Archive for August, 2009
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Sitting on the edge of the Australian continental shelf near Perth in western Australia, Rottnest Island is just 11 km (6 mi) long and 4.5 km (2.7 mi) at its widest point. An iconic holiday destination for Perth residents, with 70 per cent of visitors coming for a day out, the entire island is run as a nature reserve and the surrounding waters as a marine park.
Known to local Aboriginal people as Wadjemup, the island is believed to be a place of spirits and is of significance to the Aboriginal communities. Artifacts have been found at a number of sites on Rottnest Island which are at least 6,500 years old, and possibly older, so there were indigenous people living here before sea levels rose and the island was separated from the mainland.
The first Europeans to discover the island were Dutch navigators who were searching for a shorter route from the Cape of Good Hope to Batavia in the 17th century. At that time the island was uninhabited. Samuel Volkerson was the first European to actually land on the island in 1658. William de Vlamingh visited in 1696 and named the island Rottnest after the abundance of Quokkas (small marsupials) he saw, mistaking them for rats.
Other Europeans soon followed, believing the island had potential for salt harvesting, farming and fishing. From 1839 for almost a century the island housed a penal colony for Aboriginal men and boys. When the colony closed, the leisure potential of the island was realized and tourism took off.
The island is best explored by bicycle as private cars are not allowed. The 24-km (15-mi) route around the coast runs through some of the most beautiful scenery, passing small, sandy beaches in secluded coves. The island has a total of 63 beaches and 20 bays, some of the finest in the world, and the turquoise water makes swimming here a must.
There are lovely reefs here, with twenty species of colourful corals and 364 species of fish, which can be explored by snorkelling, diving or a trip in a glass-bottomed boat. There are also a number of shipwrecks close to the shore, making diving here a popular pastime. Look out for humpback whales, green and loggerhead turtles, rays and bottlenose dolphins.
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A tiny jewel set in the azure seas of the South Pacific, Norfolk Island is just 8 km (5 mi) long, and 1,600 km (994 mi) northeast of Sydney, Australia.
It is the biggest of a cluster of three islands on the Norfolk Ridge, fringed by coral reefs and crowned by pristine rainforest and some of the world’s tallest tree ferns.
On 10 October 1774, James Cook first landed on this diminutive island and named it in honour of the then Duchess of Norfolk.
Convicts started to arrive 14 years later and over time it gained quite a harsh reputation, becoming known as ‘hell in the Pacific’.
Then in 1856, descendants of the Bounty mutineers with their Tahitian wives and children sailed for five weeks from Pitcairn Island to settle on Norfolk Island. These new settlers brought with them a distinct culture and language, and many held mutineers’ names such as Adams, Buffett, Christian and McCoy. From that day, Norfolk Island began its steady climb out of hell and into heaven.
Once sustained by agriculture and fishing, visitors now keep the island alive. But traditional culture remains deep rooted with dancing, singing and a unique cuisine. Banana dumplings, fried fish and Hihi pie, concocted with periwinkles, can be sampled at one of the fine restaurants scattered across the island.
The blue waters around Norfolk Island are teeming with fish, and there are countless fishing charters and scuba-diving trips out to the reef to explore this kaleidoscope underwater world. In the sheltered waters of Emily Bay, you can also indulge in some lazy swimming and snorkeling, and endless relaxation.
Norfolk Island is favoured by well-heeled Australians and New Zealanders, and a few millionaires have migrated to this tax-free haven. There are over 70 low-tax shops and many eager customers. Yet the island seems to balance the old and the new perfectly honouring its Pitcairn people, its rich environment and its visitors.
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Part of the Mascarene Islands, the Republic of Mauritius is off the coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, 900 km (560 mi) east of Madagascar. The republic consists of five islands: St Brandon, Rodrigues, two Agalegas Islands and Mauritius itself.
The latter was originally uninhabited, but the Dutch named the island and established a colony that was seized by the French in 1715. They renamed the place Ile de France and built a prosperous economy based on sugar. But the British took the island in 1810 and it reverted to the original name.
Independence was granted in 1968 and this Commonwealth country is a stable democracy with one of Africa’s highest per capita incomes. This might be guessed by a visitor to Port Louis, who finds a sophisticated place with a cluster of high and medium rise buildings that might be mistaken from afar as the downtown area of a small American city, were it not for its location beside the azure Indian Ocean, surrounded by lush tropical vegetation.
Tourism has become an increasingly important sector of the economy, which had hitherto been based on sugar plantations and off-shore financial services.
The effort to attract visitors is proving successful, and might not even need the boost of a move to duty-free status. Mauritius is the most accessible island in the Indian Ocean, with wonderful beaches and crystal-clear waters.
Important though these essential ingredients of every tropical holiday destination may be, Mauritius has something extra, friendly people and a vibrant cultural mix that will leave an indelible impression.
There is a festival or fiesta practically every week and a tempting variety of ethnic food choices. The place must be good. Author Mark Twain remarked that Mauritius was made before heaven, and heaven modeled on Mauritius.
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