The Bluest Bay of all

Blue Bay, as its name suggests, is pretty blue. This is what it looks like from above :

I previously posted about Le Morne Brabant being one of my two favourite places in Mauritius, and this is the other one. Despite its proximity to the airport, Blue Bay isn't particularly touristy and, on a normal day, the beach is pretty empty.

If you make the mistake of going there on a public holiday though, the view is rather different...

Blue Bay is a protected marine park, a status given because it is home to the biggest brain coral in the Indian Ocean, and one of the five biggest in the world if I remember correctly from our tour. Boating, fishing and swimming are all restricted - boat tours are allowed but there are designated points where they are allowed to drop anchor for snorkelling, and there are places they are not permitted to go depending on the tide.

I've been on the glass bottomed boat tour of the park four times now and I never get tired of it. The first time we went, the boat went directly to the snorkelling point and stayed there for an hour, but the other times, with a different company, we've had a proper tour of the park where they explain about the different types of coral, the fish, the efforts to regenerate coral growth after cyclone damage, and all sorts of other interesting information. As they know us now, they make an effort to try and show us something new each time. On our last visit it was this impressive rock full of clam shells (bénitier):

I'm told if you get your foot stuck in one of them, you'll never get it out again...

The park also contains approximately 38 different species of coral. It's an impressive sight, even for people who don't like to snorkel. The water is so clear that you almost get a better view from the glass bottomed boat.

I can't take the credit for this amazing picture, my friend Franck took it with my underwater camera.

Once you've seen the coral, it's time to meet the fish. If you're lucky, you might be the only people there, and it really is like swimming in an aquarium, it's incredible, especially considering you're still so close to the beach.

When my parents visited at the end of last year, I spent a week telling them how beautiful Blue Bay was, raving about the clear water and the fish. Sadly though, the day we took them there a bad weather system was just on its way out, and the sea was green and choppy. The boat tours were all cancelled, and you couldn't even see the bottom when you were standing waist-high in the water. I was so disappointed. I'd never seen it like that. Luckily though, we booked a boat trip for the last day of their holiday and by then it was back to normal. My Dad took this picture, and it's not even photoshopped, I promise!