Le Souffleur

On the road from Tamarin to Grande Riviere Noire at La Preneuse, the Shelloramma Museum boasts the biggest private collection of shells in the Indian Ocean. The museum is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm and on Saturday from 9am to 1pm. Entry is free.

The trailhead for this walk is the Plaine champagne viewpoint on the Curepipe Chamarel road passing en route a succession of wonderful views through some lovely mixed forest and plantations. The finish meanders along some rather confusing cane field tracks which emerge at the coast road. From Bel Ombre, there are buses to Souillac (change there for Curepipe) and to Tamarin via Baie du Cap. Allow about four hours for this fairly easy walk.

This walk begins about 3km south of Le Petrin along the road towards Plaine Champagne. Heading south, look for the spot where the road makes a sharp turn to the right and two trails branch off to the left. The route is fairly open passing through a variety of landscapes before emerging at Bassin Blanc, an idyllic crater lake surrounded by forest. Although the IGN map shows a break in the route here, it does in fact continue to meet the yellow road, which descends to Chamouny and Chemin Grenier.Return from Chemin Grenier to Curepipe via Souillac, where you will have to change buses.

The road into Le Val is at Union Park Village, about halfway on the Mahebourg Curepipe road, Cluny village, the gateway to Le Val Nature Park in the valley of the Riviere des Creole, is about 7km down the road. Many of the amazing anthurium flowers are grown at Le Val in shade houses. There are also water fields full watercress, which, complements many Creole meals, and attemps at prawn farming. Other facilities include a small aquarium and a deer park. Le Val is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.There is a bus service from Curepipe to Rose Belle, via Cluny.

Robert Edward hart (1891-1954) was a renowned Mauritius poet, appreciated by the French and English alike. He wrote in French and translations of his poetry are hard to find. He lived out the last 13years of his life at Le Nef, a coral beach cottage about 500m east along the shore from the Souillac Bus Park. It was taken over by public in 1967 the bedroom and kitchens have been maintained. On display are copies and originals of Hart’s letters, plays, speeches and poetry, as well as his spectacles, pith helmet and fiddle.