Latest / Wander the World with Pippa Hudson / Wander the world: Exploring Mauritius – a popular destination for South Africans

Transcript

Wander the world: Exploring Mauritius – a popular destination for South Africans · Wander the World with Pippa Hudson

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: This is Cape Talk.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: Well, perhaps you're lucky enough to be heading for Mauritius
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: this coming holiday season. If you are, you'll be one
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: of many South Africans lucky enough to have explored this
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: wonderful Indian Ocean island, very, very popular with South African holidaymakers,
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: not only for its idyllic lifestyle and beautiful warm water
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: and wonderful beaches, but of course, because it's really relatively
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: easy for us to get to. And I'm talking about
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: a place I have actually been to three times, incredibly
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: privileged to have visited three times. And what struck me
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: when I was thinking about those visits is every time
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: it was a different kind of holiday. One of them
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: was a romantic getaway for a couple. Once was a
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: family traveling with very young children. And then my most
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: recent visit was going back with my kids as young
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: adults with completely different needs in terms of their entertainment expectations.
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: And all three times, we found something for everyone. So
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: I think that versatility is part of the appeal, and
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: it's something I'm really looking forward to discussing with our
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: guest today, somebody who knows this destination very well, because
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: Carlos Luis is from the Lux Collective, which has a
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: number of properties in Mauritius.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: And Carlos, joining us via Zoom this afternoon, it's great
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: to have you on the show. Welcome.
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: Hi, Pippa. Thanks so much for having me.
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: I'm appreciating the backdrop on your Zoom call, which is
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: obviously a Mauritius shot.
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: Which part of the island are we looking at behind you, Carlos?
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: That is down south. That is the Le Morne Mountain,
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: the iconic mountain. Yeah.
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: I mean, it's the famous shot and it's a part
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: of the island I've never been to, but always wanted
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: to go to because I know it's the place the
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: windsurfers all like to go. Carlos, I mean, I'm mentioning
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: this as a jumping off point because the beauty of
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: Mauritius is it's not one dimensional.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: A lot of people think about it. They think it's
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: a beach holiday.
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: You go there to snorkel or to lay in the
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: sand or to lie next to the pool with a
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: colorful drink with.
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: A little umbrella in it. But it's a lot more
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: diverse than that, isn't it?
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: Yes, it's a lot more diverse. I mean, what always
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: strikes me when I go to Mauritius is to see
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: the real quality of the resorts. I've been fortunate enough
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: to travel quite a bit and your five-star standards that
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: you might get in Europe or Asia, not quite the
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: same standard as what you'd get from a resort perspective.
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: Mauritius really offers great facilities, dining activities everywhere. We're also
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: very fortunate to have world-class dining. We're quite lucky. One
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: of our resorts, Luxe Grand Balmain, has actually got a
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: two-star Michelin chef there. So not only can you have
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: a wonderful experience at the resort, but you can get
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: to eat at a place that you probably normally wouldn't experience,
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: a two-Michelin-star restaurant.
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: Funny, the food was one of the things I enjoyed
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: the most on all three visits because it's such a
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: melting pot, Carlos. You get, because of the nature of
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: the island and the people who have lived there and
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: have colonized it and worked there over the centuries, you've
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: got Indian influence, you've got Creole cuisine, you've got Chinese influence,
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: a real melting pot and obviously the French influence as well.
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: So you get the opportunity to explore a lot of
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: different flavors without having to move around terribly much.
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's true. It really is quite a cosmopolitan culture.
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: And also, you know, the more people that travel there,
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: the more people are trying to experience other things. We've
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: got this beautiful, actually behind, at the resort that we've
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: got at the foot of the Le Mans Mountain, we've
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: got a beautiful Japanese restaurant. It's really intimate. It only
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: takes eight people out of the city. So Japanese, Peruvian,
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: whatever it might be, it's not just the cultures that
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: you'd think. They do cater for a much broader audience. Yeah.
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: Carlos, let's talk about getting to Mauritius from South Africa.
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: It's gotten easier and easier. It's a relatively short flight
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: of just a couple of hours. And we now even
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: have direct flights out of Cape Town, don't we? I
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: think the first time I went, I had to fly
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: via Johannesburg. That's not necessary anymore.
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: Yeah, we're very fortunate. So both SAA and Air Mauritius
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: fly directly out of Cape Town. So quite quick and
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: easy to get a five hour flight, direct flight from
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: Cape Town to there. Obviously out of Johannesburg, that's also
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: quite a short, slightly shorter. It's just under four hours.
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: So quick and easy to get to.
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: Is there a particular best time of year to go?
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: When one thinks about, you know, obviously school holidays are
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: a factor here if you're wanting a family holiday, but
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: looking at weather, at rainfall seasons, etc., Is there a
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: particular time of year that's sort of the gold star experience?
