Building Trails

Tag: Africa

  • Mauritius

    Beautiful Beaches and Big Speakers

    We spent a full month in Mauritius, making it feel truly like home. We celebrated Christmas and New Years there. We enjoyed beaches, hiking, shopping, pool time, animals, bowling, and downtime at our apartment. The grownups even enjoyed a few date nights thanks to a local babysitting service for tourists. We quickly learned that coffee shops do not open early and that Mauritians love loud music and good vibes.

    We stayed at Nayuha Buildings Apt B2, a three bedroom apartment a short walk from the beach. Our host was extremely hospitable, very quick to address any concerns or questions. We enjoyed the two minute walk to the beach through the cemetery, short walk to town, the small pool that fit our family and allowed the littles to swim more freely, the small balcony with a view inland, and the roof where we could hang clothes and enjoy more views. The short walk to the beach meant easy sunset strolls or evening fireworks at the beach. When we got stuck in Mauritius a few extra days, we needed to shift to this apartment further inland. This was more space and the pool warmer but a bit of a hike to the beach and town.

    Christmas in Mauritius
    Through the cemetary
    Evenings at the beach

    Beaches

    In Mauritius, we spent a decent amount of time at the beach. We primarily walked to Flic en Flac Beach, which is a combination of beach and wooded park space. On the weekends, the park would fill in with Mauritians with elaborate setups including tents, a cooking area, and sitting area, and big speakers. There were often generators involved as well. I primarily enjoyed relaxing on the beach while kids swam or played in the sand. We also bought snorkel gear early on that we used throughout our visit and left behind. During the short time we rented a car, we also visited Trioux Beach, Tamerin Beach, La Morne Beach, and Blue Bay. It is worth noting we all needed showers and wash our bathing suits after Tamerin Beach because of the silt.

    Hiking

    is generally not for the light hearted on Maurtius but we managed a few good hikes. The first we went on was the Seven Cascades Short Loop, which we should have hired a guide for. It was short but steep with beautiful views. The trail was a bit rough, including clambering over rocks, and we managed to lose te trail and take a significant and steep detour. The grownups were getting a little concerned about the sun setting before we escaped. Once back to the trail we found some local hikers that helped up stay on the trail. We managed it to the end. Sweaty and dirty, we celebrated the finish with a few fresh coconuts from a coconut stand at the entrance/exit.

    Admiring falls
    Admiring views
    Getting lost

    We were nervous about our hike at Ebony Forest Reserve because it was lightly raining when we arrived but it cleared up quickly for our walk up. There are options for far and how challenging you hike. There is a map and well marked trails. There are also tortoises and lovely views. We took the Kestrel Trail to the Flycatcher Raised Walkway and took the concrete track back. On ethe way back part of our group took the Ridgeline Trail to the Le Morne Viewpoint. Our three year was not interested in any extra hiking so he skipped the viewpoint but did enjoy the tortoise enclosure on the way back and waiting in the small museum in the visitor center. After our hike we made a short stop to enjoy the Chameral Falls.

    Ebony Forest Hike
    Ebony Forest Hike
    Chameral Falls

    La Morne is a challenging hike. Kids are not allowed on the second half. Even adults can only go with a guide. And we had to sign waivers at the entrance even for just doing the first half of the hike. Despite trying to get out the door early, it was hot and we didn’t even finish the first half of the hike. But we did make it to a few beautiful views before heading down and heading to the beach.

    Le Morne Brabant
    Heading back down

    One of my favorite days during our stay to Mauritius was our hike at Sophie Nature Walk followed by a visit to Ganga Talao. The hike was short but magical. Upon arrival to Ganga Talao, we enjoyed the magic of the giant Shiva and received a blessing. We walked around the lake and visited the temple for Hamunan, which required facing off aggreesive monkeys. We managed and enjoyed the views that we received. It was a beautiful experiance to witness families coming together for blessings for any next steps or challenges in their lives.

    Sophie Nature Walk
    Sophie Nature Walk
    Sophie Nature Walk
    Ganga Talao
    Ganga Talao
    Ganga Talao

    Other Fun Outings

    Early in our visit we spent a day at Casela Nature Parks. We had a morning safari ride that was a bit overcast by our safaris in Kenya but still much appreciated (especially the close up with zebras). We headed over to our cage on wheels for a close up with various wild cats, lions and tigers oh my! After, we enjoyed feeding tortoises, riding the Tulawaka Gold Coaster, and seeing a wide variety of birds We didn’t add any options besides the wild cat ride because we thought we could so ad hoc but were very very wrong. Luckily most options we could live without and a lovely couple gave us their remaining fruit so we could feed a few tortoises.

    While A8 and J enjoyed scuba lessons, I took the rest of the kids on a submarine adventure where we saw a shipwreck, fish, and a school of scuba divers. J and A8 not only did the dives needed to be certified but enjoyed a few more dives with J’s dad who made the long commute from Virginia to spend a week with us (to everyone’s excitement).

