My holiday trip was as far as to Mauritius. After about 12 hours in an aircraft at last I was there. It takes 2h from Stockholm to London and then 10h from there to Mauritius. Here below I gonna explain geography, climate, history and give some other information about this wonderful island.
Mauritius is situated 860 km from Madagascar and 5000 km from the West Coast of Australia. The area of the island is 1865 km2. The Central Plateau culminates at 800 meters above sea level and the highest peak of the island is Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire (858 Mts)
Mauritius knows only two seasons, summer and winter. During summer, which lasts from November to April, the temperature varies from 20°C to 28°C on the Central Plateau and from 25°C to 33°C on the coast. Winter is temperate, with temperatures reaching 19°C on the high lands and 24°C on the coast. Normally, heavy rains may occur from December to March while the cyclone season starts in November and ends in March. In summer, the sun rises at 5:30 a.m. to set round 7 p.m. while in winter the hours of daylight from 6:45 a.m. to 5:50 p.m.
The population of Mauritius is about 1,150,000. People from India, China, Africa and Europe populate the island. Even if English is the official language of the island, French remains the most common language after Creol, a dialect from the old French. Television and radio programmes are broadcasted in about half a dozen languages. French dominates the press.
It's time for a short history lesson. The Arabs visited Mauritius in the tenth century and named it Dina Robin before the Portuguese discovered the island in 1510. The Dutch was, however, the first settlers and they gave the island the name of Mauritius after the name of Prince Maurice de Nassau. They left the island in 1712. The French, who occupied the island from 1715 to 1810, named it Île de France. In 1810 England won the island over France. Mauritius gained independence on 12th March 1968.
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