The sun has fully set, leaving a cool breeze, warm air and crisp night. I left an air conditioned hotel room and wander past the flame-lit swimming pools and numerous restaurants wafting exotic flavours and live jazz into the warm evening air, a welcome environment to be in after a stuffy 12-hour Air Mauritius flight from London Heathrow.

I’ve flown out here with a large team who are responsible for an amazing looking new development called Anahita. The huge beachfront site they have acquired will eventually be the home for 324 properties, and a Four Seasons hotel. The first phase of the development called L’Adamante will consist of an 18 hole golf course designed by Ernie Els, and 70 individual properties. This is scheduled for completion at the end of this year, with a further 4 phases launching between 2008 and 2010.

Over the course of my trip, I spent plenty of time with the team behind Anahita, and I learnt more and more facts about the development – at least I did when they weren’t telling me anecdotes of launch parties, office outings and inside jokes. It is rare that you find a team that gels so well together (especially when the various people are split between a miniscule island in the Indian Ocean, and London), but a huge level of confidence and passion in the project they’re all working so hard on really shines through. I often wondered what people must think when they were forced to listen to me chat endlessly about my job, this magazine and how much I enjoy everything that surrounds it, but to hear the owners and the senior staff talk about their project in such a light is reassuring – I don’t feel so guilty now.

In addition to the 213 hectare site that Anahita will consume on the eastern beach front, the resort has strong ties with the 6000-hectare L’Etoile nature reserve and activities centre. This inland day-trip destination offers a completely unique alternative to the classic British ‘lobster-tan’ human beach barbeque holiday. Only a short drive from Anahita’s private seafront littered with deck chairs, butlers and palm trees, lies a miniature tropical rainforest, a complete escape from the beachfront scenery that everyone expects from Mauritius.

From the plane the middle of the island looked like a mixture of mountains and sugar-cane fields. Sure enough, soon after leaving the resort, we are driving though tall sugar canes on either side. A few minutes later, down a dirt track, through yet more sugar cane, emerges a quaint thatched building. As you make your way through the entrance the scenery explodes into huge trees, thick foliage and exotic flowers. A river of crystal clear waters flows just behind the entrance, setting a scene that you might expect to see in the Amazon, or a Bond film. It seems that if you come here expecting only beaches and palm trees then there is quite a surprise lurking.

The reserve has a bar overlooking the river an ideal place to sit and open up what would be one of many local beers – it had been a hard day after all. I glanced out across the river, caught sight of a small wooden bridge and my eyes followed the line of a dirt path starting from the bridge, trailing into mountains and the exotic scenery that was laid out as far as the eye can see. It was time to finish our beers, and head across the bridge... not on foot though! We were scheduled to be exploring the reserve on quad bikes, so after a few words of instruction we set off over the tiny and narrow bridge.

Small mountains towered all around us, and after traversing through more (you guessed it…) sugar cane, we eventually wound up in open land, stopping to ooh and aah at a large herd of deer, as around 15 of them stood happily chewing grass, enjoying the sunshine; eventually they caught sight of us and moved slowly away. With our sights set on a daunting mountain dead ahead, we made a move. After 10 minutes I found myself settling in on the quad (this was after all only my second time on a quad bike, my first experience was on a friend’s farm, chasing after his father’s tank). At the foot of the mountain there were some straight, level and wide tracks in between sections of sugar cane, I eased off the throttle to get some distance between my quad and our guide – for some reason the other quads weren’t getting any further away though? Seems my cunning idea wasn’t so original, and with a burst of acceleration we all caught up with the guide and made our way under the canopy of thick trees at the foot of the mountain.

After ten minutes of 30 degree angle climbs I’m in awe of the grip and torque these tiny quads produce, but as we approach the summit of the mountain we’re climbing my attention is drawn away from the quad bikes and onto the vast valleys and forests laid out in front of me. We dismount our vehicles and head further up the mountain, to a viewpoint. Most Mauritians know the history of the island very well, but there are two particular items that stick out, that tend to be the conversational topics for the island.

