Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
South of Black River, the mountains draw ever closer to the coast. You'll find pinewoods
and mangroves mingling with the lapping waves, but little in the way of habitation besides
the pockets of impoverished shanty towns along the road. Then, a small township emerges
under the shade of the nearby hills - it's a quiet place where the lazy fisherfolk lifestyle
effortlessly mixes with the carefree surfer vibe. Welcome to La Gaulette.
Sights & Activities
The area's most notable attraction is the lovely
Île aux Bénitiers
, which floats just above sea
level in the technicolour reef offshore. The islet is considerably larger than many of the
other outcrops in the lagoon (keep an eye out for the interesting rocky projection that
looks like the top half of an hourglass) and sports a beautiful picnic-worthy beach, a small
coconut farm and a colony of migratory birds. The island's keeper is quite the local char-
acter - he travels around with an ever-growing pack of chipper dogs.
Most of the fishermen docked at La Gaulette offer small excursions to the island. The
number of boat operators that visit the island continues to grow each year and most of the
products are identical: crowded catamarans and a picnic lunch on the sand. Check out
www.mauritiuscatamaran.com
to make heads or tails of the boat choices - try the Harris
Wilson catamaran for a more luxurious (and less crowded) island experience. Note that
many cruise operators combine a trip to Île aux Bénitiers with dolphin-watching.
Tours
Ropsen
OFFLINE MAP
( 255 5546, 451 5763;
www.ropsen.net
; Royal Rd, La Gaulette)
The village's top tour operator,
Ropsen, also organises catamaran excursions, as well as dolphin-watching tours, island
tours, car rentals and accommodation.
TOURS
Sleeping
Gaining popularity among the kitesurfing crowd, La Gaulette represents an excellent
price-value ratio. There are currently two notable options in the village and we suspect
that this number will quickly grow over the next couple of years.
