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marxpobert-blog · 5 years

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Mauritius is breathtakingly beautiful, but it has so many stories behind it that make it even more fascinating. Lying below the island of Mauritius below the Indian Ocean, is a lost continent called Maurice that geologists have recently discovered. And if that discovery is not exciting enough, Mauritius gives heaven a complex with its beautiful beaches, lagoons and lakes, mountains and valleys, national parks and fields, reefs and rainforests. It even has an underwater waterfall, which is believed to be an optical illusion. The coastline that spreads across 330 km has so many beaches around it and is thronged by scuba divers, adventure enthusiasts, beach bums and tourists. While water sports is one of the main things to see in Mauritius, there is more to the island country than sea and sand and there are several unique things to do in Mauritius. There are so many beautiful places in Mauritius from Black River Gorges National Park to La Morne Brabant and a typical Mauritius itinerary includes visits to sugarcane plantations and rum distilleries. There are vibrant markets in Mauritius, including craft markets while some of the places to see in Mauritius include a day trip to the capital Port Louis.

The home of the now-extinct dodo killed by the colonists was discovered by Portuguese and it eventually became a Dutch, French and British settlement and has an Indian connection with several immigrants who were brought in as labourers to work in the sugar cane fields and other factories. The Aapravasi Ghat in the capital Port Louis was their first port of embarkation and it served as an immigration centre for the indentured labourers. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Most Mauritians even today have Indian roots as they are several communities from Tamilians to Biharis. However, Tamil is considered an indigenous religion by itself and the community follows “Tamil” Hinduism with temples dedicated to Lord Muruga. The Indian connection also takes you down to the times when Mahatma Gandhi visited Mauritius and there is even a road named after him. Yet most of the current generation of the islanders have merged with the milieu and are Mauritian citizens speaking the national language of Creole.

I was in Mauritius for a week on invitation from Club Med resorts in Mauritius and while we barely stepped out of the beautiful beach resorts – we did explore the island as well on our Mauritius itinerary. While the Club Med resorts in Mauritius – Club Med La Plantation D’ Albion and Club Med La Pointe Aux Canonniers, are all inclusive resorts in Mauritius, they also organised our trip to some of the beautiful places in Mauritius. Here are my suggestions on some of the places to see in Mauritius including some of the unique things to do in Mauritius as well.

1. Half a day tour of Port Louis

One of the most beautiful places in Mauritius is Port Louis. The capital town of Mauritius has a colonial hangover around it as it was essentially founded by the French. Even today the harbour, one of the places to see in Mauritius is a remnant of the old settlement. However one of the beautiful places in Mauritius is the Caudan Waterfront, with its food court, commercial complex and craft markets. One of the buildings here is the heritage luxury hotel, Le Labourdonnais. However there are several things to do in Mauritius and you will find many monuments, museums, and markets that you can explore. Besides the Aapravasi Ghat, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, you can also visit the National History Museum, the present home of the dodo and the Blue Penny Museum and the Postage Museum where you can see some of the oldest stamps. The Central Market is one of the main markets of Mauritius vibrant and colourful and does not forget to bring home some souvenirs, especially homemade rum. You can also visit one of the oldest horse racing tracks that can be found at Champ de Mars. Your Mauritius itinerary is not complete if you do not visit a local temple here. There are also several old cathedrals, churches, mosques as well.

2. Casela – World of Adventures

One of the most unique things to do in Mauritius is to visit Casela and lose yourself in a world of adventures. I was almost transported to the game reserves of South Africa as I went on a safari ride in this amusement and wildlife park and encountered the Big Five. Casela set amidst 4500 hectares near Mount Rampart, is one of the beautiful places in Mauritius and the landscape is watered by two rivers – Rivière du Rempart and Tamarin River. Home to several species of wildlife, some of the animals have been born and bred here. Casela prides itself on the wildlife interactions – be it encounters with lions or feeding with the giraffes. One of the unique things to do in Mauritius is to pose with a lion.

The park is divided into three main kingdoms – safari, nature and mountain and includes bird park, safari rides, and wildlife interactions. There are also adventurous activities like zip-lining, quad bike rides, canyoning among others. The Discovery Centre has several entertainment shows as well. You can spend an entire day here but I would recommend at least half a day at Casela. It is one of the most popular places to see in Mauritius.

3. Chamarel Seven Coloured Earth

Have you seen a rainbow on earth? Then look no further. The colours of the “vibyor” are painted vividly in the sand dunes of Chamarel and are referred to as Seven Coloured Earth or in French as Terres des Sept Couleurs. This is probably one of the most unique things to do in Mauritius. Chamarel is a village in Mauritius named after the French and there are several beautiful places to see in Mauritius including the Chamarel Waterfalls and the Ebony Forest.

