Safety Tips in Reunion

Reunion has some of the world's most spectacular viewpoints and scenery. However, they often get obscured by clouds, which often roll in over the course of the day. If you want the best and clearest views, you will need to get up early and get to the viewpoints before the clouds roll in. We got to Le Maido at 8AM. Within and hour, you could no longer see the mountains on the other side of the Cirque de Mafate. Similarly, we took our photos of the Remparts Canyon at 11AM and, when we passed back by the same viewpoint at 3PM, it was in the middle of a cloud.

The primary roads of Reunion are excellent. However, when you get onto the rural roads, especially the ones that go up and down the mountains, you will quickly discover two problems. First, the roads that go up and down the hilly terrain of Reunion tend to have a lot of curves and switchbacks. The roads into the cirques and up to the viewpoints (Le Maido, etc.) are especially windy. Also, to facilitate drainage, the roads often have deep culverts and ditches along their sides. Therefore, if you happen to go off the road, you wheel will immediately get stuck, if not crash.

Although driving the back roads of Reunion takes a lot of concentration and has its risks, it is definitely worth the effort. The scenery in the wild center of Reunion is magnificent and worth making the effort to visit.

on reunion island there is an active volcano called piton de la fournaise. the last eruption was in september 04.
normaly there is no risk because the lava reaches the ocean on a part of the island that is less populated.
each time the lava comes down, it crosses the road and the road has to be rebuild after a couple of weeks on top of the new lava ( --> photo).during the time the road is closed on that particular place, ppl have to take a very long detour (once around the island ) to reach the next town that is normaly only in 3 km distance.

When protesters and riot cops start to get aggressive the tear gas comes out. If you decide to stay around pay attention all around you. Also be aware that tear gas canisters can be shot from a gas gun so it can land infront of you. So if you see something infront of you all the ground that looks like it doesn't belong there, run away.

The French seem quite passionate when it comes to protests and demostration and Reunion is no exception. They usually start off peaceful but they can lead to confrontation. From a travellers perspective these can seem to happen out of nowhere unless you keep close attention to the local news.

"Op 1 november waren Luc en zijn medegidsen begonnen aan de afdaling van le Trou de Fer, waar ze twee dagen over gingen doen. Net voor het einde van de eerste dag ging het mis: er kwamen een paar grote rotsblokken los boven de hoofden van Bart, Kris en Luc. Iedereen zocht een heenkomen zo goed hij kon, Luc gleed hierbij uit en maakte een val van 40 meter en was op slag dood... geen fout gemaakt, gewoon op het verkeerde moment op de verkeerde plaats..."
(E-mail van Koen van Poco Loco ).

Ik heb Luc een beetje gekend als volleybalspeler bij het V.A.H. en als fantastische canyongids bij Poco Loco Adventures in Lamiana, Spanje.
Hij was een toffe kerel. Ik zag er naar uit om hem nog eens te ontmoeten in Antwerpen.
Heel toevallig vernam ik het nieuws over zijn fataal ongeval pas enkele maanden later.
Het was een schok voor mij en de leerlingen en leerkrachten van PIVA die hem als gids hadden tijdens de canyoning in Spanje.
We zullen hem missen!

P.S.: Op deze website vind je onderaan 'A sad note' over Luc.

Luc was born in Antwerp, Belgium on 10 June 1956 and lived most of his life there. He left his home twice for extended "walkabouts", once to the Caribbean and once to Africa. He returned with a wonderful appreciation for foreign cultures, rum, exotic dishes and exotic women. He was a bachelor, but enjoyed cooking a special dish every evening, especially when he had guests with whom to share it.

Luc had a zest for life and a lust for travel and adventure. He loved canyoning in the summer, skiing in winter and rock climbing in between.

His canyoning resume included 500-some canyons around the world, accumulated over a period of 20 years. He was as accomplished as any canyoneer and loved wild water canyons. He particularly enjoyed problem-solving his way through obstacles and sought out tight squeezes, siphons and water slides as his companions looked on in disbelief.

He was a teacher by profession. Over the last few years of his life he conducted several canyoning courses for the EFC and the Belgian Alpine Club and guided groups, not out of economic necessity, but for the shear joy of sharing his love of the sport with others.

Luc lost his life on 1 November 2002 doing what he loved most, during a canyoning trip to La Reunion. While descending Trou de Fer, some large rocks broke loose from above. In his effort to dodge the falling rocks, Luc slipped and fell.

Rest in peace, Luc. You are missed.

If you were travelling around the local islands before coming to Reunion brace yourself for a shock to you wallet. Reunion uses the Euro and prices are similiar to mainland France.