May 18, 2024–Port Louis, Mauritius

So the tour description said, “immerse yourself in the breathtaking beauty of Mauritius with an invigorating hike through its lush landscapes, followed by a taste of authentic Creole cuisine.” The accompanying photo showed a wide, inviting path through a beautiful grove of trees, just begging us to come and marvel at its wondrous beauty. The description does go on to use the word “strenuous,” a suspicious word that led me to do a little more research on this World Heritage Site excursion titled, “Le Morne Brabant Hiking with Lunch.” It turns out that Le Morne Brabant is a majestic basalt monolith rising 1824 feet above sea level, and the “hike” becomes a steep, bouldering scramble once you reach the halfway point. It was my good fortune to find a web page with a detailed description of the climb, including several photos, which led me to conclude that the word, “strenuous,” should probably be replaced by, “rugged,” and “extremely challenging.”

Now, none of that turned me off. Le Morne Brabant isn’t just a spectacular monolith, it’s also culturally significant, because it’s where runaway slaves hid during a darker period in the island’s history. I really wanted to see it, and besides, it sounded like fun as long as I managed my effort. What my research did was help me to Be Prepared, as the Scouts say. And it subsequently turned out that we weren’t actually climbing all the way to the summit, which I concluded that few in our hiking party could even have achieved once I actually laid eyes on the massive monolith. We were only going to hike up to the base of the almost cliff-like scramble to the summit.

Even that turned out to be challenging, so much so that a handful of the twenty or so hikers in our party probably shouldn’t have attempted it. It was a long, often steep uphill climb in the hot sun, alternately wading through waist high brush, pushing through narrow openings in tall bushes, and navigating deep ruts, all while trying to avoid taking a tumble or twisting an ankle on the rocky trail. Fortunately I was well prepared, wearing lightweight hiking pants, a long sleeve sun shirt, good shoes, a synthetic running hat, SPF 50 sunscreen, a bottle of Powerade and a bottle of water. By the time we were done every one of them proved to be a good choice.

All of that being said, I had a blast. I learned a lot from our incredible guide, whose wife’s family owns the mountain and the entire peninsula on which it rests. The rugged terrain was beautiful, and the views down to the Indian Ocean from the ledge at our turnaround point were spectacular. On our way back down we passed through a forest of European pines that was started by one of the owner’s ancestors. The trees provided some much appreciated shade, and while there we saw deer and giant fruit bats, though the monkeys and wild pigs that inhabit the area eluded our gaze. The best part, and the reason we do things like this instead of spending the day at a beach resort, is that we really got to see the island. We booked this cruise to see the world and have adventures, and that’s what we got this morning. Ah, but there was more to come.

Our excursion called for us to have lunch at a restaurant with a panoramic view before heading back to the ship, and once again the description understated the case, but in a good way. Le Chamarel is perched high on a volcanic mountainside, and the view from its open air tables is nothing short of spectacular. Dining under a large thatched roof I could see all the way down the mountain to the Indian Ocean, where the waves were breaking against the coral reef that rings the island. We’ve had a lot of “pinch me “ moments on this cruise, and this was one of them. Who gets to do this, I asked myself rhetorically.

We had a delicious meal, and as it ended something happened that elevated our experience from great to even greater. Someone in our party was aware that a couple other natural wonders were nearby, and was asking our guide about them. We’re here overnight, and while they weren’t on today’s tour itinerary there would be an opportunity to come back and see them tomorrow. Well, one thing led to another, and a willing guide and unanimous vote of our group resulted in an unofficial extension of our excursion to visit them today, right after lunch.

A short drive took us to the Chamarel Seven Coloured Earth Geopark, where eleven bucks a head (500 Mauritian rupees) got us in to see two of the island’s best known attractions. The first was the Chamarel Waterfall, which plunges 300 feet down a horseshoe-shaped cliffside, surrounded by lush vegetation. Two viewing platforms directly across from the waterfall provided an excellent vantage point, and it was a delight to just stand there and watch nature do its thing.

The second attraction is genuinely unique, to the point of almost being bizarre. It’s Seven Sands, a small area of seven different colored sand dunes surrounded by lush vegetation. Scientists believe the effect originated from a long ago volcanic eruption, with erosion-producing sand and stain-producing oxidized minerals eventually resulting in the multicolored dunes. Like I said, it’s not a large area, but I don’t know of anywhere else in the world where such a phenomenon exists, and it was definitely worth visiting. Check out my photos below.

With that very cool tour add-on behind us it was finally time for the eighty minute trip back to the ship in Port Louis. We got in at 5:00 pm, and after a day that started at 7:45 am and included a bushwhacking climb up a mountain I was beat. After a well deserved shower and dinner with friends I was ready for bed. We have another long excursion planned for tomorrow, so it’s time to recharge the batteries. I’ll be sure to share that adventure with you too, so stay tuned.

We passed many sugarcane fields on our way to the start of the hike.

Start of the hike. Our destination is the base of that monolith. Doesn’t look too bad from down here, does it?

Okay, maybe a little bit more to it. Wading through waist deep brush. Fortunately there are no ticks in Mauritius.

Then we reached the gate. This is where I had read the fun begins.

Bushwhacking. This is starting to get interesting.

A rare open section. Pretty steep though. Calves were starting to burn.

And then this happened.

And on it went. Yes, that’s the trail. Remind me whose idea this was.

It was all worth it when we got to our turnaround point at the base of the monolith.

Another great view.

I took this one on the way back down. There was always something interesting to see if you dared look away from where you were putting your feet.

We detoured partway down and walked through a pine forest. This is where we saw the fruit bats and deer.

One of several large termite nests we saw.

We passed this little tree stand most of the way back down. Built for the owner’s family’s little boy.

One last view from the hike.

And speaking of views, this was the view from our table at lunch. That’s the Indian Ocean down there.

We ate at an open air thatched roof restaurant. The food was delicious.

These were just the appetizers.

Another view from the restaurant. That’s the mountain we hiked to the base of in the background.

One more view from the restaurant.

The waterfall at the Chamarel Seven Coloured Earth Geopark plunges 300 feet.

There are seven different colored sands in the dunes at the Geopark.

I know of nowhere else in the world where this phenomenon exists. Amazing.

Closeup view. Pretty cool.