Wrapping up

Days 48 to 50 - Patong

We spent the next three days in Patong, there's not much to say as it was just a relaxing time at our hotel, occasionally heading out to visit some of the local attractions and restaurants. 

The days were quite hot so we spent some time in our plunge pool, the hotel we stayed at was a little way out of town so when we needed to go anywhere we booked a Grab which generally worked pretty well.

One day we headed to Bang Tao to see how it had changed from the times we'd spent there previously (our last visit was 2021). The nice peaceful beach area with just a few restaurants was now full of beach clubs, the beach was full of umbrellas and sun lounges, and there was loud music coming a place next to the Aloma restaurant we'd eaten at many times in the past. The area where which before was just a car park was now full of small shops, and it was very very busy. The old Bang Tao we had enjoyed didn't seem to exist any more, that's "progress" I guess.

When we ventured into Patong we were also surprised by how busy it was, perhaps we should have expected it but the number of tourists was incredible. Not only that, we had been looking forward to having some spicy Thai food but we found that all meals we tried were a little disappointing. The flavours were on the bland side, and prices were quite expensive compared to what we'd paid on previous visits. 

This is probably the last time we'll go to Phuket, it was always busy and touristy but now, for us at least, it's no longer worth a visit.

Day 51 - Patong to Bangkok

We had an early afternoon flight so headed to the airport after breakfast. We had a domestic flight to Bangkok, then an overnight stay at the airport hotel, so it was very much just a travelling day.

Day 52 - Bangkok (Thailand) to Melbourne (Australia)  

We left the hotel very early as our flight was scheduled for just after 8am. As with pretty much all of our flights on this trip it was uneventful (fortunately), and we arrived home into cool weather conditions late in the evening.    

Glad we took photos!

Days 46 to 47 - Saint Pierre (Reunion) to Bangkok (Thailand) to Patong (Phuket)

Day 46

Our flight to Bangkok wasn't until 8pm, we had originally planned to check out around 2pm but once again we had to change our plans because of our Airbnb host and ended up meeting them at 12.

We drove back to Saint Gilles for lunch as we wanted to return after our first visit and had a nice lunch near the water.

Then it was back to the airport to return the hire car, strangely with this company we had to clean the car before returning it, the only other time we had to do that was in Albania! It was a relief to hand the car back, especially with some of the cheap local providers. In this case they found issues with the car but fortunately we had photos from when we picked it up so were able to provide the issue wasn't caused by us.

Day 47

Our overnight flight was uneventful and we arrived into Bangkok around 7am the next day. After collecting our luggage and passing through customs we went to the domestic terminal for our flight to Phuket. 

We had allowed some time between landing and our flight in case of our plane being delayed, so we had a long time to wait. We went to the Thai Airways office at 7.30am to see if we could change to a flight earlier than our scheduled one at 11.30am, but no places were available so we cooled our heels for a few hours until we eventually took off just after 12pm.

We took a Grab from the airport to our hotel, which has a great view of the Patong bay and a nice little plunge pool.

It's not that scary once you get used to it

Days 43 to 45 - Saint Pierre

Day 43

We had to be at the airport for our helicopter flight by 7:30am, while driving there we could see a lot of the mountains in cloud but it appeared to be clearing. There were only two flights scheduled that day, we were on the second one. The first one was delayed about 45 minutes and by the time it was our turn we couldn't fly over the Piton de La Fournaise volcano (one of the most active volcanoes in the world, last erupting in August 2023) because of cloud. We did however manage to see the amazing landscape of the island, with views that could only be seen from the air, into areas that can only be reached on foot after a long hike. 

The helicopter was going close to the mountains and cliffs, manoeuvring through crevices and hovering near waterfalls, in the beginning it was a bit scary, by the time we relaxed and started to really enjoy it our 45 minutes was over. Everyone had a great time and it was well worth it, even if we couldn't see the volcano.

It was only a 15 minute drive back to our apartment and by the time we arrived it was raining very heavily, we were so lucky to get the helicopter ride in. We went across the road to a nice bakery, bought some baguettes and cakes and ordered a cappuccino, no idea what went wrong but we ended up with what seemed to be a hot chocolate! 

  

Day 44

As we'd missed flying over the volcano we decided to take a drive up there. We drove for about an hour and a half, up some very windy roads, though they were surprisingly good quality (except when Google maps got lost and took us onto some goat tracks). The landscape changed from green pasture and cattle to desolate lava fields at the Plain des Sables.  

