Grand Traverse of Réunion Island, December 19–28 2021
Réunion Island is a popular tropical destination, but not for its beaches, of which there are relatively few. The highlight is the magnificent hiking in its steep and lush interior, with towns and roadless villages scattered here and there and one of the world’s most active volcanoes.
The most famous hike is the Grande Randonnée de la Réunion no 2 (GR-R2), a set of trails that traverses the entire island from north to south, with a few peaks along the way. Our 10-day trek largely followed the GR-R2, although some deviations were necessary due to full or closed huts. Don’t miss Emily’s amazing “road book” for the details! Here’s a rundown on the most notable aspects of our trek:
Scenery - The scenery was truly impressive, especially the three “cirques” that make up the interior of the northern half of the island. We caught occasional glimpses of the ocean, but it was the dramatic ridges, peaks, and ravines, and the villages nestled among them, that were most captivating.
Terrain - The downside of the incredible scenery was terrain that turned out to be considerably more difficult hiking than we’d anticipated. We all agreed this trek might have been one of our hardest ever, which includes the Himalayas, Andes, and other famous mountain ranges (absent their altitude and stomach problems). The trails could be extraordinarily steep — up to 1000' gain or loss in a half-mile — as well as rocky, slippery, or a combination of all three. The concentration required for footing could be relentless at times. During our planning we were surprised how few miles previous hikers had covered on some days; once on the trail, we understood why.
Injury - On day three, Jennifer took a spill, amazingly not on the steep terrain but rather on a flat but unexpectedly slippery rock ledge overlooking a waterfall. Judging by the intense pain, and the pop when it went back into position, her shoulder had dislocated. After a second dislocation (and relocation) a few minutes later, she ended up hiking with a makeshift sling for most of the remainder of the trek, compounding the challenges of the terrain.
Erupting Volcano - The next day a further complication arose: We got word that the Piton de la Fournaise volcano in the southern part of the island had begun erupting, closing the trails in that area. Eruptions are relatively common and sometimes last only a day or two, but this one lasted quite a while and threw a monkey-wrench in the last two days of our trek. A popular excursion involved hiking to a viewpoint in the dark in hopes of glimpsing the lava, but we skipped that option, satisfied with the loud rumblings.
Weather - We knew we were taking a moderate risk hiking the GR-R2 at the start of the rainy season, and as our trip approached, endless rainy days filled the forecast. It turns out weather forecasts for Réunion Island are woefully inaccurate, for reasons we never fully understood. (Microclimates abound, but that didn’t seem to be the main issue.) We did have a couple of afternoons of steady rain, and plenty of clouds and sprinkles, but there were many clear periods as well. And being the austral summer it never got very cold, even at 10,000'. (We learned the word austral on this trip: of the southern hemisphere, e.g., Australia.)
Accommodations - Our nine nights on the trek were a combination of mountain “gîtes” (huts) in areas with no roads, and more conventional B&Bs or hotels when we stayed in towns. We set a Covid ground rule to never share a dormitory with others; it turned out to be no problem, in fact we usually had two or three rooms for the five of us.
Food - We’re a complicated party when it comes to food, with one vegetarian and one strictly gluten-free. In the gîtes and B&Bs, meals were provided — our restrictions were cheerfully accommodated, and the food varied from good to truly excellent. Frequently we were served some version of cari, Réunion Island’s flavorful signature dish, which we much enjoyed. Dinner invariably ended with the host’s locally-made rum infusions, another island tradition. For lunch on the trail we were usually able to score fresh baguettes and a variety of cheeses.
Communication - English is surprisingly sparse on Réunion Island (the French clearly prefer to speak French…), but fortunately Emily solidified her high school French by spending time in Lausanne, Switzerland and Togo, West Africa. She didn’t always love being the primary talker, but it worked, and many logistics would have been quite difficult without her fluency.
Birdwatching - It’s been quite a while since Alex found occasion to indulge his long-standing interest in birdwatching. Native and endemic birds were plentiful and interesting throughout the trek, and Alex enjoyed reviving his old hobby.
Other hikers - At least 95% of the hikers were either local or from mainland France (as was everyone else on the island, for that matter). The only other North Americans we met or even heard about were connected to Réunion Island in some way. Many people commented how far it was and asked how we’d even gotten the idea to go there; honestly we couldn’t remember ourselves — perhaps on the recommendation of a German trekker we befriended while hiking the Kungsleden trail in Sweden.
Travel uncertainties - Compounding the difficult terrain, shoulder injury, and erupting volcano, somewhere along the way we learned that Covid-related flight cancellations meant Clara’s return trip now had a minus-four-hour connection. (On the good side, her revised itinerary claimed a warp-speed 6 hours from Réunion to Zurich.) After some anxiety she ended up buying a new ticket, ultimately securing a refund on the original. For related reasons, but more consequential, we also learned that the follow-on week in Mauritius was in jeopardy due to Covid border regulations, but more on that later.
Spirits - Despite the string of challenges, we were actually having a good time most of the time! The hiking was spectacular, and during our overnight stays we met many interesting people and enjoyed the food & drink. Emily, serving as “trip leader” for the trek (since she’d done the planning), as well as chief communicator for the entire trip, felt responsible for just about everything that happened, both good and bad. It was her first time in that role with the family and she felt the pressure a bit, but with her vast travel experience and natural self-confidence, she did incredibly well.
Early descent adventure - Our original itinerary had us spending two nights at Gîte du Volcan so we could explore the volcano before the final leg down to the coast. That gîte was the only accommodation we didn’t like at all, mostly due to hordes of guests and Covid-discomfort. Plus, with the eruption still ongoing, our day-hiking was limited.
After great discussion (to put it mildly), we decided to forgo our second night at Gîte du Volcan and finish the GR-R2 on the 9th instead of 10th day, despite having no accommodation secured at the end. We knew it would be a difficult hike, with more than 7000' of descent, but we hadn’t planned on the torrential afternoon rain that turned our steep trail into a dangerous river. After our hardest hours of hiking yet (and a third dislocation-relocation of Jennifer’s shoulder), the trail finally merged with a road, and we were grateful to eventually hitch a ride in the back of a pickup truck.
Reaching the coast at last, exhausted and drenched, with cock-fighting in the local park as a surreal backdrop, we thought we would easily find a place for the five of us to stay. 20+ inquiries later over a 40-mile radius and we were stymied. A nearby B&B did have one room open, and the incredibly generous and helpful proprietress offered that three of us could stay there; then she found a friend a few miles away with a double room available. Despite how bedraggled we were, she invited all of us onto her patio, served up her local rum, and arranged a ride for two of us to her friend’s place. Saviors like Jenny at Coco-Vanille are true gems of the travel experience.
Bonus day adventure - On what was meant to be our 10th day of the trek, our trip leader scheduled an easy hike along the coast, followed by a bus to a medium-sized town where Clara could secure a pre-flight Covid test, and finally an onward bus back to the main city of Saint-Denis where our trek began. In true Réunion Island style, the easy hike turned out to be overgrown, mosquito-y, and difficult, at one point requiring a steep down-climb on some boulders. First Clara slipped and bruised her tailbone, then Jennifer dislocated her shoulder for the fourth and most painful time. Everyone agreed we’d reached a low point; we left the trail at the next opportunity, adding an urgent-care visit for Jennifer to our other errands for the day.
Stay tuned for the next (and final) chapter.
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