Island Paradise: Heaven on Earth
Did you know?The famous now extinct "DODO" The national dance "Sega" American author Mark Twain visited Mauritius
and described it as: "God created Mauritius first and then
Heaven with giant waterlillies".
and qouted by Gerald Durrell ..."It lay green and smouldering, mountains smudged blue and purple, like some monstrous precious stone in a butterfly-blue enamel setting, ringed with the white foamed reef and displayed, as a jewel is displayed on velvet, on the dark blue of the Indian Ocean".... 
The beauiful enchanting beaches of Mauritius. Now about getting around the island touring and make the most of it.
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 GEOGRAPHY OF MAURITIUS: The Star And Key Of The Indian Ocean The island of Mauritius occupies a choice section of the Indian Ocean. It is situated just north of the Tropic of Capricorn, in latitude 20 degrees south and longitude 57 degrees east of Greenwich. It is approximately 855 kilometres off the east coast of Madagascar, Africa being the nearest continent with Mombasa some 1800 kilometres away. Mauritius is a volcanic island about 10 million years old - only 1,865 square kilometres in area. The Central Plateau reaches 800 metres in altitude with the highest peak Piton de la Riviere Noire hitting 828 metres. The cost line of 330 kilometres is almost entirely surrounded by one of the largest unbroken coral reefs in the world. HISTORY Mauritius was known to the early traders, the Arabs, as it can be found marked on their maps, but the first visitors from Europe were the Portuguese who landed in 1510. They used the island as a victualling stop on the way to Goa and Malacca but did not settle. The first attempt at colonisation was made by the Dutch who arrived in 1598 and named the island Mauritius after Prince Maurice of Nassau. They introduced sugar, Malagasy slaves and a heard of Javanese deer. But they were also heedlessly destuctive and are said to be responsive for the disappearance of the magnificent ebony forests and the extinction of the DODO. They eventually abandoned their settlements in 1710. The French occupied the island which they renamed "Ile de France" between 1715 and 1810 and many place names are reminders of this period. In 1810 with the British take-over, the name reverted to Mauritius. The abolition of slavery led to the importation of the Chinese and the Indian indentured labourers, who were followed by traders of their own nationalities. Mauritius gained independence from the British on 12 March 1968 and since then has been an independent sovereign nation within the British Commonwealth. On March 12 1992, Mauritius became a republic. LANGUAGE The official language is English - but the most widely spread is French and the local dialect, "Creole". Teaching is in English but written and spoken press predominantly in French. Most Mauritians also speak their native language such as Hindi, chinese, Urdu, etc... ELECTRICITY All appliances use 220v. The most common electrical plug is the UK 3-pin. CURRENCY The curency of Mauritius is the "Rupee" equivalent to 100 cents. Indicative buying exchange rates for the rupee are : Based on Dec 2007 rates for currency in notes :
CREDIT CARDS Most credit cards - American Express, Diners, Mastercard and Visa - are acepted in most shops and hotels. OFFICE HOURS Generally between 09.30 - 16.00hrs Monday to Friday and half day on Saturday. Shops are opened all day on Saturday - but half day on Thursday. INDEPENDENCE Mauritius was granted independence from Britain on 12 March 1968, and Sir Ramgoolam was elected prime minister, a title he retained for the next 13 years. He was succeeded by a coalition of the leftist Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM) and the Parti Socialiste Mauricien, though tensions in the parties' upper ranks rattled the infrastructure throughout their reign. In 1986, three Mauritian MPs were caught at Amsterdam's airport with heroin in their suitcases, and the resulting inquiry implicated other politicians in drug money and led to several resignations. Mauritius officially became a republic in 1992. Sir Ramgoolam's grandson, Navin Ramgoolam, won the elections in 1995 and led the country in its pursuit of prosperity until September 2000, when new elections were won by an alliance of the Socialist Militant Party and the Militant Movement - the former's Anerood Jugnath will be prime minister until 2003, when he will be replaced by the latter's Paul Berenger, who'll be the first non-Hindu to hold the office since the country gained its independence. |
bird
originated in Mauritius.
comes from the days of slavery.
Places to visit in Mauritius | 2009 Public Holidays in Mauritius | Devised by DOYE & Sons MCMXCVIII Last Update: July MMX