Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Mauritius. Sixteen survivors were eventually washed ashore at Bel Ombre after surviving
25 days in an open lifeboat.
west of Baie du Cap. It was erected in 2003 to honour the 200th anniversary of the arrival
of Matthew Flinders, an English navigator and cartographer. He was less warmly received
at the time; the poor bloke didn't know that England and France were at war and he was
swiftly imprisoned for six years. For an interesting read on the subject, take a look at
Huguette Ly-Tio-Fane Pineo's book
In the Grips of the Eagle: Matthew Flinders at the Île
de France, 1803-1810
.
Bus services along here are limited. Baie du Cap is the terminus for buses from Souillac
and Quatre Bornes (via Tamarin). Buses run approximately every 20 minutes.
Around the South Coast
The South Coast's hinterland has enough fascinating attractions to fill at least a day, with
a wildlife park, some fine examples of colonial architecture and a take on the coloured-
earth phenomenon, not to mention some fine hotels.
Sights
La Vanille
OFFLINE MAP
ZOO
( 626 2503;
www.lavanille-reserve.com
;
adult/child Mon-Fri Rs 350/200, Sat & Sun Rs 200/90; 9.30am-5pm)
This exciting zoo and reserve makes for a fantastic field trip with the kids. The park has
the greatest number of giant tortoises in captivity in the world (over 1000), a result of a
wildly successful breeding program for the Aldabra and radiata species. Chances are that
you'll see the former breeding in front of your eyes. Almost as impressive as the tortoises
is the unbelievably gigantic display of creepy-crawlies in the insectarium - it's worth
coming to La Vanille just to check out this immense collection of mounted critters (over
23,000 species!). There's also a farm of Nile crocodiles (population 2000) which can grow
up to 7m. Allow at least one hour for a complete visit.
11am-5pm)
specialises in all things crocodilian - croc curry, croc burger, croc fritters in a
salad, croc cooked in a vanilla sauce... It also does more-conventional dishes like spa-
