I’ve been invited to participate in a blogger campaign called #RatherBeInMauritius. The point of the campaign is to write about how much I’d currently rather be in Mauritius, where it’s warm and everything is beautiful, instead of in Joburg, where it’s cold and not everything is beautiful.

Mauritius, where I’d rather be.

(For the record, I did ask the people sponsoring this campaign if they couldn’t just send me to Mauritius for a few days and let me report back on why I think everyone would rather be there. My request was politely ignored. At least I tried.)

Those of you who aren’t from around here might be wondering why I complain about winter in Joburg. She’s in AFRICA, you might be thinking — how bad can it be?

Well, I’ll tell you. It’s true that a high temperature of 60° fahrenheit (15° celsius) and a low of 35° fahrenheit (2° celsius) sounds like a walk in the park compared to a typical winter day in, say, Washington D.C. But try doing a few straight days and nights of 35° fahrenheit without your heat on and all your windows open a crack. Then you’ll know what it’s like to survive winter in Joburg, where there is no central heating and the windows aren’t insulated and usually don’t even close properly.

Last night I struggled to fall asleep because my nose was too cold. True story.

So yeah, Joburg in winter is no picnic and I’d rather be in Mauritius, which is to South Africa what Barbados is to East Coast America (only better). In fact I’d rather be in Mauritius at any time of the year, at least for a holiday. It’s a wonderful place.

#RatherBeInMauritius

I was lucky enough to visit Mauritius once during the winter of 2015. Last night, in preparation for writing this post, I did a fresh edit of my photos from that trip and pulled out a few that I didn’t share in my 2015 posts. These photos illustrate some of the reasons why I’d rather be in Mauritius.

A typical beach resort in Mauritius. I’ve been to quite a few tropical islands in my day but none of them do tourism as well as Mauritius does.

Sunrise in Mauritius. Or maybe it was sunset. I was out every day for both sunrise and sunset and they were all spectacular.

Another Mauritian sunrise/set.

The Centre de Flacq Market in Mauritius. I spent about two hours in this market and could have stayed for several more — it was such a fun place to shop and chat with locals.

Even the carrots are beautiful in Mauritius.

Shoes!

A crazy-looking shrine at the Shir Sagar Mandir temple near Centre de Flacq. I was fascinated by the diversity and abundance of churches, temples, and mosques in Mauritius. The next time I go there I plan to devote (pardon the pun) a good portion of my time to exploring Mauritius’ many places of worship. 

Win a Trip to Mauritius

If you too would rather be in Mauritius, here’s how to make it happen. Visit ratherbeinmauritius.co.za and follow the instructions to enter the contest. Basically, you need to take funny/sad photos of yourself suffering in the South African cold and post them to social media tagging #RatherBeInMauritius and @MauritiusZA. If the judges like your photo, you could be chosen to win a trip for two to the luxurious LUX* Belle Mare resort in Mauritius. (Sorry foreigners, this contest is for South African residents only.)

I don’t think I’m eligible for the contest. But I’ll be damned, I need to find a way to get back to Mauritius.

The contest ends on 24 July, so bundle up and get to it.

This post is sponsored by ratherbeinmauritius.co.za. Opinions expressed are mine.