We drove across to the crater viewpoints when the clouds descended and the rain started. In between showers we managed to peer over the rim and see a vague outline of the crater in the mist, it is possible to do the 5 hour return hike to see it close up, but we had decided not to do it.

On the way back our navigation played up again, taking us back to Saint Pierre via a rough, narrow, winding road in the fog and rain.

Day 45

Our last full day so we headed east to visit the town of Saint Phillippe for lunch, however we discovered it wasn't quite what we'd expected, there wasn't much in the way of cafes or restaurants on the water, rather it was more like holiday houses and rentals with all the shops on the main road some distance from the coast. 

We drove back towards Saint Phillipe, stopping at Cap Machant along the way, where there are some interesting rock formations on the water caused by lava flows. There was a nice (and quite busy) restaurant here so we had lunch, then walked along the coast to see the lava cliffs, smoothed over time by the crashing waves.

Back in Saint Pierre M explored the town, finding that there were lots of small beaches and informal bars heading north from where we were.

We didn't expect to see kangaroos here!

Day 42 - Saint Gilles to Saint Pierre

Before leaving Saint Gilles we went for a walk, and in the daylight we discovered that on the other side of the marina was a surf beach where we could watch people catching the waves from a café on the promenade.

We drove on to Saint Pierre as the Airbnb we had booked, which we thought was self check in now required us to meet someone, and they wanted to do it at 11am. We are really over Airbnb's, sometimes it's not easy having to keep to specific times for check in and check out, especially when we are covering large distances and no common language .

When we arrived there was a lady waiting for us who by using google translate asked us to wait, after about 10 minutes we were wondering what was going on, and she just took us up, no ideas why we had to wait. The car park was a problem, we had the smallest most awkward spot which we had to park in while other cars were constantly arriving and leaving.

It was a very busy area, right on the main road running along the coast and close to some busy beaches, probably compounded by it being Saturday. Although it was hot the humidity didn't feel as bad as Mauritius.

There was a nice restaurant across the road, fortunately the waitress spoke English, and they also had kangaroo on the menu! 

So far the cyclone season had been kind to us, it was humid but we'd had very little wind or rain. We were interested in a helicopter flight over the island, but the weather forecast looked like it was going to turn, with storms expected over the next few days, and the only clear morning being the very next day. It was short notice and we contacted a few companies, luckily managing to book a flight the next morning. 

Are we in Europe?

Day 41 - Mahebourg (Mauritius) to Saint-Gilles (Réunion)

We had an early afternoon flight so M explored Mahebourg before we left for the airport, checking out the waterfront promenade as well as the lively local market. 

The flight to Réunion was 50 minutes, we spent more time at the airport than in the air, though we we were able to take advantage of the Air Mauritius lounge which was modern and a relaxing place to wait.

On our arrival into Roland Garros airport we went to pick up our hire car. The girl serving us had just spent a year in Australia and was interested in know what we were doing in Réunion.

We drove to a nearby shopping centre to get a sim card, what a cultural shock! We felt like we'd been transported to Europe. It was very modern and the supermarket was one of the largest we'd ever seen. K when shopping for bearnaise sauce, her go-to purchase whenever she's in Europe. We found the supermarket so busy that it was quite overwhelming. As we still had a 40 minute drive ahead of us and we didn't want to arrive in a new place in the dark we left to get to Saint Gilles.

We were very surprised by the size and condition of the roads  and the modern buildings. We had expected Réunion to be like Mauritius but it appeared very different. We took the Nouvelle Route du Littoral (New Coastal Road) which was over the water and parallel to the coast, quite an impressive road (and Melbourne can't even get a train from the airport to the city!).

We arrived into Saint Gilles at dusk after negotiating narrow, one way streets and a carpark designed for matchbox cars. We checked in and decided to have a quick look around, we turned right from our hotel to find that we were staying right next to a delightful marina with lots of bridges, restaurants and bars. 

We chose a low key place near the water where the menu specials included kangaroo! Using google translate K explained to the waitress that in Australia it's not something we eat ourselves, instead we feed  it to our pets!

The sun setting over the ocean and the pretty twinkling marina lights were a beautiful setting for the best pasta carbonara that K had ever tasted. We felt that we had stumbled upon a tiny pocket of the French Riviera.

We are not the target market

Day 40 - Gran Baie to Mahebourg

We reluctantly departed Grand Baie to drive to Mahebourg near the airport as we had a flight the next day to Reunión.

We took the coastal road along the eastern side of the island, finding it less developed than where we'd been, so less resorts and more natural looking beaches, many of which were empty.

