Mauritius has a lot more to offer than romantic beaches, luxury hotels and golf courses. The island is home to a wealth of wildlife sanctuaries and nature reserves, each with their own special inhabitants.
Everyone has heard of the Dodo, a mysterious flightless bird that became extinct in the 17th century. The Dodo was endemic to Mauritius; there was no other place on earth that it existed. Even today, there are many rare endangered species that can only be found here.
The Casela nature park is a nature park, wildlife reserve and adventure zone all rolled into one. It has a special ‘Walk with the lions’ tour. You can take a stroll with these mighty beasts, even stroke and pet them. The park rangers supervise the interaction, just to make sure the lions aren’t getting agitated. They even have a cheetah that you can stroke, but it isn’t that friendly with strangers.
After the encounter with the cats, you can take a quad bike tour across the reserve and up the mountains. This is unique as you get to drive quite close to the wildlife in the forests. Zebras and gazelles graze, ostriches try to out-run your quad bike, and antelopes gracefully bound across the landscape. The tours can last from one to three hours, and is an adrenaline-pumped safari experience!
For some reptiles, visit La Vanille nature reserve. They have a collection of Nile crocodiles, and if you’re lucky, you can watch them at feeding time, when a rather unfortunate dead chicken is strung up over the swampy ponds. The crocs battle it out and leap out of the water, clamping their jaws shut with frightening clashes. Also featured here are bright lizards, iguanas and fruit bats such as the Mauritius flying fox and Rodrigues flying fox.
A good way to slow down the pace – La Vanille also houses Giant Aldabra tortoises. Originally from the Seychelles islands, they can weigh almost 250kgs and can live upto 150 years! They look like huge rocks lying all around, and are only motivated to move by the sight of food.
When you’re done with all the four legged creatures, its time for some bird watching, and I don’t mean girls! Visit Ile aux Aigrettes near Mahebourg to see beautiful birds such as the Echo parakeet, the world’s rarest parrot, and the Pink pigeon, the world’s rarest pigeon. The Mauritius kestrel and Mauritius parakeet came close to extinction but are now increasing thanks to intensive conservation efforts.
Do visit the Chamarel seven coloured earths while in Mauritius! The rainbow hues of the ground will stun you. It is a natural phenomenon caused by decomposition of basalt to clay. Note – you can only observe the earth, not walk on it. Before the coloured earths, there is also a nice waterfall, the highest in Mauritius at 83m.
Last but not least, take to the seas for some dolphin watching. A catamaran cruise from Flic en Flac or Tamarin on the west coast brings you close to a resident pod of dolphins. Usually in groups of five to almost twenty, the dolphins happily perform their ballet in the water, as they ride alongside the boats. A half day cruise combines dolphin watching with lunch and a snorkeling trip, to make the most out of an unforgettable experience.
For a small island, Mauritius has amazingly diverse plant and animal life. Wildlife tours are organized in the form of excursions, nature trips and expeditions, covering almost all wildlife areas on the island. You can travel through the dense forest region, national parks and sanctuaries, amidst the twittering of birds and the gentle roaring of different beasts. On any holiday to Mauritius, you cannot afford to miss the plethora of birds, reptiles, fish and mammals that the country offers.
Website links:
Casela park – http://www.caselayemen.mu/index.php?eng
La Vanille – http://www.lavanille-reserve.com/eng/
Ile aux Aigrettes – http://www.ile-aux-aigrettes.com/
Dolphin cruise – http://www.dolswim.com/
Gypsea Trip 