Nauru

Nauru officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, 300 kilometres  to the east. With 9,378 residents in a 21-square-kilometre area, Nauru is the smallest state in the South Pacific and second smallest state by population in the world, behind only the Vatican City.

Settled by Micronesian and Polynesian people, Nauru was annexed and claimed as a colony by the German Empire in the late 19th century. After World War I, Nauru became a League of Nations mandate administered by Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. During World War II, Nauru was occupied by Japanese troops, who were bypassed by the Allied advance across the Pacific. After the war ended, the country entered into trusteeship again. Nauru gained its independence in 1968.

 (Soure:Wikipedia)

Special thanks to William, a Taiwanese volunteer who was posted to Nauru, for this 

rarity from the South Pacific.

Received: 14 February 2013

Yay a dodo bird

  

The first Portuguese explorers found no indigenous people living on the island in 1507. The Dutch settled on the island in 1638 and abandoned it in 1710. Five years later, the island became a French colony and was renamed Isle de France. The British took control of Mauritius in 1810 during the Napoleonic Wars. The country remained under British rule until it became an independent Commonwealth realm on 12 March 1968 and a republic within the Commonwealth on 12 March 1992.

The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural; most Mauritians are multilingual, and English, French, Creole and Asian languages are used.The government system is closely modelled on the Westminster parliamentary system. Mauritius is highly ranked for democracy and for economic and political freedom.

The island of Mauritius was the only home of the Dodo bird. The bird became extinct fewer than eighty years after its discovery.

 Thank you Tasneem for this amazing card!

 

Sent: 13 January 2014,   Received: 23 January 2014,   Travelled: 10 days

Dolphins in Mauritius

On Mauritius west coast you have the unique opportunity to watch dolphins frolicking in the water. The skipper of the speedboat will take you to the place where you can watch the dolphins. You will even have the chance to swim with them and watch them at first hand in their natural environment so do not forget to take your snorkel, fin and mask. On a lucky day you can find yourself in a group of 20-30 dolphins at one time. The mother dolphins with their babies are very special and impressive to watch. If you listen carefully you can hear the dolphins ‘singing’ under the water!

Some companies only want to earn money with these dolphin trips and they chase them in order to get close to them. Living under such a stress factor, the dolphins will sooner or later find another place to rest.

http://holidays-mauritius.com/dolphin-watching.html

I want to see dolphins in the sea! We sometimes have dolphins near our islands but you can only catch them early in the morning around 5-6am. The thing about animal tours is that tourists sometimes forget that in having a close encounter with wildlife it can stress the animals or harm them. That's why one should do research on the tour activity to make sure that it doesn't cause harm.

Thank you Tasneem for this lovely dolphin card!

Sent: 13 January 2014   Received: 23 January 2014   Travelled: 10 days (wow!)

Maldives

The Republic of the Maldives, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean consisting of a double chain of twenty-six atolls, oriented north-south,that lie between Minicoy Island (the southernmost part of Lakshadweep, India) and the Chagos Archipelago. The chains stand in the Laccadive Sea, about 700 kilometres (430mi) south-west of Sri Lanka and 400 kilometres (250mi) south-west of India.

 

Blast from the past, a postcard I received from a friend who works for an airline, thank you Tim!

 



Sent: 26 June 2011

Reunion Island

 

 

Reunion Island is a French island with a population of 837,868 inhabitants. It is located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about 200 kilometres southwest of Mauritius, the nearest island.

Administratively, Reunion is one of the overseas departments of France. It is part of the Eurozone.

Read more here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A9union

 

 

Thank you Shamia of Reunion Island for this beautiful aerial view.

 

Sent: 8th February 2013

Received: 21 February 2013

Travelled: 13 days