INDEPENDENT TOUR TO REUNION – OCTOBER 2016
THURSDAY 29 SEPTEMBER D DAY!
An excited group gathered at the Air Austral check in desk at 09h00 this morning, overjoyed at the thought of visiting the tropical island of Réunion. They all passed quickly through Emigration and had a short while to explore the duty free shops, before boarding their flight. The island boasts a wealth of geographical curiosities, with an infinite number of micro-climates, magnificent mountains, 3 unique natural amphitheatres, breath-taking waterfalls, beautiful lagoons, white & black sand beaches, a clearly defined coral reef, as well as the world’s 2nd most active volcano! Ireen Turpin’s passion for Geography will make her a first class chaperone and, given her innate maternal instincts, I know that you children will be in excellent hands. 15h30: I have just had confirmation that the flight was lovely & the food delicious and upon arrival at Roland Garros Airport they were warmly & personally welcomed by our Tour Operator, Anne Christine. Jean will be their chauffeur/guide for the week - we know him well from our last trip to Reunion and he is such a kind man, with amazing knowledge of the island. Tonight the group is staying at the hotel Juliette Dodu, which is such an authentic, colonial building, which boasts a lovely pool and the building could quite easily be deemed a national treasure. A reminder that photos will also be loaded on a face-book page – if you are a member of FB, then either search ‘Personal Touch Schooltours – Reunion 2016’ or follow the link below and click ‘LIKE’ to receive updates as they are posted https://www.facebook.com/Personal-Touch-Schooltours-Reunion-2016-279780332415191/ More tomorrow, as they head towards the west coast….
FRIDAY 30 SEPTEMBER FROM SAINT DENIS TO THE WEST COAST
After a delicious island-style breakfast by the pool, the group met with Jean, their dedicated coach driver/guide, who helped them load their suitcases into the coach. He discussed the historical aspects of Saint Denis, the capital city and then drove them to Jardin de l’Etat, where they marveled at the wide variety of plants & flowers in these tropical gardens. Thereafter they strolled down the Rue de Paris and the focus was on ‘gentrification’, highlighting the changes that have been made to the area’s character & culture through restoration. After having purchased a few souvenirs, they hopped on board the coach and continued alongthe strikingly beautiful west coast, following the ‘route du littoral’, which is flanked by waves lapping the shore on the one side and sheer mountain cliffs dramatically descending on the other. Upon arrival at the Hotel Alamanda in Saint Gilles les Bains, they were offered a welcoming fruit cocktail and all were so impressed by the vast swimming pool, surrounded by gigantic palm trees and loungers! It is beautifully situated, only 5 minutes’ walk from the beach & in close proximity to a supermarket. In the late afternoon they hopped on board the local tuk tuk taxi to the Marina, where they had the remarkable experience of a sunset cruise aboard Le Grand Bleu, with complimentary cocktails & snacks. Dinner tonight will be served alongside the pool under the stars and this should be great fun, as it is customary for the hotel to showcase local sega dancers on a Friday evening – hopefully our SA students will show them some moves! PS I have just received this lovely update from Ireen: “The market was truly awesome …. spices, dresses, coconut ice cream, key chains etc bought by all! The weather is very hot and we went to the beach after lunch...this group loooooooves water, but not so keen on the sea cucumbers - they say that they squish when you stand on them apparently!!! The girls built sandcastles and Lauren says she is in love with the beauty of the island and the tuk tuk was a new experience and such fun! Amy and Rachel spent the entire time on the cruise up front, with the breeze in their faces, whilst the rest of us bonded at the back! The food is ‘to die for ...ma'am really, a 3 course meal for lunch??!!’ Krisha loves the architecture and wants a yellow and blue house one day, whilst KG thinks the graffiti on the walls is super...very creative! Everyone is so happy, they love our guide Jean and are learning lots!”
SATURDAY 1 OCTOBER OUTING TO THE VOLCANO!
