RODRIGUES ISLAND
RODRIGUES ISLAND – Paradise for nature lovers and hikers
As much as I am fond of Santorini which I visited a couple of months ago, Rodrigues is authentic, remote, atypical, un-spoilt, friendly environment, tiny hilly, green valleys, white sandy beaches, turquoise lagoons and wonderful panoramic sceneries. Rodrigues is just awesome and touched people's deepest emotions and fascination.
If you are looking for a place to relax, board an Air Mauritius ATR flight from SSR Airport eastbound to Rodrigues for an hour and a half, expect a hard landing at SGD Airport at Plaine Corail.
I had the opportunity to visit a few establishments and recommend among others for a memorable retreat to choose the charming Tekoma Boutik Hotel or the Bakwa Lodge nestled in a calm and unspoilt environment. For more entertainment go to the creole style Mourouk Ebony Hotel or the long-established Cotton Bay Hotel. There are a few guests houses and smaller hotels but one needs to be very careful when choosing to avoid any disappointment.
The cuisine is mainly creole and what is good is that all products are fresh. The locals tend to cook more or less similar food as in Mauritius but have kept their traditional dishes, mostly accompanied by maize, milie-meal, red kidney beans, lime pickles, papaya salad, rice, octopus curry, honey glazed pork, fish, chicken curry, cono-cono salad, suateed crabs, rougaille, tourtes or tarts, gateau patate (sweet potato), gateau manioc (cassava cakes) and more.
A few activities not to miss during your stay, a visit to Coco Island mostly appreciated for its beautiful beaches and rare birds, the Caverne Patate most visited stalagtites and stalagmites cave or the Francois Leguat Nature Reserve, Ile aux Chat, a tour on the theme of the 5 senses among others.
For more adventure, try the Tyrodrig zipline with a thrilling height of more than 100 metres spanning over 400 metres taking you across 3 lush green valleys. Rodrigues offers a dozen of hiking experiences, the most popular being the Mont Limon Trekking, Trou d’Argent Trekking and Honey Trekking. And of course, how could one miss the nautical activities such as the sport fishing, kite surfing, scuba diving and snorkel.
I have to share an anecdote of Prem who was flying his drone over the Port Sud Est. He mentioned that while doing so, he received a warning of low battery, but the area was so beautiful that he tried his luck for some few minutes and as you may have guessed the drone dropped. I fully understand this episode as the view of the Port Sud Est is just unbelievable. He was lucky that his drone was identified by the Google Map location finder, not sure though that if it is still in one piece. At least, he has now a collection of images of Rodrigues second to none.
Christian Lefèvre