Botanic Gardens, Birds and Captain Cook

It was a play day today. There were numerous possibilities for heading out of Port Louis. The bus system takes you everywhere on the island. We could venture to Riviere des Anguilles (River of Eels), or Flic en Flac (??), Cap Malheureux (Cape Unhappy), Trois Mamelles (Three Udders) or Poudre d'Or (Gold Dust). In the end, we chose Pamplemousses (Grapefruits) because there were two places we wanted to visit there … the Botanic Gardens and L'Aventure du Sucre, a sugar museum.  

We walked to the North Bus Terminal and asked for a bus to Pamplemousses. A friendly fellow pointed to a bus that was leaving and we jumped aboard. We told the conductor where we were going, paid our fare (50Rps = $1.66 US for both of us) and asked him to let us know when to get off the bus. It wasn't far away, less than 10 miles, but this wasn't an express bus and it took us about 40 minutes to get there. The bus dropped us off about 1km (.6 miles) from the entrance to the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanic Garden and we arrived just as the gates were opening.

The local guides were waiting and were very persuasive, but we managed to say no and extricate ourselves from their grasp and get on with our own self-tour. I photographed the map of the park and we chose the highlights we wanted to see. Ambling through the garden's forests, we got a kick out of the sign that asked us to refrain from walking under trees, especially when the weather was windy or rainy.

These gardens are certainly not the largest or most elaborate we've seen, and not much was in bloom though it's springtime here. Still, we enjoyed the peace and quiet as we walked along the garden paths. There was a pool of giant Amazon lily pads, but the delicate lotus blossoms stole the show.

There were lots of birds around, as you can imagine. We could hear the chorus of song all around us. Not many of them are endemic species or even native, but several were new to us, so we were content with what we saw. We'd love to see a pink pigeon, endangered and endemic to Mauritius, but we haven't figured out if we can get a bus to the area in which they're located. We think not.

The park has a small display of giant tortoises, but it wasn't very appealing after our Rodrigues adventure. The Dutch introduced deer back in the 18th century and there's a small captive deer herd in the park. Beyond caged animals, we saw a colorful skink and the most beautiful iridescent dragonfly. I'd hoped to see lots of butterflies, but there weren't many around.

I looked up at one point, trying to figure out the type of birds circling above us in a huge flock. Turns out, they were Mauritian flying fox, aka Mauritian fruit bats, and not birds at all. We were surprised to see them out in such great numbers during the day, but evidently these guys work during the day and the night when there's fruit to be “harvested”.

We walked down the lovely Avenue Belle Eau lined with trees planted by visiting dignitaries including Nelson Mandela, Indira Gandhi and Francois Mitterand.

At Chateau de mon Plaisir, an original sugar plantation manor house, there was an historic photo display dedicated to Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, a Mauritian politician, statesman and philanthropist, who led the movement for Mauritius independence and served as its first Prime Minister.

Nearby was a lovely monument dedicated to Ramgoolam's memory as the “Father of the Nation”.

We stopped at a little gazebo and just took in the cool, peaceful ambiance while sipping some water and eating snacks we'd brought along … a lovely way to start the day. The walk to L'Aventure du Sucre is about 1.5 km (1 mile) away. Put on some comfy shoes and come along.

Lest we forget, it's Captain James Cook's 286th birthday today … November 7, 1728. He's one of our favorite explorers and navigators. Read more about him here.

Happy Birthday, Captain Cook

Perhaps of all the great explorers and navigators, Captain James Cook is our favorite … our hero. He was courageous, innovative, a good leader and an outstanding seaman. We've read several books about him and the more we read, the more we're impressed by his accomplishments and voyages. Considering a good portion of the globe had yet to be explored or charted and he had little in the way of instrumentation available, including no accurate longitude measurements for much of his career, he did a pretty remarkable job. While traveling through the South Pacific, New Zealand and now in Australia, we find traces of Captain Cook everywhere. In Tahiti, we saw the spot where Cook recorded the Transit of Venus in 1769, the main purported purpose for his first voyage. The real purpose was to find the legendary terra australis incognita. And then, of course, there are the Cook Islands, a whole island nation named after the famous captain.

In New Zealand, we visited Ship Cove near Picton where a huge monument has been erected in his honor. He anchored there five different times during the 1770s. We anchored not far away in Resolution Bay, named after his ship. We hiked the Queen Charlotte Track and supposed that Cook's men had probably wandered in this area too, over two centuries ago. The sometimes treacherous Cook Strait separates New Zealand's North and South islands and we've crossed it four times without incident although many ships have come to grief there. Mount Cook (aka Aoraki) is New Zealand's highest mountain. Wild boars that still roam in the wild New Zealand bush were let loose by Captain Cook on one of his visits to provide meat for stranded sailors. They're referred to as Captain Cookers. Cook actually made the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand. We followed in his footsteps in 2011...a bit easier with charts, a GPS and some cruising guides.

Across the D'Entrecasteaux Channel from us, is Adventure Bay on Bruny Island. Named after one of his ships on his second voyage, Cook's landing place is duly noted in the bay. He charted and named a good portion of the east Australian coast and etched into history over 100 place names on his first voyage alone that are still in use today. He's also credited with discovering New Caledonia and Norfolk Island. Talk about leaving your mark.

He made three major voyages in all. His first voyage was a west-about circumnavigation lasting three years. His second voyage, of three years duration also, was the first east-about circumnavigation ever recorded. He was also the first to venture into what is now known as the Antarctic Circle where he discovered that sea water does not freeze at 32F and icebergs are made of fresh water. He never realized he was within 75 miles from the shores of Antarctica. His last voyage ended in his death in the Sandwich Islands (now known as Hawaii), where he was killed during a skirmish with the locals.

Lesser known facts about Cook include the fact that in his younger years, he perfected his cartography skills by making detailed maps of Newfoundland and the entrance to the St. Lawrence River during the Seven Year's War in his early days with the Royal Navy. He was also instrumental in overcoming scurvy, the “plague of the sea” by requiring his men to eat sauerkraut and drink ascorbic acid in the form of vinegar. None of Cook's crew members ever died from the disease while Magellan lost 80% of his crew when he crossed the Pacific in 1520.

So, Happy 284th Birthday, Captain Cook. We'll raise a glass to you tonight.

More about Captain Cook? the Crew Recommends:

Captain James Cook by Richard Hough - a well-written, easy-to-read biography

Blue Latitudes...Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before by Tony Horwitz – a humorous and poignant travel journal following in the path of Captain Cook