Mauritius is an island country some 2,000 km from the eastern coast of Africa and around 800km east of Madagascar.

Mauritius was also the home to the now extinct Dodo!

The island is set in the Indian Ocean and is of volcanic origin. It is mostly surrounded by a reef making for gentle and calm seas.

The beaches are out of this world nestled against the warm Indian Ocean waters.

We spent three weeks here and got to see a lot of this beautiful island.

There are just over 1 million people living on the Island, it’s population and culture heavily influenced by its time under Dutch, French and British colonialism.

It’s a highly multi-lingual country with French, English and local Creole languages generally spoken.

It is a calm, peaceful and beautiful place to visit.

Whilst there are a number of luxurious hotels here much of the beach life is about sitting in the shade of the trees with a picnic or bbq. What’s not to like about that.

There are so many colourful birds here.

Dotted across the island are some dramatic looking mountains, the highest reaching around 800 metres above sea level.

We did the 7 waterfall hike which is a 3 hour trek into the mountains travelling down the edges of waterfalls ending with a cool relaxing swim in the last one.

It’s a bit of a scramble up and down the mountain side but we were rewarded with some wonderful views.

I don’t mind heights but I was not willing to lean over the edge like some brave souls!

After our trek we visited the Chamarel Seven Coloured Earth Geopark.

The soil has iron and anthracite deposits that give these seven colours, which change their hue in the sunlight.

The park also has a collection of Aldabra giant tortoises originally from the Seychelles, with a lifespan of around 150 years.

On Christmas day we were invited to see a Tamil-Hindu ceremony called Theemithi.

Walking on hot coals is intended as an act of penance, devotion, and a test of faith.

They kindly let us watch the event, before we left them to it!

We planned our Christmas evening meal at a very special restaurant, located in the south of Mauritius.

Le Chateau de Bel Ombre is an 18th century mansion set in beautiful gardens.

It is also surrounded by a very picturesque golf course…unfortunately I just got to look and not play.

It is well worth a visit for a special treat, the setting, food and ambience were outstanding.

For the last couple of days on our stay here we moved to a location nearer to the airport as our flight out was a 5am special!

Close by is the spectacular Blue Bay Beach. It is nothing less than stunning and certainly needs a visit if you come here.

It also has a small marine park with a fabulous array of fish easily spotted by snorkelling from a short boat trip.

Our last visit was to the botanical gardens which is a nice place to visit and have a walk around.

The gardens have a few small lakes with an impressive variety of water lilies.

The weather changed whilst we were there and we got soaked, so we missed out on a couple of areas in the park.

If you get a chance the gardens are well worth a visit.

And so our near three week stay here has come to an end.

We have been lucky to travel quite widely over the last few years and Mauritius stood out to us. I suspect we will be coming back in the next year or two!

So finally, let us wish you a happy new year and a healthy and prosperous year ahead!

Next stop is Tanzania.