The drive to Gatwick wasn’t its usual hellish self, meaning we arrived before check-in had even opened! However, so had the rest of the plane, so the queue for check-in was huge already. We hadn’t realised you needed to fill out an incredibly lengthy health form before check in (turns out most of the plane didn’t realise either) so we were able to get that completed in the queue. After dropping our bags, we whipped through security, meaning we had plenty of time to eat. We chose burritos, then did a couple of (unsuccessful) laps of the shops to try and find some chub rub shorts that I’d forgotten to pack. The airline we flew with was Air Mauritius, meaning momma gets a new sick bag to add to her collection! The next 11.5hrs were… interesting. Including the child behind projectile vomiting everywhere about 20 mins after we had taken off, the child to our right running around, banging the chairs and wailing for most of the flight, meaning there was a colourful arguement between his Dad and the bloke in front, and the driest sausage and egg for breakfast.
We landed early in the morning, collected our bags, and met our driver to take us to our first hotel in the south. He was very keen to show us lots of places on our way to the hotel, including some beautiful viewpoints and a waterfall. Whilst we were very grateful to him for doing this, neither of us had slept due to the noisy child and constant wafts of vomit, and we just wanted to get to the hotel. We arrived at Chalet Chamarel, and wow. The views were absolutely incredible over the Le Morne mountain. Due to arrival time, we weren’t able to get into our rooms, so we sat and chatted with the 3 other couples who had also arrived that morning. The chalet we were given was beautiful. It had an egg chair outside the front overlooking the incredible views, a balcony out the back to look over the forest, and a massive half outdoors shower. It really was stunning. That night, we were treated to a gorgeous sunset, a lovely dinner, and a much needed early night.
The next day, we had a lazy one planned. Just sit by the pool, read, and take in the views. November in Mauritius is, of course, one of the best months to visit due to little rainfall. However, when we woke up, we were met with thick fog and drizzle. We remained optimistic that it would pass, but unfortunately, the heavens continued to open, and by 1pm, it was still pouring with rain. So there was only one thing for it – head to the rum distillery! We organised a taxi through reception and initially got quoted £45. Bearing in mind, the distillery was only 15 mins away, we decided this was way too expensive and managed to get them down to £36. The taxi driver arrived and drove us down the roads that now resembled a river to the distillery. He said how unusual this amount of rain was, that the amount that had fallen that day so far was usually the amount for the whole of November. He was confident, however, that the next day would be better. We joined the quick distillery tour, but obviously, we were all here for one thing – rum tasting! The first one we had was actually quite nice, but they soon went downhill after that. But if rum is your thing, you get 8 tastings! We then explored the grounds and headed to the café for a mojito, which was delicious. We hopped back in the taxi and made our way back to the chalet to get ready for dinner. Luckily, our chalet was right next to the restaurant, but some unlucky couples had to wade through the mud to get there. After dinner we joined the others 3 couples we had chatted to the day before for drinks, and we chatted for hours about our past travels and experiences.
The following morning we woke up to glorious sunshine and gorgeous views once again over Le Morne and the Indian Ocean. Sounds like our taxi driver was right! Wrong… by 10am, the heavens had opened again, the fog was back, and it was way worse than the previous day. So we settled in the egg chair for another day of reading. By around 2pm it was just drizzle, so we decided to put on our hiking boots (which we had originally packed as we had planned to either hike Tamarind Falls or part of Le Morne, but the weather meant either was now far too dangerous) and walk to 7 Coloured Earth Geopark – an area of sand dunes comprising of seven distinct colours. The paths were getting flooded, but it was still nice to be able to get out and about. The taxi driver from the previous day had told us that because we were staying in the Chalet Chamarel, we would get in for free. This, however, wasn’t the case. After explaining what we had been told, explaining we had no cash and no data to buy tickets online, the lady eventually gave up and let us in for free. Due to the weather, the 7 colours you can usually see weren’t as vivid, but we were still glad we had done it, as it’s one of the must do attractions in the area. We then decided to walk to the waterfall that we had seen on arrival day, and what a difference the rain had made. The falls were now full and thunderous, and between the thick fog patches, it was spectacular to see. The walk back was soggy and uphill, but we saw loads of interesting birds and plants, and as we were one of the few people out and about, it was really peaceful as well. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to pack the Jungle Formula, so we both got absolutely eaten alive.
That evening, the weather had kindly cleared up again, and arrangements were made for us and the other 3 couples to eat together. So we got dressed up, and made the most of the clear evening to get some content 🤣 we had lots of lovely food and lovely wine, the company was great, and we all had such a nice time. It was the perfect end to our last night in the South.
The following morning was glorious again, so we decided to have a boujee breakfast and have champagne. We went back to pack, but as if by clockwork, the rain came again, this time, however accompanied by thunder and lightning. We were meant to be getting picked up at 1pm to be taken to the North. However, the no-show and frantic phone calls from the staff suggested that this probably wouldn’t be happening and time soon. Luckily, our driver did eventually arrive – due to the weather, the roads were flooded, and trees had come down, so he had to go an alternative and much longer way round to get to us.
We were so looking forward to exploring the South, as there are so many different things to see and do, but we were just so unfortunate with the weather. Every local we spoke to couldn’t believe it, and said that even in the wet season, it wasn’t this bad! We were lucky to be staying in such a lovely place, although slightly isolated, and feel blessed that mother nature still let us have some gorgeous views. Hopefully, the North would bring us some solid sunshine…..
The Travelling Ginger 