We stopped at another Hindu temple at Sagar Shiv Mandir, this one was right on the water and much smaller than the one we'd seen a few days ago. We witnessed what we think was filming for a music video, where a middle aged Indian looking woman in traditional garb mimed a song with other dressed up men and woman standing nearby. The song didn't sound that great, but I guess we're not the target market!

We stopped for lunch at a nice restaurant just outside Trou d'Eau Douce, which seemed quite busy given the location, but we worked out that we were very close to the point where you could a boat to Ile Aux Cerfs, an island famous for it's beaches and golf course, which might have been worth a visit if we'd had more time.

We made it to Mahebourg by around 3pm, visiting the waterfront before checking in to our Airbnb.

 

Settling in

Days 38 and 39 - Gran Baie

We had two more nights in Gran Baie and wished we'd booked more, it was lovely sitting on our balcony watching the boats and catamarans gearing up to take tourists out for the day and then seeing the groups piling in for their day sailing amongst the islands.

The village feel of Grand Baie was a lot more enjoyable than the resorts and hotels of Flic en Flac. There was a great French bakery in the main shopping centre, and nice cafes and bars quite close to the apartment so we took it easy during the very hot days and ventured out in the evening.

K also took the opportunity to do some shopping, though she found the shops near the marina were quite pushy in trying to get her to buy something.  

Best location ever?

Day 37 - Flic en Flac to Gran Baie

We headed to the north coast of the island, passing through the busy capital of Port Louis along the way. We briefly diverted into the city and drove past the main market, negotiating the heavy traffic of cars, buses and people.

It wasn't far to our ultimate destination of Gran Baie, so we drove a little further on to have lunch at a rooftop bar close to Pereybere Beach before checking in to our great apartment right on the marina in Gran Baie.

This apartment had one of the best locations we'd ever stayed in, with a view of the marina and beach, close to shops, bars and restaurants. It was also very nicely set up, with a great kitchen, and three big bedrooms. 

The cyclone had passed us by and the overcast skies were replaced with bright blue ones. This meant the heat and humidity were now overpowering making daytime activities very unpleasant. As the sun set we visited an outdoor bar in the main street but the lack of air flow made it stifling. We then went to a restaurant on the beach as the sun was setting but even there with no wind the humidity made it unpleasant to stay long, so after a very quick meal we went back to our more comfortable apartment.

 

Not our idea of a "beach bar"

Day 36 - Flic en Flac

Flic en Flac's name comes from an Old Dutch phrase meaning "free and flat land". It's a small popular beach town on the west coast of Mauritius. We were staying at the northern end of the town and beach which meant we weren't as close to restaurants and cafes as we'd like, but there were some decent options  in walking distance and a nice resort where we could have a drink by the sea.

We went for a drive along the coast, passing a lot of high end resorts. We entered one to have lunch at what they called a "beach bar", but it wasn't quite what we expected, and quickly departed when we saw the prices!  

That afternoon M walked quite a long way north along the beach, and once past the main town beach found that much of the coast was taken up by beach lounges belonging to the resorts we'd driven past earlier. The whole area appeared to be geared towards resort holidays, and was also quite busy with some places having no spare lounges.

The evening was spent at the resort bar we'd visited the previous night, where we saw quite a striking sunset. 

Back on the air

Day 35 - La Gaulette to Flic en Flac

Some research indicated the local supermarket in La Gaulette sold sim cards, so first stop for the day was to get that sorted, followed by a pretty decent coffee at a local cafe.

Now that we had internet and navigation sorted we drove to the Le Morne Slave Monument, right next to the imposing Le Morne Brabant monolith. Yesterday was the public holiday for the annual remembrance of the abolition of slavery, so today there were workers dismantling the marquees and seating. 

The slave monument included a series of sculptures that tell the history of the atrocities and how many escaped to the Le Morne mountains and caves.

After some time pondering the sobering history of the island we drove inland to the Chamarel Seven Coloured Earth Geopark. Here there is an area of small earth dunes which are meant to show different colours due to their different mineral composites in a very small area. However, as it had been raining the colours were very subdued.

What was more interesting to us was the Aldabra tortoises, the second-largest species in the world. These were imported from the Seychelles, a cousin of the extinct Mauritian domed and saddle-backed giant tortoises. 

There was also a nice twin waterfall in the area, with just a small climb needed to get to some good views. 

Then we visited the Grand Bassin temple, a massive Hindu temple complex on the shores of a small crater lake. The statues were huge, as was the car park, they must expect some pretty big crowds during festivals, though today it wasn't too busy.

We drove on to our destination for the next few days the weirdly named town of Flic en Flac, to stay in a nice hotel by the ocean.