Our vacation on Réunion island.
Dialog - Réunion
- The trip back 17.11.2011
- Cormorans Cascades 16.11.2011
- Cirque de Cilaos 15.11.2011
- Cirque de Salazie 14.11.2011
- Pointe des trois bassins 13.11.2011
- Piton de la Fournaise 12.11.2011
- A day at the beach 11.11.2011
- Entre-Deux 10.11.2011
- Cap Méchant 09.11.2011
- St. Gilles Les Bains 08.11.2011
- Bassins des Cormorans 07.11.2011
- Takamaka 06.11.2011
- Across the island 05.11.2011
- The journey there 03.11.2011
The trip back ↑
After having handed back the apartment to the landlord, we walked down to beach in La Saline Les Bains once more, and headed back to the airport where our flight was scheduled for the evening. On our way we visited the reminder of the Chemin de fer de La Réunion and Saint-Denis' downtown area and waterfront walk.
Cormorans Cascades ↑
We went to revisit the Cormorans waterfalls to experience them in nicer weather and with less people around earlier in the morning. We wanted to climb the Maïdo later that day but unfortunately weren't able to access it - a forest fire had devasted part of its surroundings two weeks earlier and the area was still closed down to the public.
Cirque de Cilaos ↑
The third cirque we visited was Cilaos - the trip there via N5, a road curving up the hilly region in as much as 426 serpentines, being as spectacular as the area itself.
Cirque de Salazie ↑
In the first of the cirques (collapsed former calderas) we visited, Salazie, we hiked up a very steep path to some waterfalls which didn't turn out as spectacular as we thought, and then took route 52 west towards a mountain pass where one can look down into the cirque de Mafate
Pointe des trois bassins ↑
At the "Pointe des Trois-Bassins" beach, a surfing location, with some shady places underneath trees, relaxing from our exhausting six hours hike the day before.
Piton de la Fournaise ↑
One of the most exciting trips was our day's excursion to the Piton de la Fournaise (or just: "le Volcan":-)). Having gotten up early in the morning, we arrived at the parking space at the end of the "Rue de Volcan" at 10 o'clock and hiked through fog until we reached the "Cratère Dolomieu" and the sun started breaking through. If you look at satellite imagery, it all looks black and gray, but in real it's a bit more colorful.
A day at the beach ↑
Spending a day at the beach in La Saline-les-Bains, relaxing, reading and preparing for our big trip to the "Piton de la Fournaise" volcano the next day.
Entre-Deux ↑
Hiking from Entre-Deux down towards the "Bras de la Plaine" river, where our travel guide advertised a natural arch made of lava stone we never saw. On the way back, we learned the meaning of rain in "rain forest", but also that most showers don't take long.
Cap Méchant ↑
Driving down south to the Cap Méchant ("the malicious cape") in cloudy and windy (but nonetheless warm) weather. On the way back, we thought of visiting Entre-Deux but turned around after landing in a rain shower (and decided to come back later).
St. Gilles Les Bains ↑
In Saint-Gilles-les Bains, the next bigger town, for souvenir shopping.
Bassins des Cormorans ↑
A small trip to a series of three basins near St. Gilles les Bains. The hiking paths go alongside aqueducts, one of them leading throught tunnels! On our way back we caught a glimpse of the paille en queue bird.
Takamaka ↑
In the Takamaka valley, famous for its waterfalls down the more than 800 meters high vertical walls covered with green vegetation.
Across the island ↑
Our first exhibition lead us southwards towards Saint-Pierre and from there via the only road to cross the island over the mountain pass, down via the Plaine des Palmistes to Saint-Benoît and back home, passing Le Grand Brûlé (where lava flows from Réunion's active volcano into the Indian ocean) and lots of small villafes along the island's south coast.
The journey there ↑
Starting at Karlsruhe main station, taking the TGV to Paris from where our flight left (which was faster than flying from Frankfurt!). After an 11 hour overnight flight we landed safely on Réunion, picked up our rental car and headed towards La Saline-les-Bains on the island's west coast where we had our apartment.