Mauritius - Northern Offshore Islands

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COIN DE MIRE This distinctively shaped island, a nature reserve, lies 4km from the north coast and can be visited on excursions arranged by hotels or travel agents, although landing is tricky (see What to do in Northern Mauritius, page 131). There is a cave on the island called Madam’s Hole, which was used by the British navy in the 19th century for target practice. Graceful white paille en queues (tropic-birds) can be seen soaring around the black cliffs.

FLAT, GABRIEL, ROUND, SERPENT AND AMBER ISLANDS Off the northern coast beyond Coin de Mire are Flat, Gabriel, Round, Serpent and Amber islands, which are all uninhabited.

The most visited of these are Flat Island (L’île Plate) and Gabriel Island (L’îlot Gabriel). Flat Island has a lighthouse built in 1855, which is still operating, and there is good snorkelling around both islands. Although excursions to these islands are becoming increasingly popular, they do not have the sometimes crowded feel of Ile aux Cerfs in the east. (For further details of excursions, see What to do in Northern Mauritius, page 131.)

Round Island (L’île Ronde) cannot be visited without a permit, since it is a nature reserve. The island, which is kidney-shaped, not round, and about 1.5km² in area, is some 22km from Mauritius. Its flora and fauna are fascinating as much of it is rare, having evolved in isolation without the attentions of the early colonists (see also pages 15–19).

Neighbouring Serpent Island (L’île aux Serpents), a large barren rock with no serpents or snakes, is a sanctuary for birds, and so not open to the public.

Amber Island (L’île d’Ambre) is so called because of the ambergris which used to be found there. It is largely surrounded by mangroves. The ill-fated St Géran was wrecked on the Amber Island reefs in 1744 with heavy loss of life. The tragedy inspired the Mauritian love story of Paul et Virginie, written by Bernadin de St Pierre. A monument commemorating the disaster was erected at Poudre d’Or in 1944 and artefacts recovered from the ship can be seen at the National History Museum in Mahébourg . Amber Island is a popular picnic spot for Mauritians on weekends, and can be visited by tourists on excursions arranged locally (see What to do in Northern Mauritius, below).

POUDRE D’OR TO RIVIERE DU REMPART Poudre d’Or is an unspoilt fishing village with a sturdy building built in 1864 as a chest hospital. The name could have derived from gold found in the region or, more likely, from the golden powder sands found here. Virginie, the fictional heroine of St Pierre’s novel, Paul et Virginie, is supposed to have been washed ashore on this coast, prompting Mark Twain to observe wryly that it was ‘the only one prominent event in the history of the island, and that didn’t happen’.

The road down the east coast passes between cane and tobacco fields to reach Rivière du Rempart. This town has many cyclone-proof concrete houses as well as two old wooden mansions, opposite each other, that have managed to survive all of the progress and storms.

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