Mauritius

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AN HOUR'S DRIVE from the airport and we were on the Paradis Hotel’s private peninsula on the island of Mauritius.

The first thing that really caught my eye as we pulled up at the security gates was the large, calm-looking lagoon – I had a couple of games of golf organised on the incredible course that weaves its way around the water.

And, as a chef who also enjoys a spot of fishing, I was curious as to what creatures were lurking beneath the surface.

We were greeted by Benoit Espitalier Noel, the sports and leisure manager. Nice name, we thought, posh and double-barrelled.

But we later discovered that most of the locals had posh, French-sounding surnames due to their French Creole ancestors.

We were given a tour of Paradis’s sister property, Dinarobin Hotel Golf & Spa, which is just next to Paradis. This has its own private members’ club from 8am to 8pm as a part of the VIP deal. I tried to get a private view for a quick cocktail one evening, but was politely refused – it really is members only.

Guests at the Paradis, though, can make use of the other facilities at Dinarobin (and vice versa), like the decadent spa with several luxurious treatment rooms, some with their own private Japanese gardens.

After the treatment you can relax in the private pool and drink herbal tea. We had a few activities lined up, one of which was deep-sea fishing.

I did stress that I wasn’t into chasing marlins at 20 knots but I’m afraid the message never quite got through.

Hunt and fish

The minute we stepped on board, out came the big gold gamefishing reels and half a day went by whizzing around the Indian Ocean at high speed, trolling lures the size of a cat.

Suddenly, I heard a whoosh and an ‘Oh no!’ and I knew what was coming next – they had me strapped into the big white chair before I could say blue marlin. The thing ran with a couple of hundred yards of line, then took a leap out of the water.

That was the most exciting bit. The fish was huge and I felt as if I were doing some sort of punishment in the gym. I was completely exhausted after ten minutes and then, thank God, he had the better of me –maybe the dolphins we spotted earlier had rescued him.

The skipper had the expression of a man who had lost someone close but I was relieved and shaking with exhaustion. OK, no more heavy stuff, I told the crew.

Next day, we hooked up with a serious sports fisher and hunter, Dominique Thevanau. He spe- cialises in surfcasting on the reef that surrounds the island. This was a new one on me and sounded more fun than the previous day’s big-game trolling.

Dominique and his assistant Francois turned up with a 14ft surfcasting rod and we set out for the reef on his small boat. We anchored in the swell of the surf, just on the reef.

Dominique was power-casting big, big lures directly into the surf and I did the same with my old faithful spinning rod. I also had my fly rod at hand, just in case.

After an hour we had lost a couple of fish, then Dom hooked into a ‘GT’ (giant trevally). He passed the rod over to me and we hauled the fish on board to weigh it before releasing it back into the water.

Dom practises and tries to promote ‘catch and release’ fishing – one of the few fishermen to do so on the island, I gathered.

He also organises hunting parties on a private estate nearby, a beautiful spot on and around the volcanic hills and sugar-cane plantations.

They hunt for wild boar, deer, hare, partridge and guinea fowl. So you could have a great hunting and fishing holiday in an amazing hot country – makes a change from freezing to death on the moors. Relaxing in the sun is up to you. The resort has a beautiful sandy beach which, unusually, isn’t plagued with jet skis.

Or you can opt for the poolside and send your children to the junior pool with its cute half-size sun loungers.

The island is a melting pot of cultures – Indian, Chinese, African and European – which creates an interesting cuisine. On our first night we tried the hotel buffet, in its Le Brabant restaurant, which consisted of typical local creole cooking, heavily Indian-influenced with a very slight hint of French and some Chinese thrown in for good measure.

Octopus vindaloo was a delicious salad spiked with curry and fragrant with coriander. I also tried the miniature potato samosas, dhal and parathas made in front of you by a local woman.

There was red tuna creole, a kind of carpaccio with a hint of local spice, and much, much more. Mains included a fish curry, some nicely cooked simple roast joints and many other goodies to keep all palates happy.

Another hotel restaurant is La Ravanne, between Paradis and Dinarobin, an al fresco eaterie overlooking the sea and specialising in local dishes with a heavy emphasis on seafood.

Local specialities

There we enjoyed a delicious Mediterranean-style fish soup, a brochette of prawns and then a grilled bourgeois, like a meaty red snapper. It was cooked over charcoal with braised potatoes and local mussels.

We finished with flambeed bananas and a second bottle of South African Le Bonheur sauvignon- blanc. The great South African wines feature heavily on both hotels’ menus as South Africa is only a couple of hours away – and when they are that good and that close, why not?

Le Brabant has a seafood night on Fridays and we sampled tiny local oysters and silver oysters – which were new to me, with black and silver flat shells and a small intense eye of meat.

The highlight was sea urchins with delicious yellow eggs and that wonderful freshness of the sea, prawns and local lobster.

Another night a bit of local knowledge from a friend of a friend pointed us to Ocean, a Chinese restaurant about 15 min utes from the hotel, in Flic en Flac. Ocean serves simple food such as barbecued meats and a delicate pork satay that was not coated in the usual heavy peanut sauce.

The prawns in ginger, spring onion and chilli dressing were fresh and punchy, the squid in a clay pot had a creole touch and the fried rice was the real thing. One of the best culinary treats was when Dominique got us a leg of wild boar from the estate and handed it over to the patron at Point Pecheur, a little restaurant in La Gaulette, close to the hotel.

They marinated it in wine and herbs, to make a civet, perfumed with cinnamon and cloves. It was delicious.

For a starter, we had christophenes – like knobbly white avocados with a waxy, turnip-like texture – stuffed with seafood and baked. And the bill came to just £20 for four of us, with wine.

Sirokan, also in La Gaulette is worth a try, too, especially for its lobster curry and crab estoufade.

I managed a game of golf on our last day – between eating and fishing – and what a fantastic course! The par 72 championship course was built in 1992 and makes great use of local sand.

Unfortunately, I, too, made good use of the local sand, my own fault naturally, and it’s not easy to get out of, let me tell you.

If you’re travelling with children and you want to take part in the activities we did, you can drop them off at the Bob Marlin Club where they can enjoy junior versions of the grown-up activities – well, most of them – until 11pm.