Atterbury asset manager Catherine Bosman had the unique experience of working on Mauritius, a place that people usually associate with holidays, for a whole year. We welcome her back to the Atterbury family in Pretoria.

You’ve just returned from a stint in Mauritius. Tell us about Atterbury’s involvement in the island and how you came to go work there.
In 2011 Atterbury and ENL Property developed and opened the island’s first regional mall. It was Atterbury’s first development outside of South Africa and its success was related to the collaboration with a strong local partner in ENL – they owned the land, and we added value to the development of the land and the greater precinct.

A property management company called Enatt was formed to manage the mall and additional property assets upon their completion. In July 2014 we took over another property management company and our Bagatelle team grew from around 15 people to 50 staff with the growth of the asset portfolio. Now there are 140 000m² to the value of 10 billion Mauritian rupees under our management.

I assisted the managing director, Frederick Tyack, with this merger, and also with building up the teams to best manage Enatt’s staff and its property asset portfolio.

What was it like living there?
Arriving on the island can be rather daunting – the roads and drivers can challenge our own taxi drivers in terms of their driving ability! However, road rage is certainly not in the nature of the locals; they’re calm and always give you right of way as there are no traffic lights, but mainly circles to ensure the traffic constantly flows.

Shopping is always a trolley shop, there is limited “convenience” shopping like a 24-hour Woolies on the way home. The distance to the shops can also be further than our well-located centres in SA, so you need to take your groceries home quickly to prevent them spoiling in the tropical heat. You rely on the South African expat community for social interaction.

A little bit of history of Mauritius. The island is 45km x 65km in length and 85% of arable land is used for sugar production. It wouldn’t be a tropical island without the sun, sand and sea as well as the intense heat. Of the 1.2 million people living on the island, the diverse cultures of the people (Hindus, Creole, Chinese, Muslim and European) extend to the multitude of tastes and colours of the cuisine available.

Mauritians are friendly, warm and willing to help you. I lived and worked in Mauritius for one short year, but the experience I gained in work and life will be with me for many years to come.

Tell us some of the interesting aspects about working in Mauritius. Any major adjustments required
Did I mention that Mauritians speak French? I consider myself bilingual in English and Afrikaans, but beyond bonjour and merci, I’m unfortunately not a language person. The language provides a challenge when doing business with smaller retailers, but the majority of locals can understand English.

It can take you up to 45 minutes to travel through Port Louis (on a good day) – this is a 10km stretch around the city centre and is the only route unless you prefer single tracked, windy, wet mountain passes. Their public transport works well and taking the bus is a common means of transport.

Fresh produce is best obtained from the locals, or else you buy frozen. The variety of vegetables is far greater than SA, but the consistent availability of food and produce is limited due to imports and weather. Dairy can be a luxury, but long-life milk is available.

You’d think an island is all beaches and sunshine, but in truth a sudden downpour can last from two minutes to five hours, affecting the roads, produce and transport. The risk of a cyclone is high during November to February and I can gladly say I lived through a CAT 2 cyclone. CAT 3 means you have three hours to get home safely before it hits.

Mauritius is certainly a tourist attraction with its beautiful beaches and water sports as well as the previously mentioned variety of cultures and cuisine on offer.

In conclusion, no man is an island! This means that no-one is self-sufficient; everyone relies on others and this is certainly the Mauritian way of being family orientated… moving there will make you dependent on expat friends for support and social fellowship as you share similar cultures.