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Botanical garden exploration, Mauritius

When was your last visit at the nearest botanical garden? No idea? Well I invite you on a brief visit of the Pamplemousses botanical garden in Mauritius, meet amazing wildlife (fruit bats, Ring-necked Parakeet and Green-backed Heron) and enjoy the patterns that the winter sunlight draws on leaves.

Whether looking up when you hear a specific sound or admiring the majestic old trees, no wonder you’ll notice the fruit bats hanging in the canopy. It was nearly noon and here they were flying around, squeaking, climbing like funny monkeys. It was just the beginning of my visit and I ended up sitting on a bench and looking up, observing and shooting. Not easy to hold the camera in that position for too long mainly when trying to snap good pictures when the wind wasn’t blowing too hard. From time to time, watching a fight or some flying away or avoiding their droppings falling from sky.

The Green-backed Heron

Vacoas leaves

Ring-necked Parakeet

Fruit bat family in the canopy
Fruit bat family in the canopy
Looking up at the tree chosen by the fruit bats
Looking up at the tree chosen by the fruit bats
Fruit bat spotting through the leaves
Fruit bat spotting through the leaves
Black and white bat
Black and white bat
Fruit bat blowing in the wind
Fruit bat blowing in the wind
Vacoas leaves
Sunlight drawing stunning pattern on the Vacoas leaves, an endemic plant of Mauritius

I love to observe how the sunlight plays on textures in nature and draws amazing patterns, from the spotted leaves on the Vacoas leaves (endemic plant to Mauritius) to the veins of the big elephant leaves.

Vacoas leaves

Elephant leaves

Vacoas leaves

Here’s the king of the pond: a Green-backed Heron! I sat by the pond to observe how it balances on the stem of the lotus plants while fishing, undisturbed by the presence of several visitors walking around. The lotus flowers brighten up the pond with their dashing colours, from pink to purple.

The Green-backed Heron

The Green-backed Heron

The Green-backed Heron

Bee visiting the stunning lotus flowers
Bee visiting the stunning lotus flowers

Approaching the exit gate of the garden, I suddenly heard a special bird song; the ring-necked parakeet. Its green feathers can make it hard to spot among the green canopy but I was happy to find that it was also observing me.

Nothing is worth a visit in nature, a time to observe, listen and simply enjoy the moment and colours all around. I left the garden, thinking about what I’ll discover during my next visit there…Thanks for joining me!

EXPLORE THE GALLERY

Ring-necked Parakeet in a green mood
Ring-necked Parakeet in a green mood

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