This explore trip dates back to September 2014 but I its only recently that I felt writing about it and long story short, it was a very long 90km ride towards the north-east of the island in view to find among other things an old Lime Furnace on the private reserve of Roches Noires. This trip’s other ‘explore’ regions will not be documented in this post but the whole route can be seen on the map at the complete bottom. A Trip to Roches Noires Wetlands.
Starting at the old Railway Bridge of Riviere du Rempart in the opposite direction of the train station (now Post Office), I followed the railway track towards Roches Noires. For sure, there isn’t anything left of the railway network, apart from a few water tanks at the main station and the bridges of course. The trail had been converted to a ‘Health Track’ of around 2.4km.
Roches Noires Wetlands Ruins
After finding my way here and there at Roches Noires village I managed to reach a big wall which had a small passage-way through the reserve. I presume this part of the wall had been brought down by the inhabitants for easier access to the other side or for fishing, and access could only be by foot or at least a two-wheeler…my luck. I followed the path until I saw the ruins of an old house on the left, and based on the structure, it looked more of a colonial structure due to the angular rocks.
Roches Noires Wetlands Natural Pond
A few meters ahead I heard some kids shouting and playing and on checking what was going on I was surprised to see some teenagers who were having lots of fun in a natural little pool among the rocks. The view was quite scenic indeed and even I wanted to take a dip… but maybe on another occasion.
I rode a little further ahead and managed to find what I was looking for… the old ruin of the Lime Furnace of Roches Noires… and among those greeneries it was quite a beautiful view inspiring adventure. Climbing on top of it revealed a magnificent view over the area and after a few snaps I got down to check more of the surroundings.
At the back of the furnace there were some sort of water ponds surrounded by a walk path and the water was crystal clear, revealing the rocks down below. These were actually the wetlands as it is known. Unfortunately at that time I didn’t have a gopro nor did I bring along my underwater camera. With the sky reflection it was pretty difficult to show the real view of the water. I also read somewhere that the wetlands absorb the excess of water during heavy rainfall just like a sponge and release it smoothly after filtering it against heavy waste products and mangroves retain the sediments from flowing out in the sea and ocean. It is also understood that these wetlands form part of the Roches Noires Eco Marine Park.
A few minutes more and I moved back, happy for another nice adventure trip.
