June 24, 2012

Ile aux Cerfs (Visitors from India - part 2)

I have lived here since 2003, but never been to Ile aux Cerfs - Stag Island.  DH has lived here all his life (50+ years) - never been there either - that's even worse! :) The fact is that we try to avoid all touristy places... 
We parked the cars at Trou d'Eau Douce (Hole of sweet water - it means), is the starting point for Ile aux Cerfs. After paying the tickets, we were taken in a speed boat over to the island. Going by speed boat does not take more than approx 5-6 minutes.


Eating on Ile aux Cerfs is said to be very expensive,
if not mistaken, this is what is called the 'beach bar'


Beautiful beach and crystal clear sea


 Our 'package' included lunch and after approx 1 hour we were taken 'around the corner' in a slow boat to this place for lunch.
Lunch consisted of a piece of fish - said to be marlin, but not so sure about that..., a piece of chicken, one chicken sausage, rice and fresh cabbage salad. Water, beer, red, white or rose wine, coca cola etc to drink.
To be very critical; the food wasn't much to write home about...  


Our skipper (right) entertained with two songs, one of them 'Stand by me' (Ben E.King). I think he did it rather well... You can listen to the original version by Ben E. King here.


'Hordes of vultures' entering the 'restaurant' area.
Traffic jam, so we had to wait to enter the speed boat that took us to the waterfall.


Ready for 'take-off'! Hats and caps off - SPEED!!! :))
Well, no speed allowed near land/island due to lots of traffic and shallow water (coast guards are keeping an eye on you!), but indeed, he did speed up after some meters! :0


Stunning waterfall at Grand Riviere Sud-Est (Big River Southeast).
We also saw giant bats and some tourists feeding bananas to a monkey.


'Pirate' ship leaving the island...


One of the beaches at Ile aux Cerfs


Ile aux Cerfs is said to be an overpriced, touristy place.  Beaches are usually packed with tourists and difficult to find a place to sit. We were lucky; outside the peak tourist season, it's 'winter', no school holidays - the beaches were rather empty.


If you love (expensive) water sports, beautiful beaches and crystal clear sea, it is a nice place to go, but.... there are beaches on the mainland that are as beautiful as those at Ile aux Cerfs...
We went here for the first time, together with wonderful friends, so it was OK. I don't think I'll go there again, to pay for seeing sand, beaches and filao trees... :) We loved the boat trip to the waterfall though - that said! :)
Click here to read reviews of Ile aux Cerfs.

A couple of photos from the beach at Flic en Flac - the west coast of Mauritius


...a cloudy afternoon...


Our friends have returned to India and we all are back into daily routines.
To our Indian friends; we loved your visit and hope to see you again soon!
  

1 comment:

Elzaan said...

Lovely photos! I agree that some tourist places are a bit pricy and we try to avoid them too.
Looks like you had a great time, non-the-less.