MAURITIUS

PORT LOUIS THE CAPITAL

                                                  

PORT LOUIS THEATRE  1910

Mauritius is an island paradise in the Indian Ocean. Your breakfast will be served under shading palm trees and there are juicy mangoes, pineapples, papayas and freshly squeeze orange juice to choose from. While you are there and indulge yourselves on all these, you enjoy the view of the Indian Ocean and four kilometres of sandy beaches.

On the Le Mourne Peninsula a 556 metre rock towers above a beach-side villa. It is on the UNESCO World Heritage list because it had a special significance in Mauritian history.

Accordingly, in the early 19th century slaves climbed the rock to hide from the masters. When slavery was abolished, they saw soldiers approaching, scared they would be recaptured, and they jumped from the mountain. There is no evidence whether the story is true but a special memorial was erected.

You can climb the rock with a special guide. There is also a cycle truck and mountain bikes tours are available.

Watch kite surfers while you lie on almost empty beaches or take a ride on a jetty on the beautiful stunning Indian Ocean.

RODRIGUES ISLAND

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In hotels you can tread yourself to massages, luxury spas, swim in the pool or lie on sun beds and unwind watching the Indian Ocean in all its glory.

On the south coast is a zoo with all unusual animals. If you hire a taxi, the driver will be only too eager to inform you of all the sightseeing in his country. Along the road to the zoo you will see mango trees laden with fruit and also the sugar plantations. La Vanille you experience the giant Aldabra tortoise which was introduced by Darwin to the Island in 1880 when the native species were extinct. The oldest is 95 years.

The famous Dodo was not saved by Darwin and a life-size model is in the zoo. Apparently they were driven to extinction by settlers. To keep the memory alive you will find souvenirs everywhere.

In the Casela Nature and Leisure Park you might get a glimpse of the pink pigeon, if you are lucky. This was saved from extinction purely through a conservation programme.

Because Mauritius lies in the Indian Ocean you will find a great variety of fish and very tastily cooked. You also will find a choice of Indian, French, Chinese and African menus.

Mauritius known history began with the first European who discovered the island in 1507 by the Portuguese. From 1598 to 1710 the Dutch controlled the island. Then the French succeeded the Dutch and eventually in 1810 the British arrived.

Under the British rule there was a lot of Indian labour brought over to work on the sugar plantation. By the time Mauritius won their independence in 1968 the island was multi-cultural.

In 1980 after the fall of sugar prices Mauritius started on a programme of agricultural diversification and it was very successful. The island remains political stable. Aneerood Jugnauth of the Mauritius Socialist Party was in power since 1982 and in 1992 the Island became a republic and remains in the Commonwealth