The locals refer to it as the “Valley of Blacks” and an “amphitheatre of abrupt rocks.” Local coffee is grown here as well. But it is the Seven Coloured Earth that is absolutely breathtaking. Painted in seven vivid shades like a rainbow, these sand dunes are tinged with red, brown, blue, purple, yellow, violet and even a bit of green. It is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places in Mauritius. However, the colourful view depends on the weather as well.

The geological formation is a result of the cooling of the molten rock that might be over 3-7 million years old. The sands have settled into layers depicting a colourful pattern and the rains have further created a canvas. However, on a bright sunny morning, you can see the seven distinct colours. Chamarel also has a 19th century dedicated to Saint Anna and the festival of Assumption of Mary is celebrated with great fanfare.

4. The Curious Corner of Chamarel

One of the most unique things to do in Mauritius is to get lost in a world of optical illusions, fantasies, and delusions. Located opposite the Seven Coloured Earth, the Curiosity Corner is actually a house filled with fascinating corners that stimulate your curious mind. Nothing appears as it is supposed to be. Everything is either a mirage or a maze. Sometimes you feel like you have walked into a jigsaw puzzle.

There are rooms with no doors or windows but you will have to find the secret door to get out of it. There are over 40 exhibits here built over 5000 sq feet but some of my favourites include the Mirror Maze where 200 mirrors take you into a world of reflections as you navigate your way through the maze. I was also fascinated by the Upside Down Room and the Laser Music Room. Chamarel is one of the most beautiful places in Mauritius and your Mauritius itinerary is not complete without a bit of curiosity.

5. The Rhumarie de Chamarel

Your Mauritius itinerary is not complete without a visit to The Rhumarie de Chamarel. We were in the rum distillery for lunch but we also did a tour where we also experienced some rum tasting. The distillery is one of the few in Mauritius today which has its own sugarcane plantations that are grown around it. Even the harvest is still done by hand and the fresh-pressed sugar cane juice is then filtered and fermented, distilled and aged and magically transformed into rum. There are different kinds of rums – classic, premium, aged, double distilled and spiced rum, besides liqueurs with vanilla, coffee, and coconut flavors. And it is one of the best ways to experience Mauritius on a high note.

There are many more beautiful places in Mauritius and things to see in Mauritius but in our short span of time, we could only explore a fraction of the island. What would you include in your Mauritius itinerary?

The post Paradise on earth – Beautiful places to see in Mauritius appeared first on Lakshmi Sharath.

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kristofferihlen-blog1 · 7 years

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Hello Fuji X-T1.

Why the sudden change to Fuji-Film from Nikon? Somebody asked me. Well after more than 15 years with Nikon I have had lots of fun photographing, and there is nothing wrong with Nikons cameras, except for their weight and lack of firmware updates, and their service.

Weight is the number one issue in my case My Nikon D2x was about 1,3 kg. and that was only the body. Then all the lenses and stuff. I had to pack a suitcase for the camera and lenses itself. I needed a fast camera, not to heavy and not to big. As a travel / street / documentary photographer you need to travel light. At least when you reach my age. The Fuji X-T1 gives me a light camera that provides me with all these needs.

As a Wedding / Portraiture photographer it gives me an incredible sensor that works well when I work under poor lighted conditions. Its ISO works well, so I’m able to concentrate much more on the people I’m photographing than adding extra Lightsource’s.

Of cause I had a chance to try it out for nearly two weeks about a year ago, and that made the decision easier to switch to this system, and now I look forward to get to know it and its features.

Some Test-shots from the past days.

Here are some Data facts about the camera:

Number of effective pixels

16.3 million pixels

Image sensor

23.6mm x 15.6mm (APS-C) X-Trans CMOS II with primary color filter Total number of pixels: 16.7 million pixels

Sensor Cleaning system

Ultra Sonic Vibration

Storage media

SD memory card / SDHC memory card / SDXC (UHS-II) memory card*1

File format

Still image

JPEG (Exif Ver 2.3)*2, RAW (RAF format), RAW+JPEG (Design rule for Camera File system compliant / DPOF-compatible)

Movie

Movie File Format: MOV Movie Video Compression: H.264 Audio: Linear PCM Stereo

Number of recorded pixels

L: (3:2) 4896 x 3264 / (16:9) 4896 x 2760 / (1:1) 3264 x 3264 M: (3:2) 3456 x 2304 / (16:9) 3456 x 1944 / (1:1) 2304 x 2304 S: (3:2) 2496 x 1664 / (16:9) 2496 x 1408 / (1:1) 1664 x 1664

