ENJOY A GUIDED SAFARI JEEP TOUR TO DISCOVER THE ENDEMIC BIODIVERSITY OF MAURITIUS
OVERVIEW
Highlights:
• Guided tour of the museum, endemic forest and spectacular Sublime Point
• Experience the forest in a 4×4 jeep as you hop on and off at sites of interest
• Support our conservation activities with your visit
Suitable for: All ages, families and couples.
Group size: Maximum 8 persons. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you are a larger group.
Difficulty level:
The Flycatcher raised walkway has 113 steps up and 142 down, which you will hardly notice on your guided tour. In some places, the Flycatcher raised walkway is more than 4m in height so if you suffer from vertigo, please inform our staff in advance. If you do decide to walk back along the Ridgeline Trail to the Visitor Centre it is a 2.1 km descent.
Duration: 2 hours.
Distance: 0.5 km. This refers to the distance along the Flycatcher Forest raised walkway and Sublime Point walkway.
What to bring: your friends, family and camera.
Food and drink:
picnics are not allowed as we wish to limit the amount of potential rubbish. Snacks can be bought at Sublime Point and in our Shop. As part of our commitment to protecting the environment, we do not sell drinks in plastic bottles, but you can fill up your water bottle for free from our water fountain in our Shop.
TAKE A DRIVE
Take an adventure through one of the last remaining ebony forests in Mauritius, all in the comfort of a safari jeep. One of our passionate guides will accompany you throughout your safari and will delight in highlighting the uniqueness and rarity of our island’s biodiversity. Learn about why we have the third rarest flora in the world, what we are doing to prevent further extinctions and the island’s conservation success stories.
Your guided tour commences with a visit to our museum, Ebony Experience, written and illustrated by British palaeontologist, artist, and critically acclaimed co-author of Lost Land of the Dodo, Dr Julian Hume. Learn about the volcanic origin of the island 10 million years ago, how species arrived on this isolated and distant island and why Mauritius has such a rich and unique biodiversity. Witness how tragedy rapidly unfolded for the island’s flora and fauna following human colonisation in 1598. Rather than despair, rejoice in the knowledge that your visit is supporting the restoration and rewilding of this fabulous forest and helping support other conservation activities that we as an NGO implement.
Meet four members of our forest restoration team: Donatello, Vanille, Ralph and Flash. These Aldrabra giant tortoises (Aldabrachelys gigantea) are part of a study to see if exotic tortoises can be used to fulfil the ecological roles once performed by the extinct giant Mauritian tortoises. Prior to the arrival of humans, giant tortoises were abundant throughout the island and performed vital functions such as seed dispersal and grazing. We plan to use these gentle giants to help us control the exotic vegetation, most of which they adore.
En route to the Flycatcher Raised Walkway, you will pass by our forest restoration sites, where we are continually weeding the non-native vegetation and planting native species so that Ebony Forest will be a refuge for the Island’s threatened biodiversity. You will pass by newly planted sites and those where restoration work began at the start of our dream to recreate 50 hectares of native forest. The drive to this first stop will take around 10 minutes.
Stretch your legs on our Flycatcher Raised Walkway and explore one of the best-preserved ebony forests in Mauritius on this unique raised walkway. Your guide will explain about our forest restoration and bird conservation activities, you will feel the density of ebony wood and understand why it is one of the most valuable woods in the world.
See Fruit Bats hanging in the trees or eating fruits, endemic Phelsuma geckos sunbathing, pic pic birds hopping around the canopy looking for insects and one of the rarest trees in the world, the bois corail or Coral Tree, named for its magnificent coral-shaped flowers. Breathe in the sweet scents of the fresh and cool forest air and learn why we are installing artificial nest boxes for the Mauritius Kestrel and Echo Parakeet.
Hop back on the jeep for a 15 minute drive up to Sublime Point. Your guide will spot any Mauritian Kestrels or Mauritius Paradise Flycatchers. A short walk along another raised walkway and you arrive at Sublime Point. As the name suggests, it is just breathtaking. One of the best views in Mauritius, if not THE BEST. Identify Le Morne, Ile aux Benitiers, Tourelle du Tamarin, Montagne du Rempart, Corps de Garde, Trois Mamelles, Le Pouce, Pieter Both, Piton Canot and the island’s highest peak, Piton de la Riviere Noire. With a unique vantage point, watch the endemic Mauritian Fruit Bat flying below, White-tailed Tropic Birds delight you with their aerial acrobatics, Mascarene swiftlets, and Mauritius Kestrel. While you relax and enjoy the view, why not purchase some local snacks and drinks, such as gateaux piments, samosas, tamarind juice, lemon grass juice at our Sublime Snack. Your purchases support our conservation activities.
After Sublime, your guide will accompany you back to the Visitor Centre where you can further support our efforts to save endangered species and habitats from extinction by grabbing a local souvenir in our Shop. The safari tour takes approximately two hours. If you want to walk more, then we recommend the gentle walk down from Sublime Point to the Visitor Centre, via the Ridgeline Trail. Or you can hike up Piton Canot and then descend via the Ridgeline Trail.
Now, let’s be honest. Our diesel jeeps increase our carbon footprint and go against our goals of going carbon neutral. We would love it if everyone choose to walk. When you Take a Hike you can truly immerse yourself in nature and there are so many things you can spot, that you wouldn’t notice in a vehicle. Magical fungi growing on trees. The sound of rustling leaves and chirping birds. The smell of flower blossom. But we recognise that you may not have the time or perhaps energy to enjoy a leisurely walk in the forest. We provide a jeep despite its impact on the environment because we believe it is equally important to inspire and connect as many people as possible with a Mauritian endemic forest. With so little native forest remaining we hope by increasing accessibility, you too will fall in love with an ebony forest and help save it. Our dream is that one day majestic black ebony trees will stand tall throughout Mauritius, rather than only be found in patches on the top of mountains. We plan to compensate the carbon emissions generated by this tour by planting more trees.
