It’s taken seven straight days of traversing a strangely calm Indian Ocean to reach Mauritius, the 3rd of our 13 ports of call on this half world crossing.
First, these are my musings on life onboard Richard Bransons billion (Australian) dollar cruise ship The Resilient Lady. I’ll follow with my take on Mauritius.
First. The Stats.
Resilient Lady is a 17-deck, adults-only (no one under 18 years old) cruise ship with a gross tonnage of 110,000.
She can carry 2770 passengers serviced by 1160 crew.
She measures 278m in length, 38m in width, has 105 inside cabins and 1303 outside ones.
Unlike other cruising vessels, she offers multiple dining outlets and no buffet.
What particularly impresses me is that she has her own waste treatment system, desalination plant, uses LED lights and our rooms have mood lighting and sensors that automatically adjust the cabin’s lighting according to guests’ movements.
Now. Some Inside Information.
The Crew. The crew of the Resilient Lady is by far the friendliest I have ever come across on a cruise ship. They also more accurately reflect society. The whole LGBTIQ gamut is openly and well covered from our onboard Happenings Cast member – Diva ‘Titty Kaka’ to ‘Jo’, our androgenous server of fruit. Something you don’t normally see on other, more staid cruise lines.
The Passengers. Perhaps because it’s a younger demographic than I am used to, but the passengers on this cruise are much more into fitness and healthier eating. The ship contains a running track, a training camp, a bike and burn area, and a large build and balance room. All are well patronised and every morning’s exercise class is fully booked.
And A Few Other Things
The treadmills. It took me a few days to realise treadmills could be set to American miles or British km’s. It was a painful lesson.
The Air- Conditioning. It works well. Too well. Inside and I am always cold, necessitating long-sleeve tops which must be immediately stripped off when I go outside.
The Wi-Fi. Is free and incredible. So good to communicate freely with the rest of the world. Although it does have a drawback. More than once, I have been sitting quietly when someone comes alongside and starts FaceTiming REALLY LOUDLY next to me. So many seem to think you have to shout your words in order for the recipient to hear them.
If you are offered a little white card – take it. It will take you to secret places and provide interesting entertainment. It will also intrigue your fellow passengers.
Mauritius - Home of the (extinct) Dodo
While I could inundate you with wikipedia facts about the Republic of Mauritius, such as it’s an Island in the Indian Ocean. It has a population of 1.26 million; it was more than likely first discovered by Arab traders back in 975AD, it’s the only African country where Hinduism is the most practiced religion, it follows the Westminster parliamentary system, it’s the only country in Africa with full democracy, its classified by the world bank as a high-income economy, it offers free universal healthcare – I would rather describe what I saw for myself and relay what I learnt from Gregory. The gorgeous, bean stalk skinny guide who happily shared his country with a bus full of tourists for a day.
My Impressions of Mauritius (based on a 6 hour guided tour).
The roads are great. Much better than those in the Byron Shire back home. And unlike so many other countries we have visited, the traffic-lights work and the road rules are followed.
The houses appeared in the majority to be made of concrete brick, and larger buildings often showed a quirky trend.
Because of its tropical climate, foliage was prolific and unfortunately, I found it lent the place a rather unkempt appearance in places. Not helped by the ubiquitous plastic water bottles strewn around.
Our tour included stops at the largest Catholic Church on the Island, a model ship building company, Grand Bassin – a holy site containing giant statues of the Lord Shiva and Goddess Durga and a lookout that offered breath-taking views of Black River Gorges National Park. It also included a gut churning corkscrew drive up and down a mountain to feast in a restaurant that clung to the side of said mountain.
Some Things I learnt about Mauritius from Gorgeous Gregory.
Mauritius has 5 towns and 200 villages.
It is renowned for its beer – Phoenix beer being the best.
After high school (which is free) you have the choice of university, IT school or hotel school.
Most Mauritians learn at least three languages – Creole (the mother language), English and French. Many also tack on German and Spanish.
Wine is not made from grapes but lychees.
There are no predatory animals and no snakes.
There are only two seasons – summer (October to April) and winter (May to September) although, because of climate change, this is changing. Gregory actually mentioned climate change frequently throughout the day. It is obviously having some kind of impact on Mauritius.
Where Next?
I type this as we sail past the country of Madagascar. Tomorrow and maybe Saturday are predicted to be exciting with rough weather forecast. After that – Durban, our 4th port of call.
2 Comments
Katrina
Great review but just a heads up Mauritius was our third port of call, can understand you forgetting Eden lol
Emma Scattergood
Ahh. Blink and I missed it Eden. Thanks heaps for reminding me. I have fixed 😬😊
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