<Motion Panorama> L: Vertical: 2160 x 9600 / Horizontal: 9600 x 1440 M: Vertical: 2160 x 6400 / Horizontal: 6400 x 1440

Lens mount

FUJIFILM X mount

Sensitivity

AUTO (Control available up to ISO 6400) Equivalent to ISO 200 - 6400 (Standard Output Sensitivity) Extended output sensitivity : Equivalent ISO 100, 12800, 25600 and 51200

Exposure control

TTL 256-zone metering, Multi / Spot / Average

Exposure mode

Programmed AE / Shutter Speed priority AE / Aperture priority AE / Manual exposure

Exposure compensation

-3.0EV - +3.0EV, 1/3EV step (movie recording : -2.0EV - +2.0EV)

Image Stabilizer

Supported with OIS type lenses

Face Detection

Yes

Shutter type

Focal Plane Shutter

Shutter speed

(P mode) 1/4 sec. to 1/4000 sec., (All other modes) 30 sec. to 1/4000 sec. Bulb (max. 60 min.) Time 1/2 to 30 sec. Synchronized shutter speed for flash : 1/180 sec. or slower

Continuous shooting

Approx. 8.0 fps (JPEG : max. approx. 47 frames) Approx. 3.0 fps (JPEG : up to the capacity of the card)

· * Recordable frame number may vary depending on the type of memory card used.

· * The frame rate varies with shooting condition and the number of images recorded.

Auto bracketing

AE Bracketing (±1/3EV, ±2/3EV, ±1EV) Film Simulation Bracketing (Any 3 types of film simulation selectable) Dynamic Range Bracketing (100% · 200% · 400%) ISO sensitivity Bracketing (±1/3EV, ±2/3EV, ±1EV) White Balance Bracketing (±1, ±2, ±3)

Focus

mode

Single AF / Continuous AF / MF Distance Indicator

type

Intelligent Hybrid AF (TTL contrast AF / TTL phase detection AF), AF assist illuminator available

AF frame selection

Area (EVF / LCD : 49 areas with 7 x 7) / Multi

* Changeable size of AF frame among 5 types

White balance

Automatic scene recognition Custom / Color temperature selection (K) Preset : Fine / Shade / Fluorescent light (Daylight) / Fluorescent light (Warm White) / Fluorescent light (Cool White) / Incandescent light / Underwater

Self-timer

10 sec. / 2 sec. Delay

Interval timer shooting

Yes (Setting : Interval, Number of shots, Startinng time)

Flash

External flash EF-X8 (included) (Super Intelligent Flash) Guide number : approx. 8 (ISO100 · m) / approx. 11 (ISO200 · m)

Flash modes

Activated when external flash is connected

Red-eye removal OFF

Auto / Forced Flash / Slow Synchro / Suppressed Flash / Rear-curtain Synchro / Commander

Red-eye removal ON

Red-eye Reduction Auto / Red-eye Reduction & Forced Flash / Red-eye Reduction & Slow Synchro / Suppressed Flash / Red-eye Reduction & Rear-curtain Synchro / Commander

· * Red-eye removal is active when Face Detection is set to ON.

Hot shoe

Yes (Dedicated TTL Flash compatible)

Viewfinder

0.5-in., approx. 2.360K-dot OLED color viewfinder Coverage of viewing area vs. capturing area : approx. 100% Eye point : approx. 23mm (from the rear end of the camera's eyepiece) Diopter adjustment : -4m-1 to +2m-1 Magnification : 0.77x with 50mm lens (35mm format equivalent) at infinity and diopter set to - 1.0m-1 Diagonal angle of view : approx. 38° (Horizontal angle of view : approx. 31°) Built-in eye sensor

LCD monitor

3.0-inch, aspect ratio 3:2, approx. 1,040K-dot, Tilt type color LCD monitor (approx. 100% coverage)

Movie recording

Full HD 1920 x 1080 60p / 30p, Continuous recording : up to approx. 14 min. HD 1280 x 720 60p / 30p, Continuous recording : up to approx. 27 min.

