(Posted 21st January 2024)
Courtesy of Joey Nicles
As announced by the Week-End newspaper Le Champlain, sailing under the colors of the
French cruise company Ponant, is the first ship to inaugurate the route cruise between Mauritius and
Rodrigues which will now be carried out by several of the company’s ships.
There will be a series of cruise ship stopovers that will dock in the capital
Port-Mathurin in the coming months during thoughout the holiday season.
It was to the rhythm of the Sega drum of the Union group that the 60
passengers were warmly welcomed by the Tourism Commissioner of
Rodrigues Island, Jean-Alain Wong So, as they disembarked from the
Zodiac type inflatable boats on the quay of Port-Mathurin.
Elected officials from the Rodrigues Regional Assembly and also
representatives from the Tourism Office, the Tourism Commission, and
the government organization, Discovery Rodrigues, were also present for
this first welcome.
The arrival of cruise ships in Rodrigues is a new perspective for
vacationers visiting the island, argues Commissioner Wong So.
“Normally, our visitors come by plane. Recently, they also arrived on
board the Mauritius Trochetia. And now they can also come on cruise
ships. It is amazing! And in two days, they will have the opportunity to
mingle with the local population to learn about our customs, our culture,
our culinary assets as well as everything beautiful that Rodrigues offers.
We will continue our campaign to promote Rodrigues as a sustainable
tourist destination,” continued the Tourism Commissioner.
And it is Coquille Bonheur, a DMC agency based in Mauritius which has
been delegated to organize the best tourist circuits not to be missed
around the island to allow cruise passengers to discover both natural and
cultural sites of Rodrigues during the the 36-hour stopover of the ship Le
Champlain in Rodrigues waters.
In the program for a the visiting passengers are:
Go on an immersion trip with a professional fisherman to learn more about the
technique of octopus fishing, a discovery of the beach of Saint-François,
one of the most beautiful of the island, guided tour of the nature reserve of François Leguat Park at Anse Quitor, which is home to giant turtles and finally, share a typically local lunch with residents in the Coromandel region.
At the start of the evening, offshore and on board Le Champlain, the
atmosphere was in the colors of the sounds of Rodrigues with a beautiful
musical performance from the Etoile d’ Or cultural troupe.
Next will be the visit planned for the morning, to the colorful market of Port-Mathurin, whichwill be followed by a hike in Rodrigues which surpasses the others, the one which leads to Anse Philibert, Trou
d’Argent and Grande Anse, departing from the end of Saint François beach. The 70 passengers and crew members of the Le Champlain set sail again in the early evening to reach Port-Louis (Mauritius)
Photos © James Castel / Rodrigues Regional Assembly
Reserve Naturelle François Leguat
Texte – Joey Nicles Modeste.
