Animal Kingdom – Casela

For some reason I forgot to post these with the rest of my Mauritius posts last month! I went to Casela Nature Reserve on the penultimate day of my trip to Mauritius and as I LOVE animals I was completely in my element.

It’s been two years since I last visited and most of my thoughts are the same. The enclosures at Casela are huge which I think is brilliant. The larger animals (tigers, rhinos, zebras etc) share a huge safari style enclosure, and you’re not guaranteed a glimpse as there’s loads of spaces the animals can run off and avoid the visitors if they wish, which I think is great (although some people were complaining).

I was particularly emotional about seeing the rhinos; an entire species of animal which will almost certainly be extinct within our lifetimes. 3 subspecies were declared extinct in 2011, and poaching numbers are increasing by almost 50% each year. There are less than 100 individual Javan and Sumatran rhinos and just 3 individual White rhinos left in the entire world, which is heartbreaking.

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The animals have a lot of space to wander around and the fences and dividers between the smaller enclosures seemed almost non-existent this trip. I really like this aspect of the Park, as instead of seeing one animal per enclosure it was more like a free-for-all with animals roaming around between different areas. I saw lemurs hanging out with the tortoises, peacocks with the giraffes and a pet pig hanging out with the baby goats.

There were also random wild animals; we saw wild monkeys stealing food from the giraffes, lizards in the rabbit enclosure, and even a cheeky mongoose in with the giant tortoises. Talk about animal kingdom! Overall I think Casela is a great animal and nature reserve and I haven’t seen one that better typifies what a zoo should “be”, in my opinion. Where should I check out next?

Indian Ocean

1st photo. Bandana, shorts, vest top – all boys and belonging to housemate. Shirt – £13, Beyond Retro.

3rd-5th photos. T-Shirt – $5, Buffalo Vintage, Portland, Oregon. Skirt – £10, Amy Winehouse Foundation pop-up shop.

I feel like every time I go to the sea it’s obligatory to document it. These beachside outfit photos are nothing compared to last time I was in Mauritius but without my trusty photography steed (James) or any adequate packing time I had a random assortment of both clothes and photos to go through.

I’m normally straight into the sea and swimming around with the fishes in Mauritius, and this is the first time I can remember NOT swimming out into the sea. The beach was lined with volcanic rock; the huge, porous black rocks you can see in these photos. Volcanic rock is my favourite rock to have by the sea; they are smooth and often flat on top, they hold onto the suns warmth (perfect seats) and also dry out quickly. British rockpools tend to be jagged-edged slippery deathtraps in comparison..!

I was astounded by the amount of different animals living between the rocks. As we all know by now, I’m obsessed with animals so I was in my element exploring. The sandy floor was lined with sea cucumbers, sea urchins, seahorses, baby flying fish, mudskippers, anemones, sea slugs, baby octopi and starfish. And this is all packed into a space of a couple metres! The main reason I didn’t want to wade out into the sea to swim was because I was terrified of destructing a whole ecosystem with my giant human feet, or worse, destructing my giant human feet on the backs of the spiny sea urchins. Instead I spent hours clambering amongst the rocks, taking time to observe and trying not to disturb.

Autumn in Mauritius

September and October aren’t normally the times of year I set off for the Mauritian sunshine but that’s how it happened this year. It was slightly odd digging through my jumpers and winter dresses to find all of my recently packed away summer clothes; coupled with our last-minute booking I had some bizarrely mismatched outfits in Mauritius that I would have never thrown on in London. But then again, it’s holiday: time to live in the moment and just go with it…

This is a slightly random assortment of photos, I’ve already told you why I was there and my thoughts so as you might expect documenting the trip and everything we saw wasn’t really first priority for me this time around. I’ve written a lot about Mauritius before (LINK SPEW), it’s a pretty amazing country with lots of tiny islands to explore and a crazy geographical range; mountains, rainforest, woodland, beach and city. People often describe Mauritius as paradise; I’m completely biased of course but I definitely agree, aside from the natural beauty of the landscape (JUST LOOK AT THE VIEW FROM OUR FLAT IN THE TOP PHOTO) it’s got an endearing charm all it’s own amongst the welcoming people and ramshackle little towns. All in a country smaller than London!

