Astove
Astove lies in the Aldabra Group, 1,045 kilometres southwest of Victoria. A continuous landmass of 661 hectares, circles a shallow lagoon of approximately 5 square kilometres. The single entrance, Gueule Bras Channel, is just 100 metres wide. The limestone rock rises up to 5 metres above sea level, while along the eastern rim, sand dunes reach up to 18 metres in the northeast becoming progressively lower towards the southeast. The fringing reef averages about 250 metres from the shoreline and beyond this, the seafloor plummets steeply. The name Astove is said to be derived