Willmore Adventures: October 2023

It’s been a whirlwind of a season for the Willmore’s. We packed up our life in South Africa at the end of June, spent a wonderful 5 weeks in the UK with family and friends (despite the weather), and then embarked on our new adventure to the Indian Ocean Island of Mauritius in August. Now, at 2 months in, we’ve caught our breath, started to find our feet, and relax into our new life on this remote tropical island.

A view from the top of La Tourelle,
the mountain that we live on.

I have to admit that it has been a bit more stressful than I had anticipated it would be. Despite the allure of paradise beaches, picturesque mountains, and a warm climate; without family or a network of friends, this adventure has presented us with an unexpected challenge, that of overcoming loneliness. Who knew that in our early 40’s and after almost 14 years of marriage, Laurence and I would have to re-friend each other to survive? I thought that was a task reserved only for retirement, but apparently it applies to those who embark on a new life in a foreign land as well. Thankfully we’re on the right track along with our 3 exceptionally resilient children Amelie, Elowen, and Joel, who are plunging themselves into choir, drama and coding clubs to settle in.

Our house in Tamarin, in the West of Mauritius.

Day 1 at Westcoast International Primary School,
taken from our house overlooking Tamarin Bay.

Day 1 at Westcoast International Secondary
School.

Familiarising ourselves with our new surroundings has, as always, come with some surprises. To date the most memorable panic has come from Amelie at the sight of ‘the volcano erupting’ when an innocent cloud passed by a mountain. Had this been true it would have been exceptionally unlucky given that the last eruption in Mauritius was 20,000 years ago. A wonderful moment of naivety and a great laugh was had.

The eruption!

Our second moment of naïve Willmore panic came when, on Elowen’s instructions, we went to see the Barbie movie. On entering the cinema and paying to watch, we started passing all the Barbie advertising in French. We had forgotten that living in a predominantly French speaking country the cinema might be out of bounds to us Brits. To our relief, it was in English with French subtitles, reflecting that the country has both English and French (as well as French creole) as their national languages. If you are not familiar with Barbie or the Barbie movie, Ken’s job is just ‘beach’. We have found this pursuit to be one of interest to ourselves too. Weekends have largely been dominated by relaxing on a beach or swimming and snorkelling in the picture-perfect turquoise waters; and weeknights have shown themselves to be a good time for picnics and beach games at sunset.

Laurence and Joel walking along the beach at Le Morne.

Playing and snorkelling in the waters at Le Morne.

A game of Petanque at La Preneuse.

Tamarin Beach for surfing at sunset.

La Preneuse for sunset.

There is definitely an enviable pace of life which we are adapting to with great relief and pleasure. Unlike Ken though, there is work to be done in between. Laurence is working remotely from home, I am studying to become a teacher, and the kids are at school (which sometimes requires doing some beach too!). We are certainly looking forward to more adventuring as we establish ourselves on the island.

Whilst we have been navigating our new life, we have still had our hands at work in South Africa. Our much-loved gardener, Shepherd, who over the years has set up a chicken farm in his homeland of Limpopo Province, needed one last piece in the chicken farm puzzle to truly make his business sustainable, and we were keen to help. It became apparent that without a consistent water supply from the government, and with the additional cost of buying water from the shops, profits were marginal and not able to support his family without Shepherd still working away from home in Johannesburg. With his dream to move home, he needed a water supply. In South Africa, it is common for people who can afford it to have a borehole drilled and fitted (which is like a well with a pump). At a cost of 2000 pounds, it was no small amount of money. We decided that if the cost could be shared amongst as many people as possible, Shepherd could achieve the impossible, and be the proud owner of a borehole. Amazing people stepped up to the challenge and I have my dear Army friends, school friends, Southampton buddies, family, and Laurence, to thank for raising the funds. With much trepidation, as the drilling doesn’t always find water, Shepherd’s borehole was recently constructed and is a success. With huge relief it is now providing a powerful supply of water at his property in Limpopo. It’s just so exciting. I’m looking forward to hearing about Shepherd’s move home this Christmas and how life goes for him and his family on the chicken farm thereafter. Thank you everyone who supported this venture.

Shepherd and the drill!

A successfully fitted borehole.

So, it’s been a bumpy start here in Mauritius on this new Willmore Adventure. The power of nature and our care for one another has thankfully kept us on track. And Shepherd’s success with his new borehole, made possible with all the support from the UK, has been an awesome progression in Shepherd’s own adventure too. No doubt, there will be more to experience and share again soon.

Lots of love and massive thanks,

Jess x

Some extra photos...