"The first thing we’re going to eat is what’s flying above you!" Our food tour guide points cheerfully to an enormous fruit bat soaring from tree to tree. A young Dutch girl looks like she’s going to vomit. I tell him I’ll take a bite for science but I couldn’t possibly manage a whole one. He laughs. Of course, he’s not going to feed us fruit bats. Instead, he takes us, still laughing, to a local roti stand where we eat delicious soft wholewheat pancakes oozing with lentil dhal.

I'm in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, an Indian Ocean island off the coast of Madagascar. This food tour, incorporating Chinese, Indian, African and European food often presented in fusion dishes, is indicative of how fascinating and diverse this country truly is.

I imagine, like me, when you hear the words Mauritius, you think of the clearest aqua blue seas, perfect sandy beaches and white tablecloth-covered tables with flickering candles and huge honeymoon suites. Paradise but not exactly a place to go for adventures. Certainly that was my expectation. But I came to know Mauritius as the destination that has everything.

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I stayed as a guest in beach resorts in the highly desirable Flic en Flac, first at Sands Suites Resorts and Spa and then at the Maradiva Villas Resort & Spa. The Sands was indeed a honeymooners' paradise and a more casual affair overall, offering beach-side dining, a lively pool where you could drink Mauritian rum Ti Punch to live DJs and a skinny ginger kitten who hustled guests like a pro during the evening buffet. The Maradiva Resort, though owned by the same group and only 10 minutes away, was entirely different. I was told by a local that Kuwaiti royalty stay there when in Mauritius and while I can neither confirm nor deny that, I can tell you the not-insubstantial, price tag comes with an air of exclusivity.

In fact, the resort specialises in absolute privacy and absolute luxury. As you lie on monogrammed towels on loungers canapés are served between dips in the turquoise sea. Small patisserie items are delivered to each private villa at 3pm which (if you’re sensible like me) you’ll devour in your sunken bathtub before dinner. When you come back from dinner at any one of the specialty restaurants, including teppanyaki, authentic Southern Indian food and a grill restaurant on the beach, you’ll find a note left on your pillow, and slippers placed by the side of your bed. Because I suppose rich people should never have cold feet? Each private villa comes with a plunge pool, an inside/outside shower and a walk-in wardrobe as big as my whole bedroom at home. It was quite the Cinderella story for a girl like me who grew up in homeless hostels.

You might think I’d take up squatters' rights with all that luxury and wallow, but what most astounded me was Mauritius itself. Driving from location to location by fields of sugar cane swaying in the wind, I was constantly in awe of the diversity of the island, from beaches, reefs, ebony and rainforest to the buzzing atmosphere in Port Louis.

In Ile aux Aigrettes Nature Reserve, a coralline limestone island reached by boat which tries to recreate the land and wildlife as it would have been if untouched by man or non-indigenous wildlife, I saw giant tortoises and the famous Mauritian Pink Pigeon and the often elusive Olive White-Eye. In Port Louis, at the The Caudan Arts Centre, I saw the dynamic retrospective art of islander Vaco. On the streets of the Chinese quarter I used a QR code and my phone camera to bring to 3D life excellent, progressive street art. In markets, with all the shopping you could wish for, a highlight was the near-deserted meat market where the butchers stood in the sweltering heat hacking at slabs of meat on marble tables and were happy to talk football - Rangers got a mention - and Mauritian cookery.

Then there was the aforementioned food tour, which did not feature bat or guinea pig as threatened but did include tamarind and chilli salt star fruit pickle eaten from a bag with a skewer and excellent noodles and dumplings. I don’t hesitate to say Mauritius should be a food destination in its own right.

Besides this, it also has a fascinating history. At the Intercontinental Slavery Museum, established in 2020, I learned about the legacy of the slave trade in the excellent and brilliantly curated exhibitions located at the Aapravasi Ghat World Heritage site. And then there was Grand Bassin, a sacred Hindu lake visited by over 400,000 devotees each year, looked upon by a 33ft statue of Shiva. Even my 100% agnostic self could not help but be moved by the sight.

Mauritius, an island that has everythingMauritius, an island that has everything (Image: PA)

Yes, there was also dolphin spotting, snorkelling and rum tasting. If you are better at relaxing than me you could certainly spend a whole week lying on the beach sipping cocktails and reading a grisly thriller in literal paradise. But actually, the true beauty of Mauritius is not the beach, or at least just the beach, but in all the diversity, warmth, life, history and culture it has to offer.

On my last morning, I walk down the road into Flic en Flac town. It’s a Sunday and lots of Mauritius locals are having the traditional Sunday picnics with friends and families, often elaborate affairs with huge tables piled with plates and plates of food to accompany music and laughter. I realise my best experiences have not been the exquisite tasting menu, or the inside/ outside shower in my own private courtyard but instead, speaking to people who live in Mauritius and asking how they feel about their island, what they envisage moving forward.

I sincerely hope that more travellers will come to experience every aspect of Mauritius. Truly, the island that has everything.