"Round Island I wish I was... " a Round Island Travel Page by JustinJansen

Altough a very bad picture (a least the photo was good but scan made it worst too cropped) you can see the Round Round Island on the left of the middle! I tried to get there, but limited time brought me only a glimpse from far distance....

This Island is one of the few natural looking places in the world.
Island is the remnant of an extinct, eroded and now partly submerged volcanic cone situated about 22 kilometres (15 miles) to the North East of Mauritius, this island is an ecological treasure house. Numerous species of endemic plants some of which no longer exist on the mainland and the presence of endemic reptiles make this island a unique place.

It is some 150 hectares in extent and raises like a cone out of the water to reach a maximum height of 300 metres. The geological basic composition is an agglomeration of tuff, volcanic ash, laid down in compact layers that look like rock.

Round Island is sufficiently isolated that not only is it the final refuge for many Mascarine endemics, but over the eons, a number of unique animals and plants have evolved there, but like Mauritius, it has suffered degradation.

In the early 19th century goats and rabbits were introduced to Round Island. Their browsing was largely responsible for the total loss of the island’s natural hardwood scrub-forest, the severe degradation of the last example of a unique palm association, as well as the loss through erosion of around 90% of the island’s soil. So severe was the destruction that only one remaining individual of the Round Island Hurricane Palm was left on the island. Goats were removed in 1979 and in 1986 Don Merton and team eradicated the rabbits, thus saving this unique plant species along with ~15 other Red Data Book plants & animals in their native home.

A probably endemic bird for this island is the Round Island Petrel that only breeds here, and nowhere else in the world!

A true paradise........