The year 1715 saw the French move from the neighbouring Bourbon island (now called Reunion), they seized the island, later renaming it ‘Ile de France’. In the Napoleonic Wars the British set out to take control of the island, but were forced back – Napoleon’s only victory against the English happened in the Valley right in front of me. It’s at this point that the another local casually reminds the French-Mauritian telling the story that only 3 months later the British returned, taking the North of the Island, with the French finally surrendering on the 3rd December 1810 however the British allowed them to keep the French language, their land and property and the law of France in civil and criminal matters. The British did however revert the name back to Mauritius – the name bestowed upon the island in 1598, in honour of the Dutch Prince Maurice of Nassau.

My little history lesson was punctuated by the sound of bats darting out of the trees and into the valley, “they can be a real problem here for the restaurants, they eat from their garbage”, the guide explained. Charming! Mauritian rubbish must be nutritious though; these are some of the largest bats I’ve ever seen!

Just to be clear, I mentioned earlier that there were two pieces of history that Mauritius is well known for; the second is of course, the Dodo. Mauritius was the only place where the now-extinct Dodo lived.

We have dinner reservations, and we’re meeting one of the most senior people on the Anahita project – so we really shouldn’t be late. It’s back on our quad bikes and down the mountain, the same way we came, but this time with a little more frivolous use of the throttle. I am almost certain that I would injure myself on one of these if the guide was not right in front of me. Somehow I arrive back at the reserve in one piece.

Nicolas Vaudin, the General Manager at Ciel Properies (the developers of the Anahita resort) was waiting for us on the other side of the bridge, we left our bikes and said hello – one more local beer and then it’s off to the restaurant. I cautiously try not to ask him all the questions about Anahita that are piling up in my mind, it’ll make fantastic dinner conversation, I’m sure of it, and I need all the help I can get in that department.

As with all remote islands, the menu at any good restaurant is largely made up of seafood – sushi and lobster it is then, but unfortunately I’m a sucker for steak, so the main course will have to be good old fashioned beef – I haven’t seen any cows on the island… I wonder if they’re native? It seems unlikely, rainforest reserves and five star resorts are not a typical bovine habitat.

Most of the staff working on the Anahita project are locals, born and bred Mauritians. It’s great to see them keen to improve the islands facilities, to make it a better place than it already is, but what really stands out is their connections. Over dinner I learn just how much of the land and other business on the island the people behind Anahita have. The family’s entire property and land portfolio makes up a large percentage of the island, they have connections with the owners and operators of Air Mauritius and that’s not all. As our delicious meal comes to a close, the award-winning chef comes out and said hello to Nicolas, they chat like they’re old friends (I suspect that’s because they are) - I wonder who’ll be the new chef at Anahita’s waterside restaurant?

Another night passes, I’m sleeping better out here than I have in a long time – it’s so peaceful. My breakfast arrives shortly after my wake up call and is set up on the table on my balcony. I was a little over zealous with my order but once I had sampled a bit of everything I made my way back into my room – leaving the balcony doors wide open, the view from my room is of the crystal clear, turquoise waters – that sit perfectly still because of Mauritius’ reef.

Today, after our 30 minute helicopter tour of the island we would visit the site of Anahita, but from the water – the owners are considering purchasing a yacht of some description (we had spoken over dinner about Sunseekers and Princesses). The yacht will be used to transport people across the lagoon from the airport to Anahita. As we jump into a small boat and head out to sea, I couldn’t think of any more pleasant way of finishing a long-haul flight than with a short-haul, luxury cruise.

We had some time to kill so we drifted out towards the reef, the sea slowly gets rougher, but still nothing drastic – enough to sway our boat and nothing more. Only 10 meters away I can see the water crashing violently against the reef, and settling almost immediately afterwards – the calm and transparent waters were manufactured right here.

