Jose, EA5IDQ will be active Rodrigues Island 19 - 24 May 2015 as 3B9/EA5IDQ.
He will operate on 40 - 10m SSB, RTTY.
QSL via home call.
Rodrigues Island
The complete guide to Rodrigues Island
Rodrigues Island is often called as the Mauritius. An autonomous island in Indian ocean, Rodrigues is settled just at the outer of Mauritious Republic. The volcanic areas just across the island remote place with the capital city at Port Mathurin. Rodrigues just got its freedom in 2002 and now it is the Rodrigues Regional Assembly that governs the area.
The Mauritian citizens are around 41,000 of people. Most of them are the descendants of African and French, and the mix of both. The major economic source lies hugely on agricultural such as farming and fishing with several handicrafts for tourism purposes.
A brief history of Rodrigues island
It was Diogo Rodrigues, a Portuguese explorer who first founded the region in 1528. There were evidences and traces of Arabs too, who visit the island in 12th century. Mauritius suffered deforestation for 500 years after being no man’s land. It was a desert before it is today. In 1507, Alfonso de Alburquerque came and rediscovered the island. The Dutch visited the area in 1601 and the fresh supplies of foods began to transfer there. The farming was a fail but the land contains vast of marine life with birds, turtles and fish heavily found in the ocean. The attempt to modernize the island came from the French. With the African slaves imported in Rodrigues, today, many of the population is African. These slaves worked as stock breeder and farmers.
The British took Rodrigues in 1809 and abolish the slavery. The Krakatoa – Indonesian biggest volcano erupted in 1883, causing a serious damage in the island. the explosion was massive and most of the people were frightened of ship in distress. The record showed that it was the loudest sound ever found in history. Rodrigues became part of Mauritius in 1968. Today, it is an autonomous country with its own governor. It is also the seat of Rodrigues’ Roman Catholic Apostolic.
Geographical information
The volcanic island stretches at the beginning of Mascarene Plateau. With a million years of age, the Rodrigues plateau is quite ancient and formed unique environment with hundreds of rare species inhabit the place. Rodrigues stretches around 18 km long. It has a whale back shape with valleys that cut the inland areas. The highest peak is at Mount Limon. There are limestones and caves in the island. Rodrigues also owns beautiful coral reefs. The ecosystem is well preserved with damselfish and crustaceans living in the reefs.
The temperature
The micro climate of Rodrigues is caused by the isolated area. The tropical maritime climate gives the coastal area a warm wind that blows all year round. Whereas the winter can be 22 degrees celcius. The warm season is between January to March. And in February, the rain could fall heavily. Some cyclones are found around November to April.
With the tropical maritime climate, Rodrigues own some endemic plants with abundance of biodiversities. The area has been a home to many birds like Solitaire and Flying fox. These are endangered bird species only found in the island. The government is highly concerned with the area and declare them as natural reservation. Some of the areas are:
- Ile aux Cocos
- Ile aux Sables
How to get to Rodrigues
With the blissful remote location, Rodrigues is the heaven that everyone would love to visit. To get to the island, there are ways to choose.
By Sea
The Mauritius voyage docks their ships at Port Mathurin. You can go on the trip and enjoy the scenery while you make your way there.
By airplane
The Air Mauritius operates schedule from and to Rodrigues. There are flights daily except Wednesday. Once you arrive at rodrigues, you need to confirm your return ticket schedule.
By car
The road system has made it easy to travel by cars. You can enjoy most parts of the city by renting cars that will pick you up at the airport.
By Bus
The terminal is located at Port Mathurin. There are bus routes that you can take from east to west.
Things to do in Rodrigues
- François Leguat Reserve
If you love the wildlife, the reserve offers you historical backgrounds of Rodrigues settlement and how the extinction of several animals occurred. You can also reach the caves accompanied by a tour guide. The island has an interesting geological feature that one must see. The stone ceiling provides a magnificent panorama and it is situated just 1.5 km from the airport.
- Grande Montagne Nature Reserve
This forest is at the highest land of Rodrigues. The area is part of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation with more than hundreds of thousands plant species. The ecosystem has been restored for convenient visit and there are trails for hikers. You can hire a guide at the entrance to help you.
- St. Gabriel church
In the midst of nowhere, the grandeur architecture of the Christian church was constructed in 1936. It is the largest congregation in the island with hundreds of people attending mass on Sundays. The fascinating building was made using stones, sand and corals – making it a beautiful religious place.
- Saturday Market
For those who love fresh products, Saturday Market at the island is a fuss during Saturdays. The market is a good place to shop for gifts to bring home. Many handicrafts and fresh products come in cheap prices.
- Jardin des 5 Sens
The botanical garden is a home to Rodrigues’ rare plant species. The place is filled with educational information and also offers nice lunch at the chez Jeanette.
- Diving
The Grand Bay and Tamarin are two famous diving spots that offer incredible diving experience for novice and the pro. Discover many underwater species in the turquoise water at the Tamarin diving center. You can also go on cave diving near Tamarin as part of your underwater journey in rodrigues. If you don’t know how to dive, join the diving course from Padi Advanced and get your license!