This morning, all awoke bright & early to eat breakfast, before hopping on board the coach, where Jean was waiting to escort them Le Volcan du Piton de la Fournaise. The volcano is an incontestable part of Réunion’s natural heritage, dating back some 400 000 years and it is classified as one of the world’s most active volcanoes - the most recent eruption having occurred this year! They zigzagged along the precarious roads through the lunar-like landscape to Pas de Bellecombe, which is situated over the caldera rim cliffs and from the edge of this 2 310m high rocky platform, they had a view of the principal and almost perfect cone of the volcano. It was apparently quite misty and very, very cold, so they were all glad to have packed thick jackets! On the return journey, they visite d la Maison du Volcan, a newly revamped, exciting & interactive museum, designed to provide a wealth of geological information on volcanoes, culminating in a spectacular 4-D movie, which had all screeching & vibrating in their seats! Upon return to the hotel, they were able to relax and digest all that they had seen & done today and dinner tonight will once again be served alongside the pool. PS, just received from Ireen: “Gontse says today was very cold, but she loved the views and Mercedes says she has had her work out for the year! KG found the view truly awesome, Lauren says her day was exhausting but fulfilling and Krisha was in 7th heaven about all the photos she took and can't wait to download them! Alice - Jane had the best salad of her life prepared by the mountain guide, Caitlyn loved the vegetation and Amy loves all the food! Rachel loves the ice cream and finds the people most helpful - the views also impressed her a lot. There were 390 curves on the zigzag road - that's a lot of twists and turns and Amy was the closest to getting the count correct! The change of biomes was something that really made the girls think and they were amazed to realise that this island takes its carbon footprint very seriously. They are also learning so much about cultures and the differences from country to country. They are prepared to taste new flavours ...sometimes they are pleasantly surprised and sometimes they don't like the new flavours, but they are prepared to try them anyway. One of the comments from Lauren was ‘how can you say you don't like something if you have not even tasted it!’ We’re all having a marvellous time!”
SUNDAY 2 OCTOBER CIRQUE MAFATE & KELONIA!
Another early start this morning and by 07h30 they were all aboard the coach with Jean. There are 3 ‘cirques’ on the island of Réunion and these geographical curiosities are ancient craters, which were formed by the collapse of the walls of the original volcano, Le Piton des Neiges and all have been dramatically affected by subsequent erosion. The largest one is Cirque Mafate(more than 2 200m above sea level) and from the viewpoint at Piton Maido, everyone was amazed by the unbelievably striking scenery & they marvelled at the colony of people who reside deep in the bowels of this inaccessible cirque. Thereafter they visited Kelonia, which is a fascinating and world class Research Centre & Marine Turtle Observatory and their guides are dedicated to this project, which promotes environmental responsibility & raises awareness about the need to protect these species. They welcomed the time to relax this afternoon and tonight they will be dining at a restaurant on the beach which specializes in traditional Créole cooking. Another wonderful day!
MONDAY 3 OCTOBER GRAND TOUR OF THE ISLAND!
Today they toured the entire circumference of the island - a total of 220kms! Jean arrived at the hotel at 07h30 and they travelled southwards through the Sud Sauvage, the rocky ‘wild south’, which boasts a wealth of colours and a variety of landscapes. They passed through Saint Leu, a haven for surfers and here Ireen pointed out the magnificent blow-hole, Souffleur de Bretagne. They then continued on to the viewpoint at Manapany-les-Bains, where they witnessed how volcanic rocks have been placed in the sea to create a basin which is protected from waves to constitute a cradle for extensive marine life. Thereafter they stopped at Puits d’Anglais, where they saw another remarkable blow-hole, the Souffleur d’Arbonne,before continuing on to Anse les Cascades, where they thoroughly enjoyed lunch in the restaurant, surrounded by spectacular cascading waterfalls. After lunch they continued on to Pointe de la Table, where they marvelled at the dramatic views of the ocean meeting the magma flows of past eruptions, with incredible evidence of pillow lava. Jean and Ireen shared detailed information on this topic and Jean then led them the girls on a short tour through the lava tunnels, which was an amazing experience! Thereafter they travelled to Sainte Rose, where they witnesses how the lava flow which destroyed an entire village in 1977, miraculously terminated & froze around the steps of its church, Notre Dame des Laves. Finally they headed to St Denis, where they stopped & shopped at a local hypermarket - how the girls loved the experience and what good use they made of their allocated time! There was heavy rain on the way back, quite unseasonal, but all were entertained by Ireen’s rendition of French songs! PS, latest new s from Ireen: “We had an early start to the day - maps & pens and strict instructions to keep track, as this day would be full of information! First stop was to witness a blowhole …. the girls were amazed and found the spray refreshing! We collected black sand from the wild coast and they were fascinated by the green olivine crystals in the sand and the fact that the beach here has finer sand than the lagoon. They now finally understand the difference between constructive and destructive waves! Caitlyn rescued KG's hat which blew off the cliff … which was quite a story! Jean gave a very informative lecture on the lava flows and then led all into the lava tunnel, where they discovered that the vents from 2007 are still hot. Jean brought some tamarind for the girls to taste and our fantastic lunch had heart of palm – the lunch was awesome and some really thought that today's food was the very best. At the end of our journey, the day changed from hot and sunny to misty and rainy, which made them close the road for fear of a rock fall. So shopping was an hour only, but girls can shop a lot in an hour (!) and then we sat in a traffic jam Réunion style - but to pass the time I taught them some French songs from our visit in 2014! What a lovely, full day we had and now we are enjoying a wonderful dinner by the pool!”
