Monday 15th August 2016.
It was our last morning on the East coast, my Dad was kind enough to pick us up at Shangri-La Le Touessrok Resort & Spa and drive us to his home in Flic en Flac. Before check out time, we showed my Dad the resort including Turtle Cove. Although expensive, we had a great time during our stay at Shangri-La Le Touserrok Spa and Resort.
Dad drove down the East coast of Mauritius for a picturesque drive to Flic en Flac. All sides of the island are quite different. The North and East coast are touristy and the South quite picturesque and more where the locals live than tourism. However, the South West coast has quite a few expensive resorts like Le Paradis and Dinarobin. I have had the pleasure of staying at Le Paradis for 2 nights in 2005 with a friend but suggest only stay there with a partner as it seems more like a couple resort compared to Le Mauricia in Grand Baie which has a club and a mixture of guests. On route to Flic en Flac we stopped at a local restaurant Les Copains d’Abord for lunch, adjacent to the beach. The restaurant was nice and food delicious.
https://www.facebook.com/lescopainsdabordMaurice/
Our next stop was Blue Bay where the first Marine Park in Mauritius is located. Blue Bay is a main attraction and ideal for one of the best snorkeling experiences in Mauritius. Blue Bay has calm and shallow seawater, the coral gardens are close to the coastline.
http://www.enezgreen.com/en/content/blue-bay-first-marine-park-mauritius
Due to a public holiday, the beach was overly packed, we admired the beach and took photos. Blue Bay is a destination we will do on a return visit to Mauritius in the future.
Once settled into Dad’s apartment in Flic en Flac, James and I walked along the 3km Flic en Flac beach to the Hilton Hotel and booked our last 3 nights in Mauritius at The Hilton.
Flic en Flac is a popular local and tourist location with a 8 km beach. The area has many restaurants, hotels and shops.
https://mauritiusattractions.com/flic-en-flac-mauritius-i-74.html
Dinner recommendation – Boungaville restaurant in Flic en Flac. The Chinese Mauritian food is really good here especially the Mein Frie (fried noodles).
http://lebougainvillerestaurant.restaurant.mu/
Tuesday 16th August.
Our morning started early with a visit to the Seven Colored Earths at Chamarel. The weather was cloudy and it had rained that morning so the colours of the earth were not as bright as it would normally be however it was still amazing and the waterfall was stunning after a rainfall. I highly recommend dining at the Seven Colored Earths cafe for lunch, the baguette at the cafe was amazing and I felt like I had bought a tandoori chicken baguette from a Parisien cafe.
The remainder of the afternoon we spent at Flic en Flac beach swimming and enjoying the view of Le Morne from the distance.
https://mauritiusattractions.com/chamarel-colored-earth-i-104.htm
Early evening, we had an aperitif at Dad’s friends home whom we had lunch with the week before. A lovely Mauritian couple who were so welcoming and even gave James their home-made rum to bring home to Australia. It was a very kind gesture.
Dinner recommendation – Muren restaurant is a small family restaurant who also do private boat tours. The food was good but service was quite slow due to the tiny restaurant at full capacity.
Wednesday 17th August.
We visited Trou aux Cerfs, a dormant volcano crater, 605 metres high, located in Curepipe. The 360 degree view is quite nice from Trou aux Cerf however I do not recommend visiting the volcano crater if you are pressed for time as there are so many other fabulous activities you could do.
http://mauritius-rodrigues.com/mauritius/thingstosee_attractions_volcan
Late afternoon, we checked into The Hilton in Flic en Flac and had drinks with Dad whilst taking in the amazing sunset. James and I were invited by hotel management to welcome drinks. I wish every hotel provided champagne and canapes on arrival, it was a great way to start our stay.
Dinner recommendation – I highly recommend dining at the Hilton’s restaurant Ginger Thai. The service was good and food amazing and I felt I would definitely return.
http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/mauritius/hilton-mauritius-resort-and-spa-MRUHIHI/dining/index.html
Thursday 18th August.
We borrowed Dad’s car for a few hours and drove down to Black River for our half day Seakart tour from 9.00am – 12.00pm. The Seakart is a fun powerful speed boat that is better than a jet ski from my experience and seats 2 adults and 1 child.
The Seakart tour went from Black River to Tamarin Bay and was an absolutely amazing experience.
http://www.fun-adventure.mu/photo-seakart-mauritius-water-activities/
After a fabulous morning, we spent the evening with my Dad and his brother.
Dinner recommendation – Domaine Anna not good service but lovely food.
http://www.domaineanna.net/_2015-01-23-ARCHIVE/index.php
Friday 19th August.
What an exhilarating morning, we caught a speed boat from Tamarin Bay and swam with dolphins and snorkeled with fish between Tamarin Bay and Black River bay. There were several pods of dolphins, it was like nothing I had ever seen before besides our whales experience in Broome, Australia a few weeks prior.
After a spectacular morning on the ocean, we sun bathed and swam in Tamarin Bay where young surfers were learning to surf. Mauritius is surrounded by reef and the ocean waves outside the reef look fantastic.
https://mauritiusattractions.com/swim-with-dolphins-whale-watching-p-75.html
After an hour on the Tamarin Beach, we caught a 10 minute taxi to Casela Nature Park where we were from 11am to 5pm. What a day!
Casela Nature Park is amazing and a park I have never experienced before. The nature park consists of a walk-thru aviary, walk thru or drive thru with wild cats, safari tour, petting farm, kids playground, mud karting, camel and horse rides, observation of giraffes, big cats, pygmy hippos and more.
We pre-booked our entry tickets online and also booked our 2 tours in the park. We booked a Drive Thru with wild cats for 20 minutes that brought us up close and personal with lions and Bengal tigers. It was an awesome experience being so close to the gorgeous wild cats and hearing them roar.
At 3 pm, we caught the shuttle for a 3.30 pm Quad bike 1 hour tour but be wary you could miss your tour as the queue for the shuttle buses can be quite long, therefore, catch a shuttle perhaps an hour earlier. The Quad bike tour was sensational driving through hectares of the park going right past the animals in the open e.g zebras, ostriches, rhinos, African impalas and more.
This attraction is a must and tickets should be pre-purchased online.
http://www.caselapark.com/en/#
Dad was kind enough to pick us up at closing time and we made it back to the hotel to enjoy the sunset. Sunset is truly amazing here on the west coast of Mauritius.
Early evening, we watched the lighting of the fire palms around the Hilton pool area and restaurants. The fire lighting was a nice ceremony however not a Mauritian custom or any custom.
Dinner recommendation – Ginger Thai again. The food was very delicious however very expensive if you are on a budget holiday. Although, $120.00 for 3 people for 2 entrees and 3 mains with rice is pretty good.
Saturday 20th August.
Our final day in Mauritius, we shopped at a couple of Flic en Flac souvenir shops, strolled along the Flic en Flac beach and sun bathed and relaxed on our hotel’s sun chairs. In the evening, we enjoyed our last amazing Mauritian sunset and a final traditional Mauritian meal with Dad and my uncle who drove us to the airport.
Dining recommendation -Nath’s Rasoi
Both James and I had a sensational time in Mauritius with so many amazing adventures. This holiday was definitely one of our most exciting and exhilarating trips and is an island we intend to visit again in the near future.
Please visit this amazing part of the world, I recommend renting an apartment for the majority of your stay through Barnes property – http://www.barnes-mauritius.com/en
Hope you enjoyed reading about our travels in gorgeous Mauritius and the final part of this journey will continue to Perth Australia.
christinetravels 
Fantastic read! Hope to visit Mauritius one day.
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