The Eureka plantation estate, Pamplemousses gardens and the Beau Plan Sugar Mill, Mauritius.

 

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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Flic en Flac, Chamarel and Black River Gorges National Park, Mauritius.

 

Mauritius is an island off the coast of Madagascar. Although there are no active volcanoes on the island, Mauritius is part of a volcanic range of islands that includes Reunion. Population approx 1.3 million. There was no native human population on the island prior to European colonisation.

Flic en Flac is the resort strip on the west coast of the island. Famous for its beautiful beaches and premier diving destinations. The following photos were taken from my resort hotel.

 

Le Morne (the 'mournful one') is a spectacular 556 metre high rock crag on the south west tip of the island. It has a deep resonance with the islanders. A group of escaped slaves took to hiding on the summit and not knowing slavery was abolished threw themselves to their death rather than risk capture

In the south west of the island Chamarel waterfall drops 100 metres into the valley below.

Earth of Seven Colours (Terres de 7 Couleurs) is due to the uneven cooling of molten rock. The property once belonged to Charles de Chazal de Chamarel who entertained Mathew Flinders when he was imprisoned on the island during the Napoleonic Wars.

 

Giant Tortoises are also seen on the property. These are from the Seychelles and only these islands and Galapagos are the natural home to these impressive animals that live to 250 yrs of age. The tortoises of Mauritius and Reunion were driven to extinction many years ago.

Mauritius has only one native mammal - the fruit bat. Others were introduced later and include the mongoose, macaque monkey, java deer and wild pig.

 

Chamarel Rum Distillery is a working distillery where you can observe the process of production, sample the final product and enjoy a magnificent meal in their restaurant.

 

Black River Gorges National Park spreads over 2% of the island area. Famous for hiking, camping and bird watching. The park is the habitat of three endangered species - Mauritius kestrel, echo parakeet and the pink pigeon.

 

Indo-Mauritian people make up nearly 70% of the population and Hindu is the major religion. Bassin Blanc crater lake is an important pilgrimage site for the island's Hindu population. The remaining population includes Creole 27% (descendants of slaves), Chinese, French and South Africans 3%.

Great views can be had of the island from the heights of the central plateau.

 

 

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