We travelled to what seemed like the end of
the earth and found paradise…on two little dots in the Indian Ocean off
southern Africa beyond Madagascar: Mauritius and its little sister island
Rodrigues, 650 kms further east.
Never heard of Rodrigues? Neither had we
until two years ago my old Mauritian friend Pauline Noel (I went out with her
brother Eric when I was 20 and met her for the first time in London the year
after!) said she was moving there with her charming husband Mario to build a
house with panoramic views of the Indian Ocean.
This longest leg of our Gap Yah journey saw
us leave London on Saturday afternoon, fly Lufthansa to Frankfurt, then board an
A380 jumbo for an overnight trip to Johannesburg. Despite killing five hours in
the comfort of the Air France lounge in Jo’Burg (thanks to the A.Main charm),
we were pretty exhausted by the time we arrived at our little hotel at Pointe
D’Esny in Mauritius, which we then vacated just 10 hours later for the final flight
to Rodrigues. We nearly missed this last leg as Air Mauritius prides itself on
closing domestic flights 45 minutes before departure and on taking off early!
Rodrigues reminds me of Gaugin’s paintings
of Tahiti in the early 20th century: exotic-looking women in
brightly coloured clothes, friendly if lethargic locals speaking a barely comprehensible
creole, craggy mountains perched above a bright blue sea, an island ringed by
coral reefs and lagoons, and market gardens worked on every flat patch of land.
Roads teeter up and along the mountain ridges and are patiently co-inhabited by
smoky old buses, immaculately dressed school children, motorcycles, chooks,
goats and anything else that wants to go somewhere.
Though part of the same nation, the Rodriguans
are proudly different from Mauritians. They even voted (unsuccessfully) to
remain a British colony when Mauritius voted for independence in 1968. They are
descendants of freed Madagascan slaves and are more homogenous and African in
appearance than the average Mauritian. They seem to love life despite living
modestly, though not on the poverty line.
Pauline and Mario met us at the (grossly
oversized) airport and took us to Tekoma, our beautiful new hotel (only open
since July and us the first Aussie guests – now that must be a record?!) on the
east end of the island. There is nothing between here and Western Australia,
save 5,000 odd kms of Indian Ocean. It has a wild, woolly, windy (yet
luxurious) feel, which I liken to Kangaroo Island’s South Ocean Lodge…but on a
much lower budget! Oh and the massages and manicures are half the price and
twice as good!
We settled into a daily routine of meeting
up with Pauline and Mario in the morning (courtesy of Mario driving 20 minutes at
30 kms an hour over rutted tracks to pick us up in his ute) to go for different
walks around the coast. All the little inlets and coves have lovely French
names like Anse Bouteille, Riviere Banane, Pointe Coton and Petit Graviers.
Lunch chez Julienne-Noel followed: gin and
tonics with the most amazing fragrant limes (the only reason I agreed to
lunchtime aperitifs) followed by fresh fish, vegetables or other local dishes.
Their north-facing house has 180 degree ocean views and catches every breath of
wind. They have kept it simple, with an enormous living room and veranda
occupying most of the living space. It is notoriously difficult and expensive
to build in Rodrigues, as nearly everything needs to be shipped in from
Mauritius and the local tradesmen are pretty good at finding any excuse to be
somewhere else at critical moments in the construction. Pauline’s and Mario’s
patience has been tested…
One day we borrowed the ute and went off to
Port Sud Est on our own. The top of the mountain was enveloped in cloud and
rain, but by the time we got to the east coast – down a new but hairpin bend
road - it was simply cloudy and windy.
After another coastal walk and a creole lunch at the Hotel Marouk, Andrew hired
a windsurfer. I didn’t want to rain on his party but it was pretty clear from
the outset that this would be a battle between one middle-aged guy who hadn’t
windsurfed for several years and a relentless 35 knot wind. Forty minutes later
(and him more in the water than on the board) I sent out the “rescue” boat! Nothing
that a soak in our hot tub at Tekoma (a huge stone affair set in a private
courtyard with ocean views) and an afternoon siesta couldn’t fix.
Our four days in Rodrigues passed so
quickly…we were really relaxed after such a short stay and felt so fortunate to
have got to know this little piece of heaven with Pauline and Mario. We flew
back to Mauritius on Friday morning and got a taxi back to Pointe D’Esny, this
time to stay at Pauline’s cousin’s holiday house. Patrick D’Arifat is another
Mauritian I met in London all those years ago and we even shared a flat for a
short while on Sloane Square (a place with a grand address and grand exterior
but a frumpy interior and ferocious landlady).
His family’s beach house is literally on
the beach at one of the nicest beaches in Mauritius. From there we headed out for a tour of the
island with a friendly taxi driver we secured for the day. First the markets at
Port Louis and a wander round the capital, which boasts a particularly pompous
statue of Queen Victoria and some fine old colonial buildings. The market
itself is very much like those you find all over India – lots of cheap stuff,
great fruit and veg, and Indian vendors prepared to sell their mother for the
right price.
I was also keen to revisit the Botanic
Gardens, about half an hour north of Port Louis, which were famous for their
huge waterlilies. Sadly, the giant lily pads eluded us, and Pauline says they
have been struck by negect and then disease. It was great, though, to relax
under the huge old fig trees after the bustle of Port Louis. Lunch then up the
hill at the Maison Eureka (nothing to do with the gold rush). The house is a
lovely colonial home from the early 1800s with furniture and décor that looks
entirely original and in good nick. The terrace has been turned into a
restaurant with really good Mauritian cuisine.
Our last day on Mauritius before we fly
westward to Capetown (yes, it doesn’t sound logical, given we are on our way
home, but try telling the airlines that). An early morning Skype with Mum back
in “Melbie”, a dip in the ocean just outside our door, and breakfast on the
terrace with view of the same. How on earth can we get our heads back into real
life???!!
