Mauritius west and south
Your phone slipped off the paddleboard in Tamarin Bay
Tamarin Bay takes in the mouth of the Tamarin river, with sand along the shore and mountains rising behind it.
There is still a chance of getting back a phone dropped from a paddleboard or a kayak in Tamarin Bay. What shapes the search is where you were on the water, out on the open bay or up the river, and how near to the beach it went in.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone in the west and south of Mauritius with a metal detectorist who can search there.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the coast, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
Albion and Flic en Flac to the north, La Preneuse, Le Morne and Île aux Bénitiers to the south, then the south coast to Souillac and Blue Bay with Mahébourg, are covered here as well.
Put the loss on the right stretch of coast
Check the dry bag and the car before anything else. If it went on the water, drop one pin where you set off and another where you came back in. A shot from the shore with a landmark in it fixes your position well, whether that is Albion lighthouse, the Martello tower at La Preneuse, Le Morne Brabant or the jetty at Blue Bay.
Along a coast this long, a town name on its own leaves too much ground. The public beach at Flic en Flac, for one, comes in several parts, among them one at Wolmar and one near the débarcadère, and on the south coast Bel Ombre, St Félix, Pomponette and Riambel are separate beaches.
Places we cover in west and south Mauritius
- Albion
- Flic en Flac public beach
- Wolmar
- Tamarin Bay and Tamarin village
- La Preneuse
- Le Morne public beaches
- La Pointe Cassis, Le Morne
- La Prairie
- Île aux Bénitiers
- La Gaulette and Case Noyale
- Baie du Cap
- Bel Ombre
- St Félix
- Pomponette
- Riambel
- Gris Gris, Souillac
- La Cambuse
- Blue Bay
- Blue Bay Marine Park
- Île aux Aigrettes
- Pointe d'Esny
- Mahébourg
Beaches down the west coast and along the south
Each part of this coast has its own kind of water.
Albion
Albion is a quiet little village between Port Louis and Flic en Flac, with a generous stretch of soft golden sand. The water in front is clear and calm for snorkelling. Along the craggy shore stands the Lighthouse of Pointe aux Caves, better known as Albion Lighthouse, with its red and white stripes.
Flic en Flac and Wolmar
Casuarinas line Flic en Flac beach, with street food stands and food trucks close by. A barrier reef shelters the lagoon, where people swim and snorkel over coral clumps on patches of sand. The public beach is made up of several parts, including the one at Wolmar.
Tamarin Bay and La Preneuse
Tamarin is a former fishing village where the ocean meets the Tamarin river. People surf in the bay, and paddle and kayak on it too. Close by, La Preneuse is a quiet beach with a Martello tower and cannons along the white sand, and both fishing boats and boat trips set out from there.
Le Morne, La Prairie and Île aux Bénitiers
Le Morne beach lies at the foot of Le Morne Brabant, with white sand and coconut trees. It is slightly less sheltered, which makes it popular for kitesurfing, and One Eye at Pointe du Morne is a well-known kite spot. La Prairie, between Baie du Cap and the mountain, has shallow water that people snorkel in. Out in the lagoon, Île aux Bénitiers can be reached by fishing boat from La Gaulette or Case Noyale.
Bel Ombre to Souillac
The south is a rockier coast of steep cliffs and wild beaches, with some wide stretches of sand. Bel Ombre has quiet white-sand beaches. St Félix, between Souillac and Bel Ombre, has milky-coloured sand and clear water that is shallow near the shore. Paths lead to Pomponette and Riambel. Near Souillac, Gris Gris faces a wild ocean, with La Roche Qui Pleure close by, where the waves crash against the rocks.
Blue Bay, Île aux Aigrettes and Mahébourg
Blue Bay lies in the south-east, near Mahébourg. Its public beach is soft white sand shaded by casuarinas, and the Blue Bay Marine Park is here, with glass-bottomed boats and other trips leaving from the beach. People also wade out from the sand to snorkel over its coral garden in calm, shallow, clear water. Off this coast, Île aux Aigrettes is a small islet ringed with coral and covered in ebony forest, visited on guided walks to look for rare plants, tortoises and birds such as the pink pigeon. Next to Blue Bay, Pointe d'Esny is a long white-sand beach that is less busy. Mahébourg itself looks onto a large lagoon. La Cambuse, on the same coast, is a wide stretch of sand.
