Nosy Boraha: Difference between revisions
m →External links: rm signature, move stub msg. |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
'''Île Sainte-Marie''' also known (more formally) as '''Nosy Boraha''' is an [[island]] off the east coast of [[Madagascar]]. It belongs to [[Toamasina Province]]. This touristic destination is 60 km long and less than 10 km large. |
'''Île Sainte-Marie''' also known (more formally) as '''Nosy Boraha''' is an [[island]] off the east coast of [[Madagascar]]. It belongs to [[Toamasina Province]]. This touristic destination is 60 km long and less than 10 km large. |
||
== Humpback Whales == |
|||
The channel between the Sainte-Marie island and Madagascar is an hot spot for whalewatching. Important groups of [[humpback whales]] (Megaptera) migrate from the Antarctic to this idyllic breeding place. These quiet giants find here conditions favourable to the growth of the young and to their love and acrobatic games before the big return toward the cold seas. |
The channel between the Sainte-Marie island and Madagascar is an hot spot for whalewatching. Important groups of [[humpback whales]] (Megaptera) migrate from the Antarctic to this idyllic breeding place. These quiet giants find here conditions favourable to the growth of the young and to their love and acrobatic games before the big return toward the cold seas. |
||
== Pirates == |
|||
Ile Sainte-Marie, or St. Mary's Island as it is known in English, became a popular basis for pirates all along the 17 th and the 18 th century because of many reasons : it was not far from the maritime ways where passed in transit the ships coming back from the Indies the holds overflow of wealths, it was provided of bays and creeks protected from storms and finally, it was abundant in fruits and in soft water. Legendary pirates like [[William Kidd]], [[Robert Culliford]], Avery, Thomas Tew and Olivier Levasseur, lived in the «île aux Forbans», an island located in the bay of the capital of Sainte Marie, Ambodifotatra. Many of them will found a line. A lot of vestiges of this history subsist at Sainte Marie. For example, several authentic pirates vessels lie again at few meters of the bottom of the «Baie des Forbans». |
Ile Sainte-Marie, or St. Mary's Island as it is known in English, became a popular basis for pirates all along the 17 th and the 18 th century because of many reasons : it was not far from the maritime ways where passed in transit the ships coming back from the Indies the holds overflow of wealths, it was provided of bays and creeks protected from storms and finally, it was abundant in fruits and in soft water. Legendary pirates like [[William Kidd]], [[Robert Culliford]], Avery, Thomas Tew and Olivier Levasseur, lived in the «île aux Forbans», an island located in the bay of the capital of Sainte Marie, Ambodifotatra. Many of them will found a line. A lot of vestiges of this history subsist at Sainte Marie. For example, several authentic pirates vessels lie again at few meters of the bottom of the «Baie des Forbans». |
||
== Diving == |
|||
Safe from sharks, the lagoon of Sainte Marie island is endowed with important coralline constructions. Its under water fauna and flora constitute a preserved natural heritage and a first-class diving site in the Indian ocean. |
Safe from sharks, the lagoon of Sainte Marie island is endowed with important coralline constructions. Its under water fauna and flora constitute a preserved natural heritage and a first-class diving site in the Indian ocean. |
||
== Traditions == |
|||
At Sainte Marie, the inhabitants are attached to traditions. The social or family events are faithfully linked to practices invoking the ancestors' spirits. The wealth and the variety of these rituals underline the authenticity and the depth of the "Saint-marien" cultural identity. |
At Sainte Marie, the inhabitants are attached to traditions. The social or family events are faithfully linked to practices invoking the ancestors' spirits. The wealth and the variety of these rituals underline the authenticity and the depth of the "Saint-marien" cultural identity. |
||
Fragile, Sainte Marie unveils her appeals with modesty and discretion. Nevertheless, numerous places remain as evidences of a time or a belief . The visitor will discover many places that testify of an exceptional past and that will move him . |
Fragile, Sainte Marie unveils her appeals with modesty and discretion. Nevertheless, numerous places remain as evidences of a time or a belief . The visitor will discover many places that testify of an exceptional past and that will move him . |
||
== Fauna and flora == |
|||
The insular character of the place and the particularities of the coralline soil encouraged various adaptations, so much on the animal that on plant plan, leading to unique interrelations. Thus, Sainte Marie is endowed with a very rich fauna and flora, you can meet here among other species several types of lemurs as well as a multitude of orchids of which the magnificent Queen of Madagascar. |
The insular character of the place and the particularities of the coralline soil encouraged various adaptations, so much on the animal that on plant plan, leading to unique interrelations. Thus, Sainte Marie is endowed with a very rich fauna and flora, you can meet here among other species several types of lemurs as well as a multitude of orchids of which the magnificent Queen of Madagascar. |
||
==External links== |
== External links == |
||
*[http://www.hsm.mg/en/map.htm Tourist map of Ste. Marie] |
*[http://www.hsm.mg/en/map.htm Tourist map of Ste. Marie] |
||
*[http://baleine.blogspirit.com/ Humpback whale of Sainte Marie island] |
*[http://baleine.blogspirit.com/ Humpback whale of Sainte Marie island] |
||
Revision as of 16:46, 23 June 2006
Île Sainte-Marie also known (more formally) as Nosy Boraha is an island off the east coast of Madagascar. It belongs to Toamasina Province. This touristic destination is 60 km long and less than 10 km large.
Humpback Whales
The channel between the Sainte-Marie island and Madagascar is an hot spot for whalewatching. Important groups of humpback whales (Megaptera) migrate from the Antarctic to this idyllic breeding place. These quiet giants find here conditions favourable to the growth of the young and to their love and acrobatic games before the big return toward the cold seas.
Pirates
Ile Sainte-Marie, or St. Mary's Island as it is known in English, became a popular basis for pirates all along the 17 th and the 18 th century because of many reasons : it was not far from the maritime ways where passed in transit the ships coming back from the Indies the holds overflow of wealths, it was provided of bays and creeks protected from storms and finally, it was abundant in fruits and in soft water. Legendary pirates like William Kidd, Robert Culliford, Avery, Thomas Tew and Olivier Levasseur, lived in the «île aux Forbans», an island located in the bay of the capital of Sainte Marie, Ambodifotatra. Many of them will found a line. A lot of vestiges of this history subsist at Sainte Marie. For example, several authentic pirates vessels lie again at few meters of the bottom of the «Baie des Forbans».
Diving
Safe from sharks, the lagoon of Sainte Marie island is endowed with important coralline constructions. Its under water fauna and flora constitute a preserved natural heritage and a first-class diving site in the Indian ocean.
Traditions
At Sainte Marie, the inhabitants are attached to traditions. The social or family events are faithfully linked to practices invoking the ancestors' spirits. The wealth and the variety of these rituals underline the authenticity and the depth of the "Saint-marien" cultural identity. Fragile, Sainte Marie unveils her appeals with modesty and discretion. Nevertheless, numerous places remain as evidences of a time or a belief . The visitor will discover many places that testify of an exceptional past and that will move him .
Fauna and flora
The insular character of the place and the particularities of the coralline soil encouraged various adaptations, so much on the animal that on plant plan, leading to unique interrelations. Thus, Sainte Marie is endowed with a very rich fauna and flora, you can meet here among other species several types of lemurs as well as a multitude of orchids of which the magnificent Queen of Madagascar.
External links
 | This Southern African location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |