Eureka is a perfectly preserved Creole plantation manor built in the 1830s. It is a masterpiece of design in keeping interiors cool during the hot and humid summers. The home has 109 doors and a high vaulted roof to circulate air and is constructed entirely of wood.
A wide veranda circles the house further contributing to cooler house temperatures.
The Chinese room.
The main dining room.
The piano room with an additional instrument showing well used keys.
The combined bath and shower. A tank feeds water into the shower rose which can be turned on or off by a simple pull of the chain. A marble bath with a metal electric burner.
The sitting room. Furniture and porcelain all imported from France.
A bedroom on the ground floor. The owners had many children but only the eldest could sleep on the ground floor with the parents. The remaining children slept in the attic area.
Windows can be found on the top of all internal doors to further aid air circulation.
The kitchen is still a working kitchen and the chef is about to create a meal for me to eat on the veranda.
The servant quarters at the rear of the property.
After Kew Gardens, one of the world's premier botanical gardens. Created in 1678 by the French horticulturalist Pierre Poivre the gardens specialise in palms and other unusual tropical plants.
The famous iron gates at the entrance; once displayed at the Great Exhibition in London.
The giant Victoria Amazonica water lilies from South America show a characteristic tea tray shape and can reach up to 2m across (best seen in summer - Jan, Feb
The flowers open white one day and close red on another.
Other water lilies on display.
The Talipot palm flowers only once every 75 yrs then dies.
The Sausage tree or Kigelia tree from Chad/Eritrea.
Gouroupita or cannonball tree flower. From Brazil it contains the Brazil nut.
The rose of the mountain flower.
Jackfruit from the Jack tree from Malaysia. Largest tree born fruit in the world.
Mon Plaisir Chateaux is situated in the gardens and was once the home of Mahe de Labourdonnaise, an early Govenor who transformed the island by his initiatives. Part of the garden started as a vegetable plot for this chateaux.
Other garden scenes.
The Beau Plan Sugar factory was founded in 1797 and is now a museum devoted to the history of sugar production on the island. The highlight of the visit is a 'sugar tasting' where 15 different types of unrefined sugar are sampled and you learn what foods or beverages match each type of sugar.
Visit the web site to learn about the different types of Mauritius sugars. Click here.
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