Day trip to Gabriel Island
Visiting Ilot Gabriel was one of the things we were most excited about during our trip to Mauritius. I’d seen photos of the island and it looked like paradise, the kind of place where nature runs free. And it was. As soon as I began to walk around the island I felt like a castaway or Robinson Crusoe or Charles Darwin…it was as close to being on a desert island as I've ever been.
Getting there is simple: every day, several catamarans leave from Grand Baie en route to Gabriel Island. Most tours leave at 9 in the morning and return at 4 in the afternoon and include lunch and drinks. The island itself is around 20km off the coast of Mauritius and is made up of about 40 acres of coral flats and grasslands. It is home to several endemic species and was declared a nature preserve in 1983. As you draw close, you see the color of the sky and sea merge and a small plot of tropical green rise along the horizon. It’s an impressive sight. Afterwards, a smaller boat takes you to the shore.
