Seeking Information

[Joe]

A friend and myself will be travelling to Reunion Island from 27th September untill November 21st 2006. Myself travelling from Australia and my friend America.
We are experienced Canyoners and the purpose of this trip is to do as many Canyons as possible on Reunion.
We have a car booked for the entire five weeks and a hotel in Cilaos booked for the first two weeks.
I am looking for recomendations for economical places to stay in Silazie and near St. Benoit
We are also seeking information on the best Canyons to do in these and other areas.
Any other information on good things to see/do on the days we are not canyoning would be helpfull.
Also, if there are any people who are interested in Australian or American Canyons we would be happy to help you in any way we can.
Our French is getting better but we are not fluent yet..

and while I'm here, follow this link to some canyon videos from Australia and America-
http://www.imageevent.com/bluecanyons
http://www.imageevent.com/robertcobb

Thank you all for your time and help
Joe Bugden

[gui974]

Hi Joe,
Great to see some foreigners here!
About accomodation near St Benoit, very few possibilities, maybe one guesthouse on the road to Takamaka. I saw a few campers at the seaside of Bras-Panon, not far as well.
A good tip: the public wooden kiosks made for picnic everywhere trough the island, especially in Cilaos where it's very safe to sleep outside (on the road to Ilet à Cordes, where the canyons start).
There are many more backpackers lodges in the villages of the Cirque of Salazie.

About canyons, the musts can be found in the site http://www.canyoning-reunion.com (whithout the topos), I think:
*Near St Benoit: they take place in the Takamaka Valley (beware the dams !). The must is Taka1, if the weather is and has been fine enough over your head. It's the hardest and most beautiful one. Then you can add Dudu and Gendarmes for instance.
*Not far You have to do the Rivière des Roches, a short and aquatic one with jumps and wildwater swimming, to rest yourself. Very pleasant. Perhaps Ste Suzanne if you have time enough (a short one too), or Bras noir in La plaine des Palmistes. You also have to do one big canyon in the area of the Lianes Forest, above Bras-Panon: Bras des Lianes or Bras Piton for instance.
*Near St Denis you have Eli2, also beautiful with one big waterfall.
*In Cilaos, at least Fleurs Jaunes full, Ferriere and lower Bras des Etangs.
*In Salazie, at least Trou Blanc

Don't forget the specificities of this island: fast changing localised weather, ropes longer than anywhere else, exit and access sometimes hard to find (everything grows faster)...There are some specific canyons known to be safe even while rainy conditions. Don't hesitate to e-mail!!
See you

Guillaume

[gerald]

Hey Joe

You can get more information on another internet sites:

http://lrc-ffs.fr/

Here you can get some topos wich are not in book guides
Have a nice trip
Gerald

[Joe]

Hi,
Thank you both for your replies

**As far as language goes, do many people on the island speak English?
I am learning to speak French myself but it is a slow process.

**As i mentioned before we plan to hire a guide for one or two of the bigger Canyons- are there any guide compainies that have english speaking staff?

**In regards to Camping are there official Camping grounds on the island?

**What is the weather typically like in October?

**Also what is the status on the Chikungunya virus over there?

If any of you would like to meet up on the Island for some Canyons (and/or Beers) I would be very keen to meet some locals.

Thanks again and I'll see you in October -It's going to be an exciting five weeks.
Joe Bugden