One last post for Mauritius day one, this one starts at Maconde Viewpoint at the southwest edge of the island. More on the east side of the island in the next post.
We climbed to the top and got a view of the lovely blue-green waters we were hoping to see here, at the same time looking forward to getting in them the next day.
Pretty windy up here for my selfie. We only stopped for a couple of minutes to take photos and to ask the guy in the ice cream truck parked there how far it was to the next gas station. Mark had just realized that unlike with regular car rentals where they send you off with a full tank of gas, this one had not, and we supposedly had only 13 kilometers worth of fuel left in the tank. Turned out the nearest gas station was more like 20 kilometers away. I assured Mark, as I kept my fingers crossed, that based on past experience, there is always more left in the tank than it says there is. You'll be glad to know we got fuel without having to push that seven passenger vehicle!
Our final stop was supposed to be in the Chamarel Seven Colored Earth Geopark. With our detour for gas we weren't sure we could get there before it closed but decided to give it a shot. Mark did a great job navigating the curvy road up to the park at a safely fast speed! There are several parts to the Geopark but all we had time for were the Seven Colored Earth section and the Chamarel Waterfall. Both were well worth the effort to get there.
I'm going to be honest here and admit that I've increased the color saturation on these photos to help you see more of the colors we saw. Arriving as the sun was setting we didn't have the best light for photography.
The bedrock here is basalt which is old volcanic rock. The basalt changes its appearance and texture through a chemical process, hence the colors.
Different angles and light changed the appearance.
At the site you find seven distinct colors of red, brown, violet,
green, blue, purple and yellow.
We've wondered what the photos look like that were taken by friends who visited the site
earlier in the day but haven't seen them yet. It truly was a unique spot, a lovely natural paint palette. I've seen various colors in southern Utah before but not as many as here.
Chamarel also has the tallest single drop waterfall in Mauritius.
Besides there being the beautiful waterfall as we arrived at sunset, the bats were coming out. These weren't just little bats, they were Mauritian Fly Foxes, and they were everywhere! How often do you get to see a bat fly across the moon?!
The Chamarel Waterfall rises over 328 feet above the rock floor below. Weathering of the basalt rock and erosion caused by the rapid flow of the watercourse have carved out the valley into which the falls now flow.
With a leathery looking wingspan of over 30 inches these creatures take to the air at dawn and dusk to eat fruit and nectar. They are an important part of the ecosystem for seed dispersal and pollinating. I was so fascinated by them soaring here and there I literally had to stop myself and say "No more pictures!"
Cathy, Jane and Mark are great traveling companions, always a treat to travel with them.
If you look closely at the rock here you can see there are two distinct lava flows that created this area of Mauritius as it formed millions of years ago as a blowtorch-like hot spot in Western India. The movement of the African plate towards the northeast eventually lead to the formation of the different islands in this region. There's a lot of geologic history in those rocks!
Can't help myself, one more bat picture, check out the claws on the wings that help them climb. These bats are just so cool!
One last waterfall view as we left this stunning spot, ready to head back to Serenade. Thanks again to MS Travel for an outstanding day!
A little postscript here to add a couple of photos of Karl from his dives in Mauritius!
Thanks to Cathy for posting these and to Steve for taking them. Steve and Karl make pretty good dive buddies.
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