TUESDAY 4 OCTOBER LA CUISINE REUNIONAISE + LA VANILLERIE
A more relaxing programme was scheduled for the day and after another delicious breakfast, Jean escorted the group to Sainte Suzanne, where all thoroughly enjoyed participating in a professional cooking course. They were introduced to the wealth of flavours & spices typifying la cuisine Réunionaise, noting that the Créole food is distinctly French, with African, Indian & Asian influences & nuances. They all had great fun and thoroughly enjoyed sampling the fruits of their labour! Thereafter they travelled through fields of sugarcane to St André, where they visited a well-known vanilla factory, La Vanillerie and here their lovely guide explained the intricate process involved in the vanilla extracting process. After purchasing gifts, they headed back to the hotel and dinner tonight will be enjoyed for the last time at the poolside. PS, news from Ireen: “We were all looking forward to a later start this morning and what a fun day we had. We travelled to the ‘cooking school’ and the owner is such a nice man. Everyone was expected to join in - Lauren & Gontse were tasked with preparing the banana cake – similar to a tarte tartin and Mercedes, Krisha, Amy and I worked on peeling the green calabash for the something or other gratin!! The onions were prepared by Mercedes, KG and Mrs Singh, whilst Rachel and I did the ginger. The pineapple and papaya for the smoothie was done by Rachel and Krisha and Amy deboned the smoked chicken! Mrs Singh, KG and I prepared the samosa fillings and Caitlyn was tasked with taking photographs! We all learnt how to make delicious samoosas and sweet chilli cakes with butter beans! A variety of ‘Créole carries’ were also prepared and Amy, Rachel & Mercedes bravely ventured where no others were prepared to go - they attempted to taste the chilli sauce!! They say they suffered for the cause, much to the delight and amusement of all. Then we were off to the vanilla farm which was fascinating and now we know why vanilla costs so very much! We are back at our lovely hotel and really appreciating our last supper at the poolside”.
WEDNESDAY 5 OCTOBER KAYAKS + AQUARIUM + THE LAST SUPPER!
What a joy it was for everyone to be able to sleep in a little longer and to eat a leisurely breakfast! At 09h30 all hopped on board the tuk tuk transfer and made their way to Salins les Bains, where the waves were breaking on the coral reef in the distance and the clear blue waters were trickling onto the sand. Here the girls were introduced to the mysteries of the lagoon in glass bottom kayaks – what an amazing experience! There is such a rich biodiversity in the reef environment and their guide informed them of the measures which have been put in place to preserve this unique marine eco-system. It was a wonderfully informative & fun-filled few hours, which ended with fruit cocktails on the beach! They then visited the impressive, world-class Aquarium at St Gilles-les-Bains, which showcases all aspects of marine life and eco-systems related to Reunion. After lunch they returned to the hotel, where they were able to relax and pack their cases for the early start tomorrow morning, before being transferred to the beach for their final dinner on this idyllic island – a glorious finale for their magical week! PS, Ireen’s update: “We had such a lovely day and for many it was the highlight of the trip! The aquarium was really wonderful and the girls absolutely raved about the little sea horses. The kayak experience was great and the girls thoroughly enjoyed searching for reef creatures. KG and Mercedes are born for this, as they hopped on and we're off, whilst others decided that tummy on the board was the way to do this one!! The supper at the Toque Chef was delicious and full of laughter and some got quite emotional as they spoke of their glorious week. The girls gave their teacher the sweetest gift and toast - it has been a great pleasure being allowed to share my passion for my subject with such a wonderful group of girls. I am sure that parents will be overwhelmed by the amount of information that their daughters return with and I look forward to seeing their Geography results, if their questions are anything to go by!”
THURSDAY 6 OCTOBER HOMEWARD BOUND!
The transfer from the hotel is schedule for 05h00 tomorrow morning, so alarms will be set for 04h00 … goodness! All is confirmed for the return flight on UU 341 and I am sure there is no need to remind excited parents & family members that the group is scheduled to arrive at O R Tambo at 10h15. To act ‘in loco parentis’ is no mean task and I would sincerely like to thank Ireen Turpin for being such a superb chaperone. She is always full of life & laughter and her joie de vie is inspirational. Thank you my dear friend for taking such good care of the girls and for flying the Personal Touch banner so high! The tour has been a great success and what a glorious week they have had - as parents you can rest assured that you have afforded your children the most wonderful opportunity! They are bound to be exhausted after such an intense programme and the many wonderful anecdotes may not be immediately forthcoming, but they will reveal themselves in the days, weeks, months and years to come! I have no doubt that each and every child will return not only academically enriched, but enriched as a person, having matured and grown in confidence and the precious memories & firm bonds of friendships will last a lifetime. It remains for me to wish you all a happy home-coming ~ ‘bon voyage et a la prochaine’!