· * Use a card with SD Speed Class with or higher

Film Simulation mode

10 type (PROVIA/STANDARD, Velvia/VIVID, ASTIA/SOFT, PRO Neg Hi, PRO Neg. Std, MONOCHROME, MONOCHROME+Ye FILTER, MONOCHROME+R FILTER, MONOCHROME+G FILTER, SEPIA)

Dynamic range setting

AUTO (100-400%), 100%, 200%, 400%

Advanced filter

Toy camera / Miniature / Pop color / High-key / Low-key / Dynamic tone / Soft focus / Partial color (Red / Orange / Yellow / Green / Blue / Purple)

Other photography functions

Auto Red-eye Removal, Setting (Color, Sharpness, D-range, Gradation), Select custom setting, Motion panorama, Color space, Framing guideline, Frame No. memory, Histogram display, Preview depth of focus, Lens Modulatioon Optimizer, Pre-AF, Focus check, Focus Peak Highlight, Digital Split Image™*3, Electronic level, Multiple exposure, Release priority / Focus priority selection, Fn button setting (RAW, Movie, etc.), ISO AUTO control, Instant AF setting (AF-S / AF-C)

Playback functions

RAW conversion, Image rotate, Red-eye reduction, Photobook assist, Erase selected frames, Image search, Multi-frame playback (with micro thumbnail), Slide show, Mark for upload, Protect, Crop, Resize, Panorama, Favorites

Wireless transmitter

Standard

IEEE 802.11b / g / n (standard wireless protocol)

Access mode

Infrastructure

Wireless function

Geotagging, Wireless communication (Image transfer), View & Obtain Images, Remote camera shooting, PC Autosave

Other functions

PictBridge, Exif Print, Language selection, Time difference, High Performance mode, Silent mode

Terminal

Video output

Digital interface

USB 2.0 High-Speed / micro USB terminal

* connectable with Remote Release RR-90 (sold separately)

HDMI output

HDMI mini connector (Type C)

Others

Microphone / shutter release input: ø2.5mm, stereo mini connector

Power supply

NP-W126 Li-ion battery (included)

Dimensions

129.0mm (W) x 89.8mm (H) x 46.7mm (D) / 5.0 in. (W) x 3.5 in. (H) x 1.8 in. (D) (Minimum depth: 33.4mm / 1.3 in.)

Weight

Approx. 440g / 15.4 oz. (including battery and memory card) Approx. 390g / 13.7 oz. (excluding accessories, battery and memory card)

Operating Temperature

-10°C - +40°C

Operating Humidity

10 - 80% (no condensation)

Battery life for still images*4

Approx. 350 frames (When XF35mmF1.4 R is set, LCD monitor / viewfinder on, and supplied flash EF-X8 not attached)

Battery life for movies*4

Consecutive movie recording : approx. 103 min. (Face detection is set to OFF)

· * Individual movies cannot exceed approx. 14 min. on Full HD mode, and approx. 27 min. on HD mode in length.

Starting up period

Approx. 0.5 sec., when High Performance mode set to ON Approx. 1.0 sec., when High Performance mode set to OFF

· * Fujifilm research

Accessories included

Li-ion battery NP-W126 Battery charger BC-W126 Shoe-mounted flash unit EF-X8 Shoulder strap Body cap Metal strap clip Protective cover Clip attaching tool Hot shoe cover Tall-orientation battery grip connector cover Sync terminal cover CD-ROM (Viewer software, RAW File Converter etc.*5) Owner's manual

· *1 Please see the Fujifilm website (http://www.fujifilm.com/support/digital_cameras/compatibility/card/x/) to check memory card compatibility.

· *2 Exif 2.3 is a digital camera file format that contains a variety of shooting information for optimal printing.

· *3 Digital Split Image is a trademark or a registered trademark of FUJIFILM Corporation.

· *4 Approximate number of frames / period that can be taken with a fully-charged battery based on CIPA standard.

· *5 OS compatibility Viewer software: Windows 8 / 7 / Vista / XP RAW File Converter: Windows 8 / 7 / Vista / XP, Mac OS X 10.6 - OS X 10.9

Memory Card Capacity and Image Quality / Size

All figures are approximate; file size varies with the scene recorded, producing wide variations in the number of files that can be stored.

Number of images

Modes

Still image (L)

Number of recorded pixels

4896 x 3264 (3:2)

Quality

JPEG FINE

JPEG NORMAL

SDHC memory card

4 GB

600

960

8 GB

1210

1910

Number of images

Modes

RAW

SDHC memory card

4 GB

120

8 GB

230

Recording time

Modes

Movie

Quality

FULL HD (1920 x 1080) 60p / 30p

HD (1280 x 720) 60p / 30p

SDHC memory card

4 GB

13 min.

25 min.

8 GB

26 min.

51 min.

· * For recording movies, use a card with SD Speed Class with or higher.

· * Individual movies cannot exceed approx. 14 min. on Full HD mode, and approx. 27 min. on HD mode in length.

#Fuji X-T1 #Copenhagen #Travel #Portrature #Street #Low light #Photography #Travel Light

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