Kerala is famed for its varied, beautiful nature. We’d already been lucky enough to experience the palm tree fringed train tracks, cliff lined beaches and vivid sunsets, and we were excited to venture deeper into the backwaters of this special state. ‘God’s Own Country’ is the motto of Kerala, and as our train got closer to Munroe Island it was easy to see why. The Kerala backwaters are a network of canals, rivers, lakes and lagoons that stretch for over 900 kilometres through the coastal areas of the state. Lots of visitors experience these on a houseboat, but that was slightly out of the budget for this trip. Instead, we were heading to a quiet place called Munroe Island, at the top of Lake Ashtamudi. From Varkala, it was a short 45 minute train journey to a local station where we hopped in an auto rickshaw to get to our home stay. The first special touch of this island (and there were a few!) was finding the father of the family we were staying with waiting at the roadside with his canoe, ready to take us over the river to the accommodation. The place was accessible by road, but it was so nice of them to make sure we had a shorter and much more scenic arrival! The home stay was a small family affair with a few rooms above the main house. The place was run by the wonderful Vijeesh, with boat trips by his father and cooking by his mother. 

On our first night we had a shared dinner with the other guests, before being asked if we wanted to attend a concert at a local school. Of course we all said yes! We walked as a group down the road to the local school where we could hear the music blaring through the speakers from a few hundred meters away. It was very cute watching the primary aged students all dressed up doing their versions of traditional dances. Everyone was involved and it was very special to be included in the local village community this way. When we got back, Vijeesh very proudly told us that it was his niece who had been front and center, definitely one of the stars of the show!

The main attraction on the island is a tour of the backwaters and at 5 AM the next morning we were up and into the canoe with Vijeesh’s Dad. Vijeesh had the genius idea of putting thin mattresses into the canoe so people can sit sideways (perpendicular to the boat) and relax, as opposed to having to sit up on the raised seats with no back support the entire time. This worked a treat and we were both totally relaxed, just enjoying watching the world go by. Rumour has it that I may have fallen asleep, but I will deny that one… I was just resting my eyes! We rode through small canals and waterways out to Ashtamudi Lake, where of course we went through the compulsory mangrove tunnel. It was interesting to hear how the area used to be primarily used for rice production, but due to climate change and increased salinization, they can no longer grow rice here. We saw a lot of prawn farms on our boat trip, which is now the primary export of the area. The boat trip was very scenic and beautiful and it's clear to see why this part of the state is so world famous. Spending a few days on these canals in a house boat would be pretty special, but it was equally cool to get to travel through some of the tiny waterways that went through local villages. 

That evening we decided we should really see a little more of the island, so we borrowed the push bikes from the home stay to head to a dinner spot Josh had found on google maps. On the way we could see that sunset was fast approaching, and we saw a sign that said “view point”. So of course, we grabbed a warm 7 Up from the small store we were next to, and ventured to find the view point and hopefully catch the sunset! We biked down a series of big hills which seemed a little counter productive, and didn’t find a viewpoint. We had enjoyed the ride though, and the 7 Up was appreciated on the bike back up! It added a few extra kilometers to our ride, and with darkness basically upon us, we found a different spot for dinner. We got our bikes under cover, and then it absolutely started bucketing down. Some of the heaviest rain I have ever seen in my life! The restaurant kindly obliged our request to sit in a covered area outside, so we could really take in the storm. The rain came and went, and there was some incredibly impressive thunder and lightning! Now we are into March we are experiencing the summer rains, which occur in the months before monsoon. It stays hot, and the rain usually passes in half an hour or so. Once we had finished eating we took a break in the rain to bike home, and somehow made it back to our accommodation dry! 

The next day we hopped on the local train for the three and a half hour ride down to the coastal city of Kochi, which cost us all of 70 rupee, or $1.41 NZD!! Munroe Island was a great antidote to the development and intense tourism of Varkala, and it was nice to have a quiet day enjoying this beautiful corner of the state.