A visit to Ile Aux Aigrettes

Monday 12th March being a public holiday, our colleagues and myself decided to plan a trip to the islands during the weekend. So, we have been planning this trip to the islands for the past 3 weeks. Here’s “le journal de bord” of the team.

On reaching Blue Bay at around 9am, we boarded a glass-bottom boat which headed towards the Ile Aux Aigrettes, situated not too far from Pointe d’Esny. As usual, my entrance on the boat was a bit exceptional xD

While the boat approached the island slowly, our eyes were on the glass-bottomed sections, observing the marine life. No need to say, since no one took the car on that day, we were already enjoying our beers!

Once on the island’s débarcadère, we put on our shoes and we met our guide who was already awaiting us. The first inhabitant of the island also welcomed us on the débarcadère itself.

Important points :

• No smoking beyond the débarcadère.
• It is preferable not to go onto the island with sandals
• Because the island is made up of corals (no soil), the temperature on the small island is much higher than that on the mainland, Mauritius. +5degrees as per our guide and I can say that it was really hot!
• Rs200 entrance fee for Mauritians (I think it includes the boat travel from Pointe d’Esny)

The first thing I did there, was to rush to the toilets. I was so glad when I saw the indications at the entrance itself. And relieved too. 🙂

The water used on the island is mainly pumped from the mainland through a pipe which travels under the sea. A few meters from the toilet, the solar panels which power the island.

Once I emptied my bladder, I joined the group under the wooden hut, “Le nid des Aigrettes”, where the guides were providing a detailed history of the island, its purpose and about the little inhabitants.

During this explanatory session, we had the visit of some sort of lizard (forgive me, I do not remember any names lol), which was not at all afraid of the homo sapiens.

We then started the visit onto the island by following the indications :

Now, since this post is taking too long to write, I will just upload the pictures (and add some text where needed). lol.

My big… hmm, cannon 🙂

The first viewpoint :

The Batman in its cage :

Markings on trees so that biologists can observe and do a follow up on the trees :

Explanations by our guide :

Another wonderful viewpoint where you can see the old port and the large lagoon :

The nursery on the island :

The second lizard which we came across :

We were also lucky to come across a Pink Pigeon, which apparently was not afraid of us.

A few meters away, we came across the heaviest animal on the island, a tortoise called Big Daddy and weighting over 300kgs! Big Daddy was nearly aggressive and according to our guide, it is attracted by lively colors. So be careful!

We stayed by its side for some 10minutes for the photo session and “Feed the tortoise” session. Back on our journey through the island, we came across a fort, caves and different species of trees, some of which are endemic to the island. The walk was quite lengthy and tiring. Don’t forget to bring some bottles of water!

Nearly at the end of the visit, we landed quite in a fix. An enormous lezard (or whatever it is called)!

Adventurous as I am, I took my courage in both hands and I approached it… for a photo xD

Quite frightening experience…

Coming back to reality, it was just a bronze statue. Got pwned?

And it seems that I missed the Owl one at the beginning of the trail.

We ended the trip on Ile Aux Aigrettes by visiting the museum and the shop in which we purchased a few souvenirs.

That’s how yashvinblogs.com landed into the guest book of the island.

Next destination : Ile Phare and Ile de la Passe. If you want to read about the adventure there, keep tuned!

For now, bon weekend!