Mauritius

Bonzur, my little ones! That means, “Good day!” in Mauritian Creole. My name is Daudi and I’m a dodo from Mauritius.

One day last year, I was sitting in the sun on top of a mountain called Le Morne Brabant, when I saw a small yellow aircraft. As it passed over my head, I peeped in and saw a zebra and a little oxpecker bird. They looked so pleasant, I wished to meet them! I rushed down the mountain as fast as my legs could carry me, and I was ready to greet them when they came in to land.

At first, Zeb and Oki simply stared at me in amazement. They had not expected to see a dodo here! But I explained that I was a ghost, and then they understood. And then, to my delight, they asked if I would like to take a trip around Mauritius with them!

I was so excited, I couldn’t speak! I jumped in the air and shouted “Woo-hoo!” several times! Dear Zeb turned to Oki and said, “I think that’s a yes!” Then little Oki started jumping too and soon we were all beginning our journey.

We started by visiting some of my favourite beaches. The coast of Mauritius is truly beautiful, with soft white sands, clear blue seas, and tall palm trees swaying in the breeze! It is lovely to relax or play in the sunshine. And whether you go to the north, east, south, or west coast of the island, there is something for everyone to enjoy.
For example, Mauritius is wonderful for watersports! Diving is possible for older children, and many of the resorts have a dive centre where you can learn how to dive if you have never done this before. You can snorkel too. And the resorts also have kids clubs, which offer activities such as swimming, windsurfing, golf, tennis, cooking, arts and crafts, reading, and computer games!

The coasts are also excellent for nature lovers, with plenty of sea birds to spot while you are walking along the shore. And if you take a glass-bottomed boat ride, you can see all the fabulous fish and colourful coral below the surface of the water! You can go on submarine rides too, which is what Zeb, Oki, and I did. It was a real thrill!

Zeb has asked me to mention the food at the beach resorts, because it’s pretty special! Most of the resorts have a big range of restaurants, with food from many different parts of the world – Creole, Asia, America, and Europe. Woo-hoo!

After our time on the beaches, we travelled to the capital city of Mauritius, Port Louis. The city is in the north-west and it was named in honour of King Louis the fifteenth, from France.

There are many exciting things to do here! A good place to start is the Blue Penny Museum, which focuses on Mauritian history and art. And the Natural History Museum has three galleries – one for birds and land animals, one for sea animals, and one for dodos. Woo-hoo!

Zeb, Oki, and I really enjoyed learning about Mauritius. Then we sat in the sun on the city’s waterfront for a while, just watching the world go by!

Once we had rested, we were ready for the last part of our trip. This was our visit to Black River Gorges National Park, in the south-west. This is another area that is ideal for nature lovers!

Black River Gorges has mostly forests and marshy heath. There are two types of forest. On the hills, the forest is humid, like a rainforest, whereas lower down it is quite dry. There are lots of different hiking trails and picnic areas along the way.

Many of the wildlife species you might spot while on your hike are found only on Mauritius! The birds include olive white-eyes and grey white-eyes. There are also the Mauritius parakeet, kestrel, cuckoo-shrike, bulbul (a songbird), fody (a weaver), and pink pigeon. The pink pigeon is my favourite!

As for mammals, there are Mauritian fruit bat, rusa deer (with big ears), and wild pigs. Black River Gorges really is gorgeous – hoo-hoo! – with its lovely waterfalls and views out to sea. You could stop off at the Seven Coloured Earths! These are sand dunes in seven different colours – red, yellow, green, blue, purple, violet, and brown.

We ended our trip by climbing up Le Morne Brabant. When I described how amazing the views are from the top, Zeb and Oki were keen to see everything for themselves!

Zeb has strong legs, so up he trotted with me and Oki riding on his head and shoulders. If you look at the top of this page, you will see a picture of us all enjoying the views. We had such a fun time here!

I felt sad when I waved goodbye to Zeb and Oki, watching their yellow aircraft fly off into the sunset. But they have promised to return soon! And perhaps some of you will come for a holiday on my beautiful island. Woo-hoo!

I DO HOPE YOU’VE ENJOYED READING MY BLOG! TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ME AND OTHER DODOS, PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW.