Travel Through Mauritius The Travel Show


Travel Through Mauritius

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Now on BBC News, time

for the Travel Show.

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Mauritius, a force of nature in the

middle of the Indian Ocean.

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Mauritius is marking the 50th year

of independence from British

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colonial rule, but the intriguing,

rich and sometimes dark story of

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this island nation goes back way

before then.

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On my journey I'm going to explore

the history of Mauritius. See and

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taste how multiculturalism works

here. That is nice. Go on a day to

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the races. Did we win? Did we win?

And visit a unique conservation

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project saving endangered species.

This island is so often labelled as

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just a luxury beach paradise, but

the reality is so much more

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fascinating than that.

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Mauritius, gorgeous beaches,

turquoise waters and lush

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vegetation. But the Cuban story is

just as awe-inspiring. -- human.

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This mountain on the south-west of

the island faces in the direction of

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Madagascar and the stands 555 metres

high. It's also at a 45 degrees

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incline. No walk in the park.

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For the likes of me, this is a

challenging climb, I've got to say.

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In fact, I think for anybody it's

challenging.

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Near the top I join a guy who's done

this climb up to three times a day

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every day pretty much everyday for

13 years.

Its volcanic.

This is

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volcanic rock?

It's probably from

the first eruption 10 million years

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ago. And actually it's very good for

climbing. Yeah, there's lots of good

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grip.

The mountain marks a dark but

symbolic chapter in the island's

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history, the days of slavery under

Dutch, French and British rule. This

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is where many escaped slaves called

the Maroons found refuge.

They could

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have a look towards Madagascar and

for them...

That's home.

That was

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home, that was the site and they

expected one day may be to build,

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like, a craft and go back home and

just to escape from this prison.

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Horrible.

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It's a world away up here from the

beach resorts that populate the rest

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of the island, but actually this

trek is almost a pilgrimage to get

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to the very hard of Mauritius

identity. There's a particularly

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poignant tale told about the Maroons

in what should have been their

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moment of celebration. When slavery

was abolished here in 1835, soldiers

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climbed the mountain to tell the

Maroons they were free, but the

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escaped slaves thought they were

being recaptured and instead chose

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to jump off the mountain.

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Why do you think this is so

important to the identity of people

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from Mauritius?

Because I guess it's

a unique story. It's part of our

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story here in Mauritius and it's one

of the only places we know of that

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somehow the slaves resisted to their

masters and for us, it's almost like

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a venerated mountain, a sacred

mountain, not only for the

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descendants of slaves but for

Mauritius is as well.

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After slavery was abolished, the

British brought in hundreds of

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thousands of so-called intention

labourers from India and China in

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what was known as the Great

Experiment. Today Port Lewis is the

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country's capital with its colonial

legacy and contemporary diversity

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everywhere to be seen.

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I'm about to get a personalised unit

for what this city and Mauritius

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offers in terms of its diverse food

and other wares as well. Hi, how do

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you do, nice to meet you.

Nice to

meet you.

So this is a food place

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here?

Yes.

But you'd never know to

look at it, it's pretty low-key.

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Yes, but it's pretty famous as well.

He's making some deep-fried pits,

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you can deep-fried almost

everything. He has this batter that

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he made, it's with flour, some herbs

and salt.

Richards may seem isolated

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in the middle of the Indian Ocean,

but it was actually nicely placed on

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the spice route which linked Asia,

Africa and Europe. -- Mauritius.

Now

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he's adding all the herbs you need

for the chilly bites.

Chillis. Are

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they strong chillis?

Spring onions.

There's a clear

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inference from Gujarati traders

whose forefathers came over from

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India in the 19th century but

there's a distinctive Mauritian

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accent to the food too. It just hit

me!

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Now, this is a multi- ethnic

multicultural multilingual multi-

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religion country, so Hinduism is the

majority religion but you've also

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got Christianity, Islam, Chinese

religions, Buddhism. It's all here.

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Where are we?

We're in a small

market that is made up of street

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vendors. All these people used to be

selling everything from clothes to

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food to electronic gadgets on the

street but that was illegal so the

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state gave them some spaces.

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Ca va? So this is after, he used to

be on a street corner in Chinatown

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selling dumplings with his father.

So now he is here.

Chinese --

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Mauritian?

Yeah.

This is the long

fish?

Yes, the long fish.

That is

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nice, that is really good. How many

will years have you working?

For

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myself, after schooling, nearly 50

years. 50 years!

The sheer diversity

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of food is one benefit of the

cultural hotpot in Russia's. Another

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is language, French, English and

Creole is all spoken here. And then

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there's music. -- Mauritius. Sega is

a rhythm and genre indigenous to

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this island. And this lady is known

as the voice of the Indian Ocean.

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Be distinctive drum is called the

Ravan, a home-grown incident that

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the. -- the.

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On the tiny island here Mauritius is

playing host to unique conservation

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project which takes us back to a

time five centuries ago before

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mankind ever set foot here. The

ecosystem of an island like

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Mauritius is extremely fragile, and

ever since mankind arrived in the

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17th century, that ecosystem has

been severely disrupted and that has

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led to the extinction of some very

important species like, for example,

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the dodo.

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The dodo lost the ability to fly

through evolution, because until man

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brought in predators, they didn't

really need to.

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Today the one remaining native

mammal to Mauritius, the fruit bat,

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can fly with elegant ease, but it's

not a great favourite for some, like

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fruit growers.

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So this is the Mauritius fruit bat.

It is a bat that is unique to

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Mauritius. It can travel for 15

kilometres, 20 kilometres, 40

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kilometres in one night. It's like

man that's got hands, but these

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hands here have been modified

amazingly to become a wing.