• 4:24
  Speaker 3: Look, we're quite lucky because Mauritius is a tropical island,
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: so the weather's relatively consistent. But I would say we
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: tend to know the names of the cyclones and they
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: generally come in February. So the rest of the year,
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: we don't hear that. So February can be beautiful or
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: it can be quite rainy. Other than that, the rest
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: of the year, the temperature varies. So it probably gets
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: a lot hotter in December and January than it would
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: in June, July, but you're probably looking about two or
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: three degrees difference there. Yeah.
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: I mean, I've been at different times of year each
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: time and it's been moderate to warm the whole time.
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: And in fact, if you're really smart, Carlos, you'll do
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: what I did last time, which is book your holiday
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: in the middle of the Cape Town winter and then
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: organise for them to have a really bad storm in
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: Cape Town on the day you were meant to fly home.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: so that you were forced to spend an extra day
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: in Mauritius. It worked out very well for us, I
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: have to say. Now, I mean, we reflected on the
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: mix of cultures, the food experience. Some people will go
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: and just stay in the resort and have the relaxing
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: resort island holiday, and nothing wrong with that if that's
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: what you want. But, Carlos, for those who want to
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: be a bit more adventurous, who want to get out
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: and explore the island and, you know, visit whatever, a
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: vanilla plantation, go and see the wildlife, Any suggestions on
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: must-see destinations or things that will make it worth your
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: while to leave the resort for a day or so?
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: Yeah, thank you. Look, the resorts do offer the most
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: incredible experiences, but a lot of people aren't willing to
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: sit seven days at the resorts. So a couple of
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: the excursions that I think there was quite a must
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: is Port Louis. People love to experience the market, the
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: seafood experience. and the hustle and bustle of the capital city. Chamarel,
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: it was also people love to enjoy the beauty of
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: the seven coloured earths there, as well as the Chamarel Mountain.
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: And they've also provided an excursion, which we know Capetonians
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: would love because it comes with wine tasting. Talking about
• 6:21
  Speaker 3: Le Monde, they do a wonderful helicopter trip and that
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: will give you a bird's eye view. That flies over
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: the seven colours as well as the Chamarel Falls. And
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: also over the apparent underwater sea world near Le Morne.
• 6:38
  Speaker 3: In the air, it actually looks like, it's obviously an
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: optical illusion, but it looks like there's a waterfall under
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: the sea. So quite a different experience from up in
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: the air.
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: And then obviously in the water, it's a wonderful destination
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: for snorkeling, for water sports, etc. For catamaran trips, one
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: of the beautiful things we did while we were there.
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: I mean, the water temperature is wonderful and the water
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: clarity is so great.
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: For snorkeling and scuba diving.
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: Do you find, Carlos, that sort of the availability of
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: water sports is one of the key things that people
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: look at when they're choosing a resort to visit and
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: which side of the island to be on, for example?
• 7:16
  Speaker 3: Yeah, not necessarily on which side of the island, because
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: you could obviously travel from one side to the other.
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: But down south, if people do want to go scuba diving,
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: that's generally a great spot to travel. And just the
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: other thing that I wanted to mention, talking about being
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: on water, we've got a partner there in Mauritius that
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: actually offers an overnight stay on a catamaran cruise. So
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: can you imagine being out at sea with a dedicated
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: crew looking after you? So quite different. So That takes
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: you away from the resort experience, but a once in
• 7:47
  Speaker 3: a lifetime experience that people wouldn't normally consider. Yeah.
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: We're in conversation with Carlos Luis from the Lux Collective
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: talking about visiting the island of Mauritius. If you've had
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: that privilege and would like to add with a comment
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: about what you most enjoyed or what unusual activity you
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: experienced while you were there that you'd like to share
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: with other travellers, please do send a WhatsApp message. to
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: 0725671567 or for that matter, if you have a question
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: for Carlos, please feel free to ask away.
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: In terms of, I mean, I.
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: Mentioned at the start, Carlos, how I noticed there was
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: something for everyone, the diverse needs of different life stages.
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: For example, a lot of the resorts on the island
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: have got dedicated facilities for younger children.
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: Is that part of the Lux offering as well?
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: That's true. We offer dedicated facility for kids clubs as
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: well as teens clubs. I remember my kids when they
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: were travelling, they weren't all that keen as a 13-year-old
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: to join the kids clubs. But the teen clubs definitely
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: cater for what's relevant to that market and they break
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: the activities out into groups. younger teens, older teens or
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: younger kids or older children, which would be under 12.
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: So they definitely cater for that. What we've also seen
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: that's become quite prevalent now is milestone trips. So granny
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: or granddad are turning 17 and they're looking to take
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: the whole family to Mauritius and enjoy a wonderful experience there.
• 9:09
  Speaker 3: So that's becoming more and more regular.
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: What a wonderful way to celebrate if you're lucky enough
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: to be able to do that. I can't think of
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: anything nicer. And as you say, it's the kind of
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: trip where everyone can have time together. But then, Carlos,
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: if people need a little bit of space from one another.
