Founded in 1589 by the Dutch, Mahébourg on Mauritius southeast coast has been the capital of the island for many years, named after the French Admiral Mahé de La Bourdonnais. But after the French had lost Mauritius to the British and a malaria outbreak had killed many inhabitants at the beginning of the 19th century, […]
Schlagwort: Markt
Port Louis
Port Louis at the northwest coast is the capital of Mauritius and with 150.000 inhabitants also the biggest city on the island. With its setting at a bay with some mountains in the background and a mix of colonial and modern architecture, Port Louis is neither pretty nor nasty – on ground. Seen from the […]
Mauritius – Island of the dead birds – Die Insel der toten Vögel
Dream island, paradise, pearl of the Indian Ocean – Mauritius has many exuberant names when you read the travel-agency ads. White sandy beaches, a turquoise sea, reefs, corals and magnificent islets with even more white sandy beaches, palm trees, and in one case a full-scale pro golf course designed by former German champion Bernhard Langer, […]
Tolagnaro (Fort Dauphin)
Tolagnaro, also known by its French colonial name Fort Dauphin, is Madagascar´s southernmost city, built on a peninsula at the south-eastern tip of the island at the place of the former settlement Tholongar. After a brief visit of Portuguese castaways in the Antanosy region at the beginning of the 16th century, it has been the […]
Moramanga
Moramanga, `the place of cheap mangoes´, is a junction town with around 60.000 inhabitants along the RN2 running from Tana to Toamasina at the east coast. From here, you can either go to Lake Alaotra in the north, visit nearby Andasibe-Mantadia National Park or one of the associated protected areas like famous Mitsinjo reserve, or […]
Assomada
Assomada lies at 550 m elevation on a plateau in the centre of the island of Santiago amidst a picturesque mountain scenery. Therefore, the climate is cooler and thus more pleasant than in muggy Praia, and the surrounding landscape is characterized by farmland as well as the nearby mountains of Serra Malagueta in the background. […]
Barotseland & Zambezi floodplains – Barotseland & die Sambesi-Flutebene
The floodplains along Zambezi River in Zambia’s west are vast plains that get flooded for a few months every rainy season between April and June or July. Clusters of trees mark slightly higher ground, and those are the places the Lozi people use to build their small settlements. It is a remarkable fact that flooding […]
Andapa
Andapa is the only of the four major towns in SAVA region to be situated away from the Indian ocean 100 km southwest of Sambava. It has around 30.000 inhabitants of whom 90% are farmers, mainly cultivating rice. The place is ideal for that because of its location at the eponymous basin to where all […]
Through the vastness of Zambia / Durch die Weiten Sambias
The landlocked country Zambia that had been a part of the British protectorate of Northern Rhodesia since 1890 encompasses 752.614 km2 which makes it twice as large as Germany – but with only 18 Million inhabitants most of which are living in the big cities. The country is the place where south, central, and east […]
Nakapelimoru & the Karamojong – Nakapelimoru & die Karamojong
100 kilometres north of Moroto lies Kotido, a small and either dusty or muddy town in the centre of the huge Karamoja plains. Undistinguishable Kotido is mainly interesting because of its proximity to Nakapelimoru, one of the largest traditional settlements in eastern Africa. Approximately 10.000 Karamojong are living in Nakapelimoru. The settlement consists of traditional […]