Peter Petersen reports back from a two week Stand Up Paddle Surf trip to Mauritius.
This time we brought over a few SUP’s and Andreas VB and Dieter C joined me for some epic sessions in and around the Le Morne area. SUP’ing in Mauritius is a bit of a gamble this year (June-July) as the wind blows most of the time.
Some of the spots the wind will be offshore, but 20 knots straight up the face doesn’t work too well either so if you want to go for serious SUP’ing I’d pick the windy off-season from Nov-March. Having said that – we scored 6 days out of 14 with no wind so sometimes a gamble pays off.
Mauritius has insane lagoons which are unbelievable for SUP’ing as you’re literally gliding over a aquarium. Water is butter smooth and anyone will learn the sport in seconds in conditions like this. For the more adventurous the outer reefs offer lefts and rights ad libitum, only word of caution - you need to know your currents and plan not to connect with the reefs as they can end your holiday in an instant – booties are a good idea – ask Brad Symington.
We were a bit tentative about what reception we’d receive entering the lineups on SUP’s, so we stayed away from busy breaks and stayed wide on the ones that had surfers on them. In the end we only got friendly vibes and we ended up selling our kit to some of the locals who were amped to see SUP’ing in waves.
The Water is warm, the air is warm, the people are warm and the island is just amazing – so next time you plan your trip you might just want to pack a SUP.
PS – Flew SAA who charges R50 per kg so it’s about R600 each way for your board. Air Mauritius should do it fro Euro 20 each way.