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It's an animal that can see very,

very well, despite what a lot of

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people think. They need to rest

during the day to save their energy

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because it gets hot in the tropics,

but at night, as it's getting ARC,

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they leave their daytime roosts, as

they're called, and they go out and

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they look for food.

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They will first of all eat fruits to

keep themselves alive, but also they

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will be dispersing fruits and they

maintain their own survival by

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maintaining the forests.

The larger project here is hugely

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ambitious and earning international

acclaim.

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We actually are recreating the whole

ecosystems. It's one of the few

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places on earth were we're not just

trying to save a few odd plants and

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a few odd animals, we're actually

piecing together as best as we can,

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it will never be perfect, but as

best as we can the whole ecosystem

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as it existed prior to the arrival

of man.

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Should we be frightened of this

animal, should I be frightened being

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this close to this animal now?

Well,

I'm not frightened of any animal, I

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don't know why anyone should be.

There are some countries where bats

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are disperses and carriers of

diseases but in Mauritius that's not

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the case. Of course where they are

carriers of diseases there are some

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precautions to be taken of course,

but that's not the case here. Would

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you like to hold the bat?

RU Sirius.

Yes, it will probably never all you

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a little bit if that's OK?

Nibbled

the?

It's claws are going to be

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quite sharp.

Wow. I can't believe

it. This is weird is all I can say.

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This is a magic moment.

I never

thought I'd actually find a bat or

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an animal like this vaguely even

cute, but you know what, it is kind

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of cute. And luckily not disease

ridden as it bites my finger.

No!

Do

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you want to fly off, shall we get

you to fly off?, men.

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Animals are central to Mauritius and

identity in more ways than one. Take

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this weekly ritual that has been

tightly wrapped up in Russia's

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culture, going to the races.

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The islands independence from

British rule was declared on this

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very racecourse in 1968. -- the

Champ de Mars, in 1968. Built more

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than two centuries ago, it is the

oldest racecourse in the southern

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hemisphere. And from the start, it

is very and was to bring disparate

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communities together. Oh, and to

satisfy the local's love of

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gambling, of course. And today,

there is one family who now dominate

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horseracing in Mauritius.

--

locals'. Actually, it was my

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grandfather who introduced a family

to horse racing. He was the first

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Indian to be a member of the

National Assembly of Parliament. And

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in 1904, he was a businessman. At

the beginning, he was a milk seller,

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but then he started doing business,

buying land and buying and selling

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land and property.

He also realise

that buying a race horse would allow

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him to mingle with the big cheeses,

especially French businessman, who

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ran the economy then, and loved

racing. Today is a very special day.

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It is the final, classic race of the

season, the Duke Cup. And a chance

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for this family to great history in

the national sport.

What has

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happened in that we have been able,

with a bit of luck, to win the first

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classic 's, and if we win the fourth

one today, we will be creating

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history. -- classics.

And we got a

peek into the paddock to meet his

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cousin.

I often see you on the BBC,

all over the world!

This is very

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much a family affair.

That is the

cup that we are looking for.

This

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one here? Can I touch it?

Anyone can

touch it before, but I want to touch

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it after.

Afterwards... This is

fantastic. I am getting a real

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insight, behind-the-scenes, with one

of the most important men in racing.

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Inside the jockeys' room,

preparations are under way. Down by

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the track, I can feel a sense of

occasion here. Here is where

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everybody gathers, rich, poor,

everyone. Whatever language or

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culture they are from, which ever

cultural group. And this is the

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first race of the day. I wanted to

get a feel for the passion for

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racing and gambling here. So I

approach a local punter.

Do you

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recommend any losses? A pink is one.

Number three, Rogue Runner, in this

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race.

Number three.

I am not sure.

There is my horse garment number

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three, Rogue Runner, and if I put

100 rupees on it, it says I will get

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six under Ruby 's back. Can I have

100 and number three, Rogue Runner?

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-- 600 rupees back will stop do you

like Rogue Runner? Is that a good

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one? And this is my horse. Rogue

Runner. I like his colours. LAUGHTER

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. Do you like number three? Number

three. Here they come. ? Ditty

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when!? It was very close, or one?

Number three one! At the last

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minute! Did

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-- did he win? At the last moment!

Yes! And now it is time for the

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climax to the season. The big one,

the Dukes Cup, at a time for the

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family to make history. They have

not left much to chance. They have

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three out of the 12 horses running,

including the favourite, written by

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the most successful champion jockey

in the race. Our man is in his lucky

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spot to win the race next to his

family. The favourite and there be

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hoping that is struggling. It does

not look good.

Let him proxy when!

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-- don't let him proxy when.

Until

from the outside another horse from

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their stable stars making ground. --

Dukes Cup. Ready To Attack is, well,

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ready to attack. -- NACRO one. --

starts. CHEERING. -- don't let him

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box you in.

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The family have done it and made

history. Now this is over, what do

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you feel? A sense of relief, almost?

Frankly, I don't get worked up

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before a race. You know, the people

around, and the well-wishers, the

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supporters, everywhere you go around

the island, you know, they just wish

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you well. I wanted to win that race

for them.

And in this 50th

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anniversary year of independence, it

seems that the people of this island

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have plenty to celebrate. During my

time here, I have seen a strong

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sense of nationhood amongst

Mauritian is, and also realisation

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that precious wildlife must be

protected. This is a relatively

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prosperous country, breaking free

from its complicated and sometimes

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shameful colonial past. And what is

exciting that right now, it is

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unique cultural identity is still

evolving and making so much more

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than just a high-end holiday

hotspot.

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