Island Rodrigues



Island Rodrigues, In 1528 the island was discovered by a Portuguese sailor named Diego Rodriguez. But before that there were some accounts that Arabian and Malay traders and Chineze Mariners had seen the island also. The Dutch were the first occupiers of Rodrigues in 1601 till 1611. In 1691 François Leguat and his 7 Huguenot set foot on Rodrigues to set up a colony of protestant refugees. After that the island was switched between France and the UK until 1968 when Mauritius got its independance, Island Rodrigues became a part of the new Republic of Mauritius. Rodrigues has its own Rodriguan Regional Assembly, R.R.A. which governs the island.

The capital is Port Mathurin where also the main harbour of the island is. Here comes frequently the boats that supply Rodrigues with foods, materials and tourist which takes about 36 hours from Mauritius. At the local airport at Plain flights arrive daily come from Mauritius, with the plane it takes one and a half hour flight from Mauritius to Rodrigues. The roads are currently being upgraded and about halve of the main roads already are finished which make them comfortable to drive on. You can hire a car or motorbike to drive around the island yourself or take an excursion to view the island and its hidden treasures like St. Francois, Point Pichtasch or one of the many others. Besure to visit the local market at Port Mathurin on saturday or wensday morning, besides lots of fresh local fruits and vegetables there are also many handicraft products forsale like the hats, handbags, paintings and chutneys.

For activities, you can do a lot here, from visiting restaurants, walking across or around the island, fishing, deepsea fishing, diving, snorkeling, kite surfing, mountainbike or just relax on the beautiefull beaches around the island.

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The island itself is about a 104 square kilometres large and it is totally surrounded by a lagoon of twice the size of the island. The highest point is Mont Limon, 398m from sea level from which you can oversee the island from north to south and west to east.

The languages spoken on Rodrigues are: Creole, English and French. There are about 38000 people living on the island. The climate at sea level is around 18 till 33 degrees during the year on average. The rainfall is not frequently but during the cyclone season the can be more the average rainfall. As for tourists visiting Rodrigues, if you got a valid passport and return ticket you are welcome to come and enjoy Rodrigues. There is no vaccination needed for Rodrigues. And when your staying here, you can use your 220 volt equipment without a problem though some equipment might need a "travels plug" to be connected. The currency is the same as used in Mauritius, which is the Mauritian Rupee. There is basic healthcare, a hospital and there are dentists on the island.

The economy of Rodrigues is largely bases on agriculture, fishing and stock rearing. In the history of the island it was used to supply Mauritius with food. There are some small enterprises in the manufacturing sector, baking, metal works, woodworks, clothing, handicrafts products which is mainly used for the local market.

Coco Villa, Cavern Provert, Ile Rodrigues, Mauritius,
Tel. +230 831 0449 GSM +230 875 2387 or +230 876 2387 jolimock@intnet.mu