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A visit to Mauritius

32 comments


Well I am back, but I don’t think much of the weather……
We were very lucky with the weather in Mauritius as it had been raining for nine weeks before we arrived. It meant everything was very green and lush.
We did a lot of walking in conservation forests and parks this time.
The most interesting trees were the Talipot which grows for fifty to eighty years, flowers and then dies and the Hyophorbe palm which is the last in Mauritius. As you can see it is supported and has a fence round it to prevent animals spoiling it.
I was surprised to be told that all the wonderful fruit trees that we enjoy were introduced to Mauritius by sailors. They are trying to clear areas of non- indigenous trees. They also have a breeding centre on Rodrigues Island for the giant tortoise who were killed to extinction along with the Dodo. They have brought similar breeds of tortoise to a wonderful centre on the island.
I have included a photo of the huge spiders of Rodrigues….I wouldn’t like to find one in the bath!!!!!
We enjoyed the beaches which were amazing as were the flora, the food and the people.
House building and driving were wild but hayho!….you can’t have everything. :o))


Beach


Beach


The mountains of Mauritius


Family sitting under a tree at the botanical gardens


Lotus


Lotus and Water Lily


Ray feeding the fish


Moor Hen


Traveller’s Palm


Crossing the river


Viha


Tree roots


Talipot


Two trees entwined


Bird’s nest


Tortoise


Termites


Hyophorbe


Silk Cotton Tree


Pandanus


Rene looking cool


Field of pineapples


Friend’s garden in Mauritius


Bird of Paradise


Jatropha


White Hibiscus


Ixora


Tree with white flower


Noni (fruit)


Asclepias


Giant spiders in Mangroves (Rodrigues Island)

More blog posts by linda235

Previous post: The Cairngorms in the snow.

Next post: Linda's long awaited, pointed, garden wall.



Comments

 

How amazing! what a beautiful place, your photos are fantastic, it must be like the garden of Eden?

the roots and trunk of the silk cotton tree are fascinating

i bet you wish you were still there!

28 Mar, 2013

 

Lovely Pictures Linda - must be a shock coming bcak here from that ! those tree roots - a bit scary what is under many homes . A stunning beach - we need that weather !!!! I love the tortoise - I'd love one !! Welcome back

28 Mar, 2013

 

I would love the warm sunshine, but I am always a tasty treat for mosquitoes Sticki. The trees are amazing and they all flower and bare fruit.
The tortoises were really friendly and they like to be tickled under the chin Paul. One of them took a shin to our friend Rene.

28 Mar, 2013

 

I love that tortoise too.
Looks an amazing island, with wonderful trees. And that was quite some beach!
I bet it smelt lush, all that green!

28 Mar, 2013

 

It is such a beautiful island.....the plants and trees are wonderful but the Mauritians build their homes in a half completed way in odd colours....orange and lime green are the two favourites. The wealthy people live in gated communities that are landscaped and the hotels are world class. The great thing about Mauritius is that all the different groups and religions live in harmony. They are awful drivers!!!

28 Mar, 2013

 

What a wonderful and fascinating holiday, bet you wish you were still there.

28 Mar, 2013

 

oh, lovely! now I'm going to go through them again - wish we had a "full screen" option then we could all pretned to have been there!

28 Mar, 2013

 

Thank you for a most interesting blog.

29 Mar, 2013

 

Thank you Fran and Diane. I have to remind myself I was actually there. It is very cold here but sunny .......so if I turn up the heating I can pretend.

29 Mar, 2013

 

i hope you escaped those mosquitoes!

turn up the heat and put your photos on the computer! they are a treat any day!

29 Mar, 2013

 

I had six bites on my face over the two weeks....two near my eye. I looked as if I had been in a fight. Thank goodness for sunglasses. Unlike last time they cleared away quickly. I wore a shawl at night and long trousers. I must taste good!!!

29 Mar, 2013

 

eeeeeeeeeek those bites are nasty! i get bites in the summer particularly when im watering the garden in the evening ~ they dont go away quickly ~ nasty beasts! glad yours went quickly!

29 Mar, 2013

 

The problem is they are so big....much worse than midge bits.

29 Mar, 2013

 

and they are bad enough!

29 Mar, 2013

 

:o)

29 Mar, 2013

 

Aren't there some colours that deter mosquitos? I've read that there are some colours that attract them, so there must be some that put them off. And some scents that they don't like. but then, maybe people wouldn't like them either, so you might get a bit lonely if you "splashed it all over"

29 Mar, 2013

 

I generally smelt of insect repellent....not a perfume I would recommend tho'. My friend Rene had on black trousers on one of our walks and he was surrounded by Mosquitos. I have heard yellow isn't a good colour to wear. Another Scottish girl who is working in Mauritius said you just have to let them bit to build up a resistance. I had twenty one bits on my legs last time and they were huge.

29 Mar, 2013

 

Ok I have checked out the colour theory. One site said wear blue, purple or yellow. Another said white or khaki. I used citronella to sooth the bites.......which works, but it was also suggested you rub garlic on your skin......I will not be acting on this advice. :0/

29 Mar, 2013

 

next time you could take garlic bread for a picnic?

29 Mar, 2013

 

What a wonderful place and fantastic photos, thanks for sharing.Tell Ray to mind his fingers in the pond....u never know what might be lurking,ha ha!
And, that white Hibiscus, superb!!!

29 Mar, 2013

 

Interesting photos Linda. I'm pleased you had a nice holiday with some warm weather. It's rubbish here at the moment lol

29 Mar, 2013

 

Lovely to visit other countries and can see you had a fab time...but you can`t b
eat the good old british weather..unpredictable and I for one love it!

29 Mar, 2013

 

I think if you have good weather in the UK it is difficult to beat Andrea.
It is gentle, beautiful and we have no Mosquitos. Lets hope we have some good weather soon Hywel. The Mauritians eat everything with chillies......do you think that will do Sticki? If you could have heard the sound track to Ray feeding the fish Paul you would have laughed. They tickled his fingers.

30 Mar, 2013

 

So long as the mosquitoes don't like it!

30 Mar, 2013

 

:o))))))

31 Mar, 2013

 

Ha ha, and to think Linda...people pay to stick their feet in tanks of fish these days!!!!

31 Mar, 2013

 

:0))))

1 Apr, 2013

 

It looks a wonderful place for a holiday, Linda - have you seen the news reports today on the dreadful floods over there right now? It's heartbreaking to see the depth of the flood water ... :o(

1 Apr, 2013

 

It has been terrible Shirley. We have had films sent to us from friends out there and it is just awful.

2 Apr, 2013

 

:o(((

3 Apr, 2013

 

I like the Asclepias ?seed cases and the exotic palms and trees. Lovely post Linda. Discouraging to return to such awful May weather. I heard on the radio that the average temperature for March, April, May turns out to be 6 degrees centigrade. Shame to hear they now are flooded on Mauritius. Everywhere seems to be having adverse weather and extreme events. We are 2-3 weeks behind for strawberries and the like, here in the south east.

31 May, 2013

 

We are about five weeks behind here Dorjac. It is a short enough season in Scotland at the best of times. The weather has been strange all over the world hasn't it? Mauritius seems like a distant dream how. :0)

31 May, 2013

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