    We enjoyed one morning and lunch in Port Louis. After a morning appointment, we explored the city to see sites and shops in markets. We managed a few souvenirs and discovered beautiful and fragrant produce. We were very excited no one lost a finger in a fan.

    We really enjoyed an outing to L’Aventure du Sucre. They provided a kid scavenger hunt that got a bit involved for K and the two oldest kids but all got their rewards in the end. We learned much about the history of Mauritius in the interactive museum and at the end the grown ups got to taste test a few liquors.

    Mauritius has a variety of malls that tend to be busy. We made a few visits to Cascavelle for shopping, food, and bowling. We also visited Pheonix one rainy day and attempted to visit Santa at Bagatelle.

    Near the end of our visit, we went on a dolphin boat ride. We arrived at Tamarin Bay at 7am to ride on a boat and see Spinnes and Bottlenose dolphins. We then headed to see Crystal Rock before going to Île aux Benitiers for a BBQ. The kids played in the sand for a few hours while we chatted with other travellers and enjoyed some Pheonix.

    Medical Stuff

    A few medical items needed to be handled while we were in Mauritius. Two of our kids needed their annual wellness checks so K took them to the doctor while their. The whole experience was smooth and reasonably priced. We also learned that kids in Mauritius take medication for worms every 6 months so we got a prescription that worked for the whole family. Getting remaining needed vaccines was a little trickier. There is one place in Mauritius where we can get the vaccines needed to move forward with our trip. Getting the vaccines involved two day trips to Port Louis. Why two? Because there was a miscommunication and one of our kids didn’t get one of the vaccines needed and the cashier closed for the day. So we needed to make a second trip for him to wrap up his vaccines. Everyone we interacted with was kind and helpful but the single location with extremely limited hours felt a bit insane to us, but we managed to go while we had a car and combined with other outings .

    Holidays

    Mauritius was a lovely place to spend the holidays. There wasn’t much for Christmas but there was enough decorations and special events at malls to make the season for us. Even more exciting was the new year. Mauritians seem to love the new year. On new year’s eve, we saw many people setting up camp and small parties to celebrate the new year. In the evening, we went to the beach to find ourselves in a family friendly rave. At midnight, we witnessed the most spectacular fireworks of our lives thus far. We woke up the oldest two at midnight to see fireworks blasting all along the coast and throughout the city. No space seemed safe from the fun. We weren’t originally supposed to spend new years in Mauritius but I will forever be thankful we did.

  • Diani Beach

    Indian Ocean and Persistent Vendors

    For our week on the Kenyan coast, we needed a ride to the train station in Voi, take the train to Mombasa, then ride another car down to the Diani Beach area. Upon arrival at Aestus Resort Kenya, we toured our home for the week, met our personal chef, and enjoyed some pool time before dinner. J does much of the cooking so he was especially excited for our no effort homecooked meals for the week.

    We spent much of the week enjoying the beach in the morning and the pool in the afternoon, when there was shade to protect us from the strong rays that burnt our skin our first day at the beach. Galu Beach was a short walk away and where we spent much of our beach time. We enjoyed the white sands and warm water, especially at a spit we found a little further down the beach. We also found ourselves at times overwhelmed by vendors wanting to sell us bracelets, woodcarvings, and an excursion on their boat. K was once left alone and her family came back to see a literal line of vendors waiting to speak to her.

    Beach and pool was not all we did. We also went on a glass bottom boat tour to Robinson Island, which was still under shallow water and an insane amount of fun. J and K greatly appreciated the vendor selling beers from a cooler on his paddle board. And the big kids got to a bigger swim with dad. One afternoon we went to the Kaya Kinondo Sacred Forest, where we touched a very old wishing tree, saw Colobus monkeys, and partook in some traditional dancing. Our last full day we spent at Le Cafe near the beach. We paid to enjoy the beachside pool but the money spent went towards food and drinks. We enjoyed having a day to enjoy the pool and beach at once. The younger kids appreciated the section off shallow area where they could play independently (but still supervised). During our later afternoon walk to the beach, we bid farewell but knew we would see the Indian Ocean again soon.

    Goodbye Galu Beach

    After a week of sun, we went back up to Mombasa for one night so we could take an early flight to Nairobi to catch a connecting flight to Mauritius. In our short time in Mombasa we got to visit the Jesus Fort and enjoy dinner in what we thought was a small cafe but turned out to be a very large, meandering, popular restaurant.

    Exploring Fort Jesus
    View from Fort Jesus

  • Kenyan Safari

    Elephants, Giraffes, and Zebras

    From Nairobi, we took a train to Voi, where we met with a guide from Hildana Lodge that drove us the rest of the way. We arrived to a late but eventful dinner. We sat with a view of the watering hole and watched as a herd of elephants, including babies, sipped and played with water. Later we watched as a bull got very frustrated with buffalo interfering in his personal watering hole time. He tried, unsuccessfully, to chase them all off. A8 declared the experience a dinner with a show.