We stayed in a flat near to Port Louis (which I’ve posted about before here), the capital of Mauritius and home to a lot of my family as well as some of the most evocative buildings I think I’ve ever seen. The colourful, slightly dilapidated constructions always stick in my mind when I’m back in the UK. Last time I was in Mauritius James and I stayed in a super-fancy hotel (post here) so it was a totally different experience this time sharing a flat with my Mum and Dad, especially as it’s been about 8 years since I last shared a house with my parents/spent longer than a couple of days with them. Again, it’s holiday, time to just go with it…

Family

Whilst in Mauritius I spent a lot of time with one of my cousins and his adorable kids (pictured, do you see a likeness?). He’s the eldest cousin and I’m the youngest. Despite the differences in age and circumstance there is a lot the two of us share beside our grandparents; a sympathetic disposition, a tendency to laugh off serious statements, a keen interest in how our families have shaped us.

My eldest cousin spoke touchingly of his dream; to have the four of us cousins, our four collective children and our one remaining parent (mine) all together in a room. To just be together like that. He spoke so wistfully it made my heart ache. I have many friends who see their entire families every Christmas, every wedding, every funeral. I’ve met my cousins only a handful of times through my life, divided as we are by continents and expensive flight routes. I wish I were of more use to them, lame as I am with my poor grasp of language; my alien career choice; my bizarre hometown; my youth and naivety; my sincere unknowing of life.

My eldest cousin noted the similarities between all of us cousins. We are all independent, almost to the point of being loners. We are all sensitive listeners who try and help everyone out, but none of us are any good at asking for or accepting help of our own. We are actually terrible at accepting help: quick to retreat, happy to analyse our problems in solitude. We don’t like letting people in. We are all pretty laid-back about the trials of day to day life, saving ourselves for the bigger dramas. The kind of dramas that brew up over a lifetime because nobody knew what to do. The kind of crisis that can cause the rest of the family to dash across the globe and throw their best of intentions at; well-meaning but rashly executed.

I don’t really know what the role of family is. People to teach you, to support you, people who know you best, people who cared about you unconditionally? These aren’t really things I associate with my family. My local family is just me and my parents; three people with a backlog of misunderstandings and confusing geography. With the rest of my family, I know we are all similar people but we’re just too far away – and there’s not enough to go on, not enough to be getting on with.

The attributes of family are instead are the things I associate with my friends. It’s my friends who lift me up, it’s my friends who enlighten me, it’s my friends who support me. Why is that? Is it the age I am and the society I live in? Is it because I see my family so little? Is it because my family and I share the same flaws and therefore cannot look after each other properly? The same cracks in alternate mirrors, the same blots on our differing landscapes. It’s difficult to say.

Dubai & Mauritius

I’m currently in Mauritius, a tiny island off the coast of Africa best known as a honeymoon destination. I’m not here for a holiday but sadly due to a family situation that is reaching crisis point. This trip was completely unplanned and last-minute, arising at the most inconvenient time in the way these things tend to. We had a few days stopover in Dubai (as you may have seen from this jubilant post) and I am now in Mauritius. Mauritius is one of my favourite places in the world and I’ve written a lot about it before.

Even given the present circumstances I’m grateful to be here in this beautiful country, although I feel very displaced right now. I had planned for September and October to be about recording, rooting myself in projects for the next couple months, writing round the clock and laying the foundations for next years work. Instead I’m a million miles away from home, trying to reschedule and mentally readjusting to effectively pausing my life for a bit. I feel like somebody’s taken over the reins for a bit and it’s pretty bizarre. If I don’t get much chance to blog in the next few weeks.. you know where I am, and I’ll try and share this incredible place on Instagram (@lailapictures) from time to time as well. 

Twenty-thirteen

I make quite detailed resolutions so I thought I’d share them, I apologise in advance if this is the most boring post ever! I like to keep busy, but after exhausting myself in 2012 I set the productivity bar very low for 2013 and it’s been my “sloth” year off. My resolutions included going on holiday, going to the zoo, moving out and learning to drive.

I completed nearly all of them. The best one was taking James to Mauritius! James is the first person outside of my family I’ve been to Mauritius with and it was one of the best trips I’ve had, (and an excellent opportunity to air my floppy hat collection – 4 is a bit excessive for everyday UK weather).

 How adorable is the teenage chicken! I love teenage birds, they look so weird as their feathers change. They are rarely photographed at this stage of life because they look so strange.Despite my year off I did do a few things: relocate WOLF PACK to London, create two concerts, go on two tours with Rhum & Clay to perform A Strange Wild Song (performing in Bath, Cornwall, Chulmleigh, Winkleigh, Devon, Liverpool, Oxford, Bristol, Margate, Leicester, Derby, Exeter, Ilfracombe & Reading), create a website, go on holiday to Mauritius (with James), Rhodes and Fetiye (with my bestie Philly) and Manchester (with all my friends!),  move house (twice), pass my driving test, triple my private students and start volunteering at a charity shop.

