Gardens of Mauritius 675

We depart London in the afternoon on our overnight flight to Mauritius (Regional flight connections, flight upgrades and/or overnight accommodation before or after the tour available on request).

We will arrive in Mauritius this morning and transfer by coach to our comfortable hotel on the west coast of the island. We have the rest of the day at leisure to settle in and explore the surrounding area.

We begin this morning with a visit to La Vanille Tropical Garden, where we will have a guided tour of the flora and fauna in this unique zoo, which is beautifully landscaped with tropical plants.

In the afternoon we visit the Domaine de Saint Aubin, a colonial house from 1819, which offers number of different visitor experiences. The Moulin de Saint Aubin shows how sugar cane was processed; the Rum House, a pioneer in the production of agricultural rum in Mauritius, demonstrates the subtleties of distilling agricultural rum and offers a tasting session, and the Vanilla House explains the production process of the famous aromatic pod. There is also a Botanical Garden which houses one of just two Chorisia (silk floss trees) in Mauritius and a Spice Garden.

This morning we will take a boat trip to the island nature reserve of l’IIe aux Aigrettes, where we will see plants and animals on the verge of extinction, which have been saved and now thrive here, such as rare orchids and pink pigeons.

This afternoon we visit the well-stocked Vaneron Garden Centre and Nursery at Trianon. An afternoon tea with pastries is included here.

This morning we visit the estate of Gros Cailloux in Petite Rivière on the west coast of the island. There are five different sectors which we will discover in our tour: agriculture, fruit and vegetables, a nursery, landscaping and leisure and events. Later we transfer to the capital city of Port Louis, which was used as a harbour by Dutch settlers from 1606, when it was known as the Harbour of Tortoises, but took its present name under French colonial rule in honour of King Louis XV. Here we will visit the modest but very interesting Natural History Museum whose exhibits include a rare skeleton of the dodo, which became extinct in the 17th century.

Free day to relax and enjoy the facilities of the hotel or explore the surrounding area at your leisure.

This morning we enjoy a guided visit to Cuerpipe Botanical Garden and Le Petrin Nature Reserve. The little botanic garden is notable for its palm Hyphorbe amaricaulis, a doomed species as it is the last of its kind in the world and has proved impossible to propagate. The mountain and moorland reserve at Le Petrin is home to many endemic plants such as the starfish-like yellow Roussea and the scarlet-bellied Trochetia, all set among dainty ferns and mosses.

In the afternoon we visit Ebony Forest, a conservation project which is helping reverse the impacts of habitat destruction and invasive species to provide a refuge for the island’s threatened wildlife.

We conclude today with a visit to the Seven Coloured Earths, a rare geological oddity created by volcanic activity which brought together a number of different minerals and elements. Seven distinct hues can be seen (red, brown, violet, green, blue, purple, and yellow), creating a psychedelic effect on these rolling sand dunes, which are strangely resistant to erosion.

Today we will depart on an excursion to the Black River Gorges National Park. This beautiful highland area south-west of Curepipe is like no other part of the island and looks more like North America than an island in the Indian Ocean. Look out for the rare tambalacoque or dodo tree, black ebony trees and the exotic birds that perch in them. We will also visit the Plaine Champagne and the Grand Bassin and in the afternoon we will stop at La Morne beach where those who wish can have a swim.

This morning we travel to the capital Port Louis for some free time before we depart for a visit to the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolan Botanic Garden at Pamplemousses, famous for its canal full of giant waterlilies, Victoria amazonica, with their pink flowers and 1.5m diameter leaves. We will also see sacred scented lotus, colourful Cannas and Heliconias and numerous palm avenues and tropical trees.

Later we visit the Domaine de Labourdonnais, which has become one of the most attractive cultural visits in Mauritius. We will visit the Château and the Nursery which has a wide range of plants before enjoying a tasting of local rum or fruit juice.

We begin today with a visit to the Exotica Garden Centre and Nursery, the largest on the island with a vast range of colourful plants including a huge flowered Hibiscus. We will follow this with a visit to  the Garden of Clothilde at Anthelme. In the afternoon we visit Eureka House, a colonial mansion where as well as the garden we will see a dramatic woodland ravine. Lunch is included here.

For our final day we relax in the hotel and in the afternoon we transfer to the airport for our overnight flight home.

On arrival in London this morning our group will disperse or transfer to onward flight connections.