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: You know, those who want to sit by the pool
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: can sit by the pool. Those who want to go
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: and learn to water ski can go and water ski.
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: Everyone can find a place to do something that they're
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: interested in and then come back together for dinner, for example.
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: That's the beauty of the sort of resort environment. Of course,
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: not discounting the fact a lot of people like to
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: do it themselves. There's an Airbnb opportunity in Mauritius. You
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: can homestay. There are lots of other ways to explore
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: if you'd rather, for example, self-cater and do.
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: Your own thing.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: I mean, Carlos, any sort of unusual activities that we
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: haven't mentioned that you'd like to pick out or something
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: that people don't necessarily know about that you should flag immediately?
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: as if you're thinking of doing a trip to Mauritius,
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: make sure you consider X.
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: Y, or Z.
• 10:04
  Speaker 3: Well, obviously the catamaran cruise was one of them, spending
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: the night at sea. But another secret is Ildikoko. It's
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: a little island, a private island, that's probably a three
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: or four minute boat drive down in the east to
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: in a marine protected lake called Blue Bay. It's got
• 10:24
  Speaker 3: beautiful waters. People go there, spend the day, enjoy an
• 10:28
  Speaker 3: all-inclusive experience where they've got food and drinks as well.
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: They can go out snorkeling and see that amazing coral
• 10:34
  Speaker 3: and marine life. If you really want to make it
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: extra special, they do have a villa. So once people
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: have left for the day, you can privatise that island. Sure.
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: Just you and a three bedroom villa with this dedicated
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: staff with a private chef that'll assist with dinner and
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: breakfast that evening. So that's something quite spectacular.
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: Thanks for the tip. Wow, that sounds amazing. One of
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: our listeners asking about car hire on Mauritius. Carla's saying,
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: she says, we've always stayed in resorts and had a
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: wonderful time. But listening to you talk about the Port
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: Louis market, I realize we've missed out on the exploration
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: of the rest of the island. How easy is that
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: to do, she asks, in terms of car hire slash
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: public transport?
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: Well, car hire is very easy. You can arrive at
• 11:17
  Speaker 3: the airport and hire a car. But most resorts would
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: offer excursions as well. So we'll have a guarded excursion.
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: a guide that'll take you to Port Louis if you
• 11:28
  Speaker 3: choose and help you go through that experience. The benefit
• 11:31
  Speaker 3: of that is they obviously cut through the traffic, get
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: there as quick as possible, and they'll have relationships with
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: certain people at the market or certain people at different
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: restaurants where they can ensure that you get the best
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: return for your day out. Right.
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: OK, so ask and if it's not been offered to you,
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: go to the hotel reception desk wherever you're staying and
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: ask if they offer such an excursion and make it
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: easy for yourself. Lovely message in from Penny. You mentioned
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: that idea of the milestone trip for family. Penny says,
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: I took my family there in September for my 80th
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: birthday and we had the best time ever. They were
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: staying in the northwest of the island. She said it
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: was a lifelong dream of mine. And all nine of
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: us had a fantastic time. Well, belated happy birthday for September, Penny.
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: But wow, I hope the family appreciates you and what
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: you did to.
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: Spoil them on your birthday. What a wonderful way to
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: make memories. I can't think of a better experience together.
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: Carlos, in closing, if somebody wants to check out the
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: Lux Hotel specifically and get a sense, I mean, you've
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: got several properties there. you know, all over the island.
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: Is there a sort of a central website they can
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: visit to explore what those options are?
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: Yes. So we actually represent the Lux Collective. We are
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: TLC Vacations. So you can go on to tlcvacations.co.za. Within
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: the Lux portfolio, we've got the Lux Collective portfolio, at least.
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: We've got the Lux Resorts, which beautiful five-star superior and
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: five-star luxury hotels. as well as Salt Resorts, which is
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: quite an exclusive adults-only resort. And then we've got Tamasa
• 13:01
  Speaker 3: Down South, which is a beautiful four-star resort, wonderful for families.
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: And what makes it extra wonderful is a really affordable,
• 13:10
  Speaker 3: all-inclusive resort. which we find in 70% of our bookends,
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: people take advantage of the all-inclusive.
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: Oh, it's so the way to go.
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: I've done that all three times I've been, and I
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: would absolutely endorse that. It just takes a whole layer
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: of stress away from going, you know exactly what the
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: holiday is going to cost you. You know everything is included.
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: You don't have to worry about taking your wallet and
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: your phone everywhere with you. It really does make for
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: a very relaxing holiday. So thumbs up to that idea.
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: Carlos, thanks.
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: Wonderful to chat to you and get a sense of
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: perhaps a couple of extras to add to the list
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: for the next visit to Mauritius.
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: A real pleasure to have you with us for Wonder
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: the World today.
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: Thank you, Pippa.
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: Thanks for your time.
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: And once again, our guest this afternoon, Carlos Luis from
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: The Lux Collective.