On our trip towards Anahita’s shores we get to see some more of the island’s wildlife - flying fish leaping from the water’s surface, only a few feet from the boat. They are just like I had always imagined as a kid, and how often can you say that? As we head towards the shore, through paths carved by the plant life surrounding us our captain explains how hard Anahita have worked towards cleaning up the seabed around the development – with tonnes of rubbish being taken from the shores. As we approach the private beach I get to put what we saw from the chopper into perspective – this resort will be huge!

We walked across the beach meeting Nicholas once more, right next to where the two-tier infinity pool will sit. The careful design and layout will allow the waterline of the pool to flow seamlessly into the water. We headed towards the commotion to view the first set of properties that had been built and furnished to allow the team a final, full sized, look at their layouts and designs.

Starting from the back of the apartment we saw the beautiful and spacious patio with external dining table, and hot tub. The patio leads directly into the lounge and dining area, which in turns leads seamlessly into the kitchen and the entrance hall. The rooms are down another corridor, this particular property had three good sized bedrooms with a bathroom and an impressive en-suite to the master room. The attention to detail was impressive, and the fact that throughout the entire tour all they were pointing our errors and flaws that I almost certainly would never have noticed filled me with confidence that they are creating something that they really do care about. Something they want and need to be perfect.

We make our way out of the apartment via the front door and down the still unfinished concrete steps. As we walk past a few identical structures that are still under construction we’re told how each set of apartments will have a full time concierge and housekeeper, that everything the residents could ever want will be available on the other end of a phone. I resist the temptation to ask them if the concierge could find on the island some of the more ‘unusual’ items I like to have. One nice feature is that before arriving, the owner can organise for their fridge to be stocked, activities to be booked so that they can get down to some serious fun-time straight away.

We made our way to the car and set off into the vast open space that was to become the Anahita 18 hole Ernie Els golf course, due to open at the same time as the first phase of properties. I had never seen a golf course being constructed before; it’s really a quite amazing process. An army of diggers shaping the landscape by shifting and packing crushed rocks according to strict designs and specifications. After the irrigation channels are carved the machines then gently work the ground to smooth it over and prepare it for the grass - specially grown in controlled areas on the other side of the site where it is kept well watered and weed free!

The course is mostly shaped, and some grass was planted only a few weeks ago yet I can already see the finished product start to come to fruition. We end our tour on what will be the green of one of the course’s most picturesque holes, with the long and sloping fairway leading down to where the cliff-top green meets the sea. Over shooting the flag will mean getting out scuba gear to find the ball.

That night we were invited to dinner by Ciel Properties’ Chief Executie, Jean-Pier Dalais, we jumped aboard the Anahita X5 and made our way inland, after a short period of time we found ourselves heading through some gates and a gatehouse – and down a tight and windy tree laden lane. Perhaps yesterday’s quad bike would have been better?

A few minutes into our off-road experience the ocean appeared to our left, and then flame torches appeared as we rounded another corner and pulled into an idyllic tropical island paradise. A small lodge was to our left and an arbour in front of us with a spread of yet more canapés and drinks. We were treated to a traditional Mauritian show, Creole dancing… fire eating and singing – and then came the obligatory pantomime that involved all of us singing and dancing along, it was a good job there was plenty of drink around!

As I tucked into what would be my last supper on the island I was keen to find out what the locals do to keep themselves busy. It seems the huge variety of tourist activities on the island serve as primary entertainment for the locals as well, with almost everyone at the table being a keen kite-boarder. Everyone in my company seems to have a real passion for the island, the project and the country as a whole, accompanied with a strong knowledge of the island’s history, environment and culture. As the conversation turns back onto Anahita I learn that every time they release a new phase for sale they’re sold within a few days – this doesn’t surprise me at all. At the moment they’re keen to convince the current owners to join the share pool, the scheme that allows the various owners of the properties within Anahita to loan out their properties when they aren’t there… the scheme is filling up but not fast enough.

If I am completely honest I would never join the share pool, I suspect that once my property was ready… I would visit and never leave! “Welcome to the ‘resort, A-na-hita’ – such a lovely place… such a lovely place”. Seriously!