Between your message and the search
You can already be home
You do not have to be on the island for a search to be arranged. If you have flown back, you follow it from home in the WhatsApp chat you started, with one person answering.
Your account travels with the pins
The detectorist gets your pins and photos along with how it happened, whether that was on the sand at Wolmar or off a board in Tamarin Bay.
If the water is against you
Open water on a boat trip and the surf at Tamarin are harder places than the sand. If your loss falls in one of them, our early replies say so plainly.
Nothing booked without your yes
We explain the costs before any search is booked, and nothing is arranged until you agree.
Sheltered lagoons and open water
The water on this coast changes from one bay to the next.
Inside the reef
A barrier reef keeps the Flic en Flac lagoon calm, and at Blue Bay the water is calm, shallow and clear. The depth where it went in is worth telling us, even as a guess at knee or chest height.
The river mouth at Tamarin
The Tamarin river runs into a bay known for its surf. Tell us whether you were in the waves, on flat water on a board, or up the river among the mangroves.
Wind at Le Morne
Le Morne beach is slightly less sheltered, which is what draws kitesurfers to it, while the shallow lagoon suits beginners. Tell us whether you were in the lagoon or out on the waves.
Questions about Flic en Flac, Tamarin, Le Morne and Blue Bay
We were paddling up towards the Tamarin river when the phone went in. Is that a different search from the bay?
It can be. Paddleboards and kayaks go out on the bay and also up the Tamarin river through the mangrove, and where the river meets the sea the water is sometimes less clear than elsewhere on the island. Tell us which of the two it was, and what you could see on the bank.
The wedding band came off while we swam at Flic en Flac. What do you need from us first?
Where you parked, or the food stand nearest your towels. The beach runs for around eight kilometres, so the exact stretch tells a detectorist far more than the name Flic en Flac. Then say how far into the lagoon you swam, since coral clumps sit on patches of sand between the beach and the barrier reef.
Can an Oura ring dropped on the rocks below Albion lighthouse be searched for?
Albion has two kinds of shore. The beach is soft golden sand with clear, calm water in front, while the lighthouse at Pointe aux Caves stands on black cliffs, with waves crashing on the rocks below. Tell us whether you were on the sand or the rocks, and on which side of the lighthouse.
I lost a bracelet on a walk along La Preneuse. What should I tell you about the beach?
Sandbags protect the shore at La Preneuse, so parts of the water are not easy to reach, and it is a quiet beach that people come to for a walk, with a Martello tower and cannons on the white sand. Give us your distance from the tower, and say whether you also went out on one of the boat trips that leave from here.
My watch came off during a kite lesson off Le Morne. Where does a search begin?
With the spot on the beach where the lesson set up. The shallow lagoon suits beginners, while One Eye and Manawa are waves for experienced riders. Le Morne has several public beaches, including La Pointe Cassis by the village and one at the south-west point, so a pin, or a photo with the mountain behind you, tells us which one.
Is a ring lost snorkelling from Île aux Bénitiers to Crystal Rock out of reach?
Not always. Île aux Bénitiers sits in the lagoon near Le Morne, and people snorkel from it across to Crystal Rock. Tell us which village the boat left from, La Gaulette or Case Noyale, where it anchored, and whether the ring went near the island or by the rock. If it went over the side during the crossing, it is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first.
The necklace broke while I was wading at Blue Bay. Does it matter how far out I was?
Yes. In front of the public beach, small coral patches lie scattered on a steep, sandy slope, so how far out you waded matters. Boats for the marine park leave from the same beach, near the jetty. Tell us how near the jetty you were.
We lost the car keys on the south coast, somewhere between Bel Ombre and Souillac.
That stretch has several beaches, so name the one you parked at. St Félix is wide and sandy and lies between Souillac and Bel Ombre. Pomponette and Riambel are reached along paths. Gris Gris, near Souillac, is where people walk and look at the cliffs. Send the walk from the car as well as the spot where you sat.
Mauritius west and south
Send us the bay and the moment
West coast or south coast, the first message is the same.
On WhatsApp, say which beach or bay it was and what went missing. If you were on a board or a boat, tell us that first, and send any pictures from the day.