On my second and final day in Mauritius, my trip met up outside the ship bright and early, around 8:45 AM (yes, that's early when you're on island time). Our group was very intimate, with about 12 people including my professor. We climbed on our small bus and headed out and drove about half an hour outside of Port Louie, to a dock where a speed boat was waiting for us. We took the boat to a small island that is used as an endangered wildlife conservation and research facility.
Once we were there, we hiked around the island for a couple of hours with the guide, who explained what kind of work he and the other researchers do, and specifically what kind of species they are attempting to save. We got to see several of the species while on our hike, such as a bird called a "footie," and the pink pigeon, which at one time, according to our guide, was down to 6 known individuals. Thanks to the amazing work of these researchers, they have managed to bring the pigeon population up to a few hundred. Though the bird is still endangered, it has been officially dropped from the "critically endangered species" list, which is a great thing!
Also on our hike, we were lucky enough to see two full-grown tortoises! One of them was 80 years old, he was abolutely huge, and he seemed to like Professor Sumner because he kept following him around. It was pretty funny to watch.
After a quick stop in the gift shop to buy a Mauritius t-shirt, we were back on the boat, speeding away from the island once again. Next stop was the Crocodile Park, about half an hour away. There we saw a variety of species, including what must have been hundreds of tortoises in a huge fenced-in field. We were allowed to walk around in the field with them, which was kind of awkward, because in case you didn't know, it's tortoise mating season, and they were all being very, um, active.
Anywho, after that we walked around the rest of the park, and I was surprised at the way the place was laid out. I was expecting a typical zoo where the animals sat looking depressed in a too-small cage with iron bars. It was more like they took the natural rainforest and built the facility into the natural environment. We walked around on this path that winded all the way around the park, and it was almost like we were taking a stroll through the rainforst, complete with streams and little waterfalls. We saw coy, monkeys, bats, all sorts of lizards, and of course, lots and lots o' crocodiles! We even got to watch the crocs be fed, which involved two large barrels of plucked chickens that have been chopped in half, and two workers dumping the meat into a thriving group of crocodiles. The frenzy was absolutely unbelieveable.
We headed back to the ship soon after watching the crocodile feeding, so I sat and enjoyed the scenery of paradise one last time. Two days in Mauritius, regardless of how many things I packed into them, was not even close to enough. As our group waited in line to go through ship security and get back on the ship for the last time, Mauritius decided to give us one last gift, in the form of a sun shower, followed by a beautiful rainbow stretching over the water and disappearing behind the mountains. I know that sounds corny, but I'm not lying! It was simply the most perfect way to leave this island paradise.
No comments:
Post a Comment