Rob's Book Blog: Two weeks in Paradise – Part 2

For day 2 of my (sort of) review of Mauritius, I am going to talk about the all day tour we did of the 'Scenic South'. Before I do that though, there is something much more important to mention:-

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DAUGHTER JESSICA WHO IS 8 YEARS OLD TODAY!

Jessica is my very own Princess

I am picking her up from school and taking her out for a birthday meal, and I hope she likes all of the Moshi Monster presents she asked for! If she ever reads this, I hope that she realises that I love her more than anything else in the world.

Anyway, back to the tour of the Scenic South.

This was a full day excursion, and absolutely fantastic. The coach took us to a variety of wonderful places around the south-western portion of Mauritius. Check them out below!

The dormant volcano of Trou aux Cerf's, last erupted 70,000 years ago.

The Sacred Lake of Grand-Bassin, home to one of the many beautiful Hindu Temples around the island.

This whole area was incredible. The temple itself is beautiful, surrounded by large statues of some of the most important Hindu Gods. We were also allowed inside the temple, where my wife was lucky enough to receive a blessing.

The statue of Lord Shiva, standing at 108 feet tall!

You can see from the people stood in front of the statue exactly how big this is. The detail up close is amazing, and across the road they are in the process of building another similarly sized God.

The Black River Gorges National Park and Waterfall

This whole region is beautiful, with the waterfall off to the right (just out of shot of the picture sadly - check back later this week for more waterfall pictures).

La Rhumerie de Chamarel.

Here I was lucky enough to sample many of the local rums, made from sugar cane grown on the island. Suffice to say, they were all very tasty, and it was difficult to limit myself to only three bottles to bring home!

Casela Nature and Leisure park, home of the Giant Tortoises.

This whole place is wonderful. One of the highlights was being able to get up close with the Giant Tortoises. I imagined them to feel leathery but they were in fact very smooth to the touch! Their shells are so varied and with so much detail up close.