    Train Station in Nairobi
    First class on the Madaraka Express
    Eventful Dinners

    Our room at the lodge was nice. We had an open air shared living space separating two large enclosed bedrooms, each with their own bathroom. The staff added a bed to each room so we could comfortably fit three people under each large net. Despite being in a luxury lodge, we were in the wild, leading to K telling the kids to avoid the bat poop on a daily basis and the kids asking us to chase off a lizard on the wall above their beds. But we also got to see and and hear a variety of birds in the mornings and see so many animals interacting at the watering hole.

    First morning game drive
    View at the lodge

    Each day at the lodge was not particularly active yet the days were full and exhausting. We went on game drives, hiked, attempted a bike ride, toured a sisal farm and factory, played at the pool, and played with puzzles and Uno while watching animals convene at the watering hole. From our guide, we learned much about the local flora, fauna, and people. And with all of these experiences we enjoyed three delicious meals each day, the first two being a buffet where the kids could self serve to their delight.

    Elephants at the Pool
    Lunch by the Water Hole
    Sisel Farm & Factory

    Our time at Hildana Lodge was short but treasured. Before heading to Voi for a train east to Mombasa, we bid farewell to the staff and our new elephant friends.

  • Nairobi

    Chaos, Culture, and Creatures

    After a surprisingly smooth red eye flight with Turkish Airlines out of Istanbul, we landed in Nairobi at 3am. Thanks to our youngest kid, we were moved to a shorter customs line and the proceeded to hunt down our luggage and car seats before meeting with our driver. Due to the size of our family and luggage, they booked two cars to drive us to our apartment. Booking through our host was good because the driver was able to get us all the way to our apartment and show us how to open the many locks. We stayed in a spacious 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom apartment with a gym, pool (though the water was chilly), and daily housekeeping. We also had windows overlooking the oasis in the middle of the complex. The older kids enjoyed sitting by the windows and reading.

    Our first full day we explored the community we were staying in and then ran across the highway to find a place where K could get a Safaricom SIM card and set up m-pesa. We managed to find a delicious lunch at a local restaurant and shopped at the Maasai Market, where A5 got a little messenger bag and J got a new wedding ring. We also got a little stone elephant for the kids’ cousin that we managed to break before we left the market. To reach a Safaricom shop, we walked 1km along narrow streets, crossing the road safely with the help of a chicken on roller-skates, to an indoor mall. The kids enjoyed an indoor jump park while K bought a SIM card, accidentally waited in line without a ticket, and then waited in line again to set up her m-pesa. At the end of the day, we decided no more running across highways and took an uber home.

    Our second full day we went to the arboretum and walked to Amani Garden Cafe for a lovely lunch where the kids could play in the shade. It was during this outing that we discovered Nairobi has acrobats that perform in the streets. We found this the most fascinating find of the day. We went to our pool after our outing, which was too cold for K but the kids had a good time.

    Nairobi Arboretum
    Nairobi Arboretum

    The next day we headed to Karura Forest. We first had lunch at the River Cafe, offering open air seating and delicious food and juices. Since A3 was sick, he sat and napped with K in the park while the rest of the family hiked to see a waterfall, a cave, and butterflies. After everyone met up again in the picnic area full of people, monkeys, and hawks, a hawk tried to steal A3’s beep-beep. A3’s beep beep was rescued but the hawks succeeded in taking the little bucket that was nearly lost so many times in the past. He was devastated and now does not like hawks.

    The next day we headed to the Central Business District to follow a GPS My City walking tour. We had some hiccups getting there due to an Uber strike and heavy traffic. We managed to make our way to the national archives, where we learned much about Kenya on a private guided tour. After, we moved through people and car traffic to a yummy lunch in a little oasis, Habibi Haven.

    CBD

    The following day was a big adventure out of Nairobi to a Maasai Village experience through Happy Tribe Travel. We were dressed in traditional attire by our hosts, learned to make Maasai beaded jewelry, herded and milked goats, made a fire, made Ugali, and danced. Everyone was kind and the children were so sweet, some very much enjoying touching A3’s hair.

    Our last full day in Nairobi was focused on a safari in Nairobi National Park where we saw many animals including rhinos and a lion. After our search for animals around the park, we headed to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT) Nursery to see a baby zebra, baby rhino, and baby elephants drinking bottles of milk. We then headed over to the Giraffe Center to feed giraffes. After a long and lovely day of animals, we went back and watched The Lion King since the kids were pretty wiped, especially the ones not feeling well.

    Our departure day was very low key in that we finish packing and explored our little community before leaving. We were lucky that our host gave us a late check out so we could relax before heading to the train station to catch our train. Our experience with the train was new and interesting. We had to go through security, including lining up our luggage to be sniffed by dogs. We also waited in an unusually long line to print our passes before sitting to enjoy the first class ride to Voi.

    Train Station in Nairobi