Rodrigues is, along with
Reunion and Mauritius, the third and smallest island of the
Mascarene Archipelago. Politically it is a dependency of Mauritius, which is about 600 km to the south west, and many of the island's visitors are Mauritian.
It has two 'claims to fame' - it is the part of Africa closest to Australia, and it is the furthest place where the 1883 eruption of
Krakatoa was heard.
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| Map of Rodrigues |
When we visited we made the most of direct flights between Reunion and Rodrigues (these were not to last however).
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| coming in to land |
The island covers 108 km2 and is 18km long by 8 km wide.
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| coming in to land |
We stayed in the Pointe Venus hotel, which is quite close to Port Mathurin, the capital.
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| view from our hotel balcony |
Port Mathurin has a population of about 6 000 people; the whole island has about 40 000 inhabitants.
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| Port Mathurin |
Ethnically Rodriguans have a mix of African and Malagasy blood, and are mainly Catholics, but there are some Muslims too.
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| St Gabriel cathedral, Port Mathurin |
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| mosque |
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| harbour |
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| sea-view cemetery |
We visited Ile aux Cocos which is a small island and renowned bird sanctuary.
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| Ile aux Cocos |
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| Ile aux Cocos |
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| Ile aux Cocos |
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| Ile aux Cocos |
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| baby bird hatching |
The island's highest point is only 355m.
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| Rodrigues seen from Ile aux Cocos |
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| mangrove |
Rodrigues is quite dry and windswept, although the tropical location obviously keeps the climate hot and sunny too.
There are several beautiful and deserted beaches on Rodrigues:
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| weather station |
Rodrigues' lagoon is very large, covering 300 km2.
One of the main products fished on Rodrigues is octopus.
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| octopus drying in the sun |
Underneath a coral plateau is an enormous cave 600 metres long called
Caverne Patate.
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| stalacmites |
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| cave exit |
We didn't get to
scuba-dive whilst there, but we would love to return to do so
(see here).
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| leaving Rodrigues |
Suggested reading:
The Prospector by JM Le Clézio (2008 Nobel Prize Winner for Literature). Alexis L'Estang becomes obsessed with finding the treasure of the legendary Unknown Corsair on the island of Mauritius. The child recalls the sea around the island of Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean. The author situated the plot of this book in the village of Anse aux Anglais.
Useful links:
Podcast:
Rodrigues on the BBC's
Excess Baggage programme (Saturday October 22nd 2011).
but not yet translated into English).