Reunion Island

Reunion Island is like a huge - little island in the middle of a huge ocean. A few colonial French towns are scattered around huge volcanic mountains (Over 3000m high). The ever present ocean seems larger than life and the red live volcano is very much an entity to be reckoned with. The last lava flow at Piton de la Fournaise (of a few years ago) is still hot and steaming, while the coastal road has already been rebuilt over this area. The climate is tropical. The culture is French (but with an interesting local flavour). It is an overseas department of France.

Many aromatic plants such as Vanilla, Geranium and Ylang Ylang are cultivated and can be seen in forests. One can also visit Geranium distilleries. The local cuisine specialities include Sausice (Sausage cut in wheels and made into a stew) and the flavoured Rum makes excellent lunches and dinners.

The history of Reunion (Sugar Cane and Slavery) is very interesting. The old mansion of one of the original landlords can be visited as it is now a museum with many valuable artefacts and it has a record of slavery in Reunion.

There are 2 weekly flights direct ex Johannesburg on Air Austral. The flight is just under 4 hours long and lands in the capital St Denis. There is much more to do & see in towns like St Pierre, where the night life is more lively and interesting.

Reunion offers various adventure sport options such as hiking, rock climbing, canyoning and kite surfing. One can hire a guide and take walks to some of the isolated towns in the interior such as Cilaos. You can enjoy a scenic drive up to La Plaine des Palmistes which offers great views of the interior as well as the volcanoes. There are a few Beach resorts in St-Gilles-les-Baines where there is a natural reef lagoon. They claim over 150 Coral marine species. Reunion offers many types of accommodation from backpackers to guest houses to hotels.

South Africans require visas to visit Reunion Island.