew over them.

Of everyone in our group the one that seemed least bothered by everything was the youngest!  Ollie laughed and giggled, didn't cry and slept and was generally great (although I'm sure my sister won't totally agree seeing as he was on her lap most of the time!)

1 Year Old Ollie loving the flight!

Before we knew it (although it felt like an eternity) the "Time to Destination" was down to 1h 30m and we started counting down the minutes.  With an hour to go Ethan and Liam decided that it was time to be travel sick and proceeded to fill a couple of sick bags each!!

And then we were told we were descending.  This, like takeoff, meant I spent the time talking to Charlotte, explaining what happens and trying to get her to look out of the window so she could see the island as we broke through the cloud.  Yes, you heard me right, breaking through the cloud.  Cloud?  What the hell was cloud doing over Mauritius????  That meant that it wasn't clear blue skies!!!  I announced that the holiday was cancelled as we were taking the next flight home!!  Oh how my wit calmed people down! ;-)

We broke through the cloud and I finally saw the Island of Mauritius.  The island that my father was from.  The island that I had heard so much about.  The island that I will be eternally grateful to for giving me my father and therefore making me Welsh.  The island I had wanted to see for so many years.

We flew in, lower and lower, and I found it hard to not smile.  I was looking at Mauritius.  Mauritius!  It is difficult to explain how happy I was feeling and I don't think I could explain why but I was.  Very happy.

The landing was very smooth and we taxied to the terminal.  Mum pointed out the new terminal building that is under construction and looking very good and we went past it to the old one!  After leaving the plane we walked through to security and looking left I caught a beautiful view of one of the mountains on the island.  A great welcome.

View as we walked through terminal

Got through security and customs, collected all our bags and headed out to meet our welcome party.  As we exited the building we were greeted by my Dad and brother holding a flag that they had made for us with our family names on!!!

The kids holding the special flag that my Dad arranged to get made!

With them were some of our family, including my Uncle Ahmed, and introductions were made.  I'm not going into that in detail as names went in one ear and out of the other!  We made our way out to the car park and we all piled into various vehicles with our bags.  Most of us were in Naushad's van and off we trundled.

We have arrived!!!

It was a beautiful drive and we all took in the scenery with Naushad pointing out certain things of interest, mainly all the sugar cane fields.

After about 20 minutes we turned right at a roundabout following a sign that was directing us to "Owadally's Coach Works"!  We pulled up outside the coachworks and walked around the back to my Uncle Ahmed's house which was just behind it.  After more introductions to about 10 more relatives we had tea made for us and had a look around.  The coachworks is at the front of a plot of land that then has Uncle Ahmed's house and then his Aunty's house behind that.  The most fascinating thing was the selection of fruit trees that were growing naturally along the side of the drive, including a banana tree.  Seeing these exotic trees just growing like conker trees do in the UK is so cool!!!

Anyway, a few more relatives arrived and were introduced and then we headed to our apartments, with the promise that a takeaway had been ordered and would be dropped off later for us.

We arrived at the apartment complex (eventually after getting slightly lost thanks to us following Stewart and Dad who couldn't seem to remember the way even though they were there the day before yesterday!) and then split up into the various families and went to our apartments.  Wow! They are amazing!  We got shown around by the owners and then started to unpack.  The apartment is gorgeous.  As is the whole complex.....and the swimming pool!!!

View from our apartment :-)

Uncle Ahmed turned up with the takeaway.  We were expecting a load of foil containers but he arrived with the biggest pot I have ever seen which contained enough rice to feed a small village and also a smaller pot of chicken curry.  The rice was a biryani style rice with egg, peppers, potatoes and mutton.  It was so nice!!!

Once we had filled up on rice (and there was still loads left!) we had a quick dip in the pool and then went to a local supermarket to stock up on some essentials (I may have to write about shopping experiences another time as it is quite an experience!!).  Once back it wasn't long before I was falling asleep on the sofa from sheer exhaustion while watching "I'm Alan Partridge", even with the banging techno-RnB-reggae music from the house party behind our apartment!

All in all the trip over and the 1st day has been an amazing experience.  It has been a very confusing day or two and we are looking forward to the next couple of days once we have settled down.

Hope you can stick with me and enjoy hearing about our little adventure :-)

Travel day/Day 1....I think (Part 1)

So, the day has finally arrived that our family has been talking about for over 3 years.  The day that we fly to Mauritius!!  My mum has been talking about taking us all to Mauritius since she decided that she would be retiring and using her NHS lump sum for the trip.  I cannot described how grateful we are to her for, not only taking us on a magnificent holiday but also allowing us to meet the other side of our family who we have never seen.

My brother is writing an excellent blog about our trip (he is over there at the moment having flown early with my Dad) and I recommend you read that as well, Owadallys Return, but I wanted to do a more this-is-what-we-did-today blog.  You see his is a well written commentary about the island, our family and historical events that have moulded society and ultimately lead to our family being our family.  But it was something he wrote in this blog that made me want to do this one.  He has written a very concise, and witty, bio of us all and in the one about Ollie, our 1 year old nephew, he has said that his blog is going to be of use to him when he grows up as he will not remember any of this trip.  And that got me thinking.  While he will no doubt appreciate Stewart's narratives and thoughts of the trip he might also appreciate knowing what we did each day, where we went, who we met in a more itinerised form with smaller words!  And this is what I want to try and achieve......

We, the Nottingham Owadallys (me, my wife Tracey, 14 year old daughter Elinor and 11 Year old daughter Charlotte), stayed the night in a hotel next to Heathrow and got to the airport fairly early, sitting in the foyer trying to entertain ourselves while we waited for the Newmans (my sister Sara, her husband Jamie and their sons/my nephews 11 year old Liam, 7 year old Ethan and 1 year old Ollie) and my Mum who were all travelling by coach from Cardiff.

It is the first time my children have been to an airport as they have never flown before so this has been a bit of an adventure for them before it's even really started!  Having to field constant questions from them was a bit tiring but I didn't mind.  It kept their mind off their nerves about flying for the first time!!

Charlotte at Heathrow

Elinor at Heathrow

Bored outside Terminal 4 testing my new camera!

The ceiling at Heathrow.  Look I was bored! We had a long wait!

The Newmans and Mum arrived on time and, after a short delay where Elinor misheard my Mum on the phone and sent us to Gate G instead of Gate D, the Owadallys (and Newmans) Assembled!!! (see what I did there???)

Me and two of my nephews