I’ve read a few blogs mentioning resolutions centred around personal growth, career development and health and fitness. Mine are never like that! I basically just have a list of stuff I want to do. It’s possibly a bit unrealistic but I am quite an ambitious and driven sort of person.

My 2014 goals:

Keep to a maximum of three projects to focus on

Hang out with (long list of friends I don’t see enough)

Tour North America

Go to Monkey World

Go to New York, Disneyland, Brazil and Cambodia

Take James to AMNH (my favourite museum in the world)

I’m lucky to have been given so many opportunities and to be able to shape my own career and do something I love as a job: although it’s hard work, difficult to justify at times and insane hours I never contemplate doing anything else.

Lastly I started my blog this year! Thank you to James, Philly, Justin, Dave and everybody else who helps me with photos and all of my friends for sharing this year with me! Thank you so much to all of you who read, I never ever expected to meet so many lovely people. I’d love to know what you’d like to see next or if you have any suggestions – leave me a comment or have a click in this little poll below! What are your plans for 2014? Happy New Year everyone, I wish you all museums and good times. Thank you to everybody who was part of my 2013!

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Beachcombing

Our room at Le Touessrok opened out directly onto the beach and a short wander from the rocky area you see in these photos. It was so much fun clambering around the rocks and encountering all kinds of creatures amongst the seaweed; schools of whitebait, a huge sea cucumber, tiny white crabs and sea urchins ranging from deep purple to bright green. I saw a sea urchin on my second trip to Mauritius aged 7 and I wanted to pick it up because I thought it was a plant. I remember my Dad telling me not to because in fact this strange, spiky thing was a living creature, and he (the sea urchin) was just trying to get along without little girls picking him up and moving him around. One of my most vivid childhood memories is looking at the sea urchin and thinking how it was SO unlike a fox, or a duck, or a zebra or any animal I could imagine, and realising how many thousands of creatures there must be in the world.

On the morning of these photos we were joined by about a hundred crabs scuttling across the rocks. Mauritius has so many species of fish and plants that are endemic to the country and even just standing by the tide for half an hour it’s amazing to think you’re seeing all kinds of creatures that don’t live anywhere else. Exploring the rock pools made me remember discovering pretty little shells as a child and imagining I’d stumbled upon possessions that mermaids had lost or abandoned. With this in mind I couldn’t help but collect up some of the daintiest shells and leave them laid out for something else to find later on, even if it’s only the fishes.  Our adventures picking our way through the rockpools also made me recall the last line of this poem by e e cummings which seemed very apt;

‘For whatever we lose (like a you or a me) it’s always ourselves we find in the sea’. 

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Casela

James and the Giant Tortoise (caption of the century)
We spent our last afternoon in Mauritius at Casela Nature & Leisure Park. I have very conflicting feelings about animals being kept in captivity.  Whilst breeding programmes and the opportunity to study endangered species can be good, captivity is stressful for the animals and can cause all kinds of medical problems: particularly animals originally from hotter or colder environments. However, how can zoos afford to run conservation programmes without funding from ticket sales? Additionally some zoos provide shelter for rehabilitated animals who have left horrific lives performing in shows and have no chance of readjusting to the wild.

Though very few of the animals we saw at Casela are indigenous to Mauritius, the climate and habitat are identical to their home environment and they have a lot of space where natural activities (digging, burrowing etc) are encouraged unlike in some zoos. On safari (pictures below) we saw so many animals including a baby ostrich. The first tortoise we met had hijacked the food laid out for the ostriches; you can see them watching him confusedly but he seemed pretty happy! Bonus animals were the incredibly shy black pigs; they’re very endangered due to wild boar consumption.

In the nature park (pictures above) there were many species of bird wandering around free of cages. James and I shared a tender moment with the beautiful giant tortoises who are now endangered; when I first visited Mauritius at the age of 18 months these animals were still native and we have numerous photos of me playing with them, so it was bittersweet to see them. We also saw a tiny baby macaque (about the size of my hand) being cuddled and passed around the elders and the adorable lovebirds huddled together. My favourite new friend was this lemur. I scratched her back through the railings and she immediately turned round and spread herself out to be stroked, just like a cat.

What are your thoughts on animals in captivity?