Eye for an Isle
The sun-drenched Mauritius is a multicultural melange with fine
cuisines, great biodiversity and pristine beaches
Look there. The lions will emerge from that gate and walk
towards you. Stay calm. No shrieking or shouting, please.
If you are scared, you can climb on top of each other, but don't
climb on me!“ We are at the Casela Nature Park in Cascavelle, south Mauritius,
where our safari leader Jim is initiating our group of 12 tourists into the
“walking with lions“ tour.
Not for the faint-hearted, the hour-long adventure will allow us
to be really close to the beasts as they roam in the savannahs. Though the
11-hectare park hosts around 1,500 birds (over 150 species), turtles, giraffes,
giant tor toises as well as a large diversity of flora, the lions are its
biggest lure.
We arrive on a safari bus to the lion reserve where we deposit
our belongings at a tiny office and pick up wood en staffs. The staffs, Jim
explains, must be held next to the lion's neck while patting it. “If you don't
have the sticks, the lions will come to play with you -but mind you, they play
with their claws!“ The two lions we are about to meet can run at 70 kmph, Jim
adds. If things “turn ugly“ during the 2 km walk with the unrestrained animals,
we should “stand still and shout loudly“.
When the two honey-coloured beasts -siblings Jumbo and Jen, each
about three years old -appear before us, a hushed silence descends upon our
group. They look majestic and feral with sharp teeth and claws and penetrating,
green eyes. With Jim leading the way, we start walking next to the lions,
crossing a barbed wire gate and then entering the 800-hectare savannah
enclosure. We amble along a trail carved between coqueluche trees indigenous to
the island while watching the animals gambol, eat, play, hop on rocks of the
river banks, eat and scale trees.
Ten minutes into the trail, the lions are fed. “Each lion
consumes about 40 kg of meat a week,“ says Jim. Each participant is given a
chance to pat the animals -either while moving along or during rest times. But
rules must be adhered to. We can touch the animals on the back or from the neck
down but never on their claws . Nor are we to ever look into their eyes
directly, crouch in front of them or pull their tail. Jim occasionally plays
with the beasts, rubbing their tummies, egging them on as if they were pet cats
or dogs. When Jumbo perches on an outstretched tree branch, we quickly fall in
line to pose for photos with him. Standing next to the beast, I can almost hear
-and feel -its breath. Time flies by and soon we are back to the reserve while
the beasts are led back to their dens. Jim requests us to sign the visitors'
book. “We call this the survivors' book!“ he says as we crack up.
Sun-kissed Haven
Mauritius, the sun-drenched island in the Indian Ocean may be
better known as a honeymooners' paradise with its pristine beaches and
sumptuous resorts.Yet this multicultural melange of a nation also offers great
biodiversity, exciting flora and fauna, lush golf courses, water sports,
mountain trekking, hunting, birdwatching and kitesurfing. The pear-shaped
island's colonial capital Port Louis is a city with a personality while fine
cuisine, a pulsating nightlife, Unesco World Heritage Sites and the world's
oldest horseracing tracks add to its other enchantments.
A week into my trip and I figure why Mauritius was fought over
for centuries by the Dutch, the French and the British who colonised it in
turns. Incredibly, no one lived in Mauritius till as recently as 400 years ago.
Besides the occasional Portuguese explorer or waylaid pirate crew, it was
deserted until Dutch settlers arrived in 1638. Then came the French in 1710,
and their influence can be felt most prominently in the Franco-Creole dialect
most Mauritians speak today.
In 1968, Mauritius achieved independence but there's never been
a military or populist uprising of any kind on 10 this peace-loving island
measuring barely 2,000 square km. The population of 1.8 million comprises
Indians (68%) as well as Creole, Chinese, French, plus a smattering of English
and South Africans. English is the official language while French, Mauritian
Creole, Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Bhojpuri and Hakka are also spoken.
Eclecticism is Mauritius' imprimatur. The country's patchwork
quilt of cultures reflects in the island's diverse cuisine.Piquant chutneys,
hearty stews, velvety curries, bouillabaisse, Creole stews and fresh fish rule
menus. Boulangeries hawk baguettes as well as chappatis.
Architecture is a delightful jumble too. Sizeable temples sit
cheek by jowl with oriental pagodas, and elegant colonial and Dutch buildings
with French chateaus. Star-studded luxury manifests itself in a dense
concentration of handsome hotels popular with the wealthy, not to mention
jetsetting footballers.
About 200 years ago, a dramatic change swept across Mauritius
when Irish botanist and humanitarian Charles Telfair arrived in the southern
Bel Ombre region to bring respite to runaway sugarcane plantation slaves that
were brought in from the African mainland, Madagascar, India and Southeast
Asia. Telfair also reshaped the island's flora and set up the feted
Pamplemousses Botanical Garden. While transplanting bananas from China, he lent
a specimen of the fruit to William Cavendish, the sixth Duke of Devonshire.
Today the Cavendish banana is the most ubiquitous fruit in Mauritian shops.
At the spiffy Heritage Le Telfair Resort & Spa in Bel Ombre,
named eponymously after Telfair, history whispers from every corner. Designed
in the African colonial style, the property has a dramatic entrance -an
ornamental bridge spanning a river that sweeps all the way down to the private
beach. The hotel's 12 restaurants, while taking care of your every craving,
honour local produce as a tribute to their founder. At the hotel's
ocean-fronted pan-Asian eatery Ginja, I enjoy a lobster dinner -lobster soup, a
sushi platter, lobster poached in a butter-sage sauce, squid ink noodles and a
trio of sorbets (coconut, passion fruit and kiwi).
Earthy
Hues
The picturesque Le Morne peninsula in south west Mauritius is a
Word Heritage Site teeming with pods of dolphins and schools of flying fish.
The purple-headed Le Morne mountain rises high above Hotel Dinarobin, a
property that has contributed much to showcase and maintain the region's
fragile ecology. Everywhere at the hotel there are yellow and white frangipani,
scarlet flame trees, birds of paradise, anthuriums and flowering allamanda.
A dramatic thatched pavilion, exotic Asian statuary and a glassy
infinity pool as well as the hotel's meandering paths, undulating lawns and
spectacular ocean views encourage you to lead a convalescent life. Hundreds of
varieties of tropical birds add to one's delight. They appear less charming at
breakfast though when they attack your bread basket or perch themselves on your
juice pitcher. When the doors at the hotel's panAsian restaurant Umami are
thrown open to the night, a warm breeze carries the whisper of surf. I sup here
one night next to the lapping waves of the ocean under a glittering vault of
stars.
Mauritian countryside is a mesmerising maze of emerald sugarcane
plantations. Stacks of dried cane, set ablaze after harvest, make the balmy air
thick with the smell of molasses.One day, my driver Anoop and I stop by the
roadside to enjoy sugarcane juice and coconut water. Though the activity
qualifies as tropical island-cheesy, it was both fun and educative.Anoop
explained that in Creole, coconut is dileau en pendant or hanging water, while
sugarcane is dileau diboute or water standing up! Next morning, we visit the
botanical garden in the northern town of Pamplemousses, 62 acres of
mind-boggling biodiversity encompassing 500 species of trees and plants. At
Chamarel, at the southern tip of the island, another wonder awaits -the
seven-coloured earth which has evolved through conversion of basaltic lava to
clay minerals. Rolling sand dunes of seven distinct colours (red, brown, violet,
green, blue, purple and yellow) create a multi-hued, lunar-like landscape here.
On the flight back home, I reflected on what Mark Twain had to say about the
island after visiting it. “Mauritius,“ he said, “was made first and then
heaven; and heaven was copied after Mauritius.“ No wonder, I came back from the
island with my heart singing and my soul nourished!
Neeta Lal
Mar 26 2017 : The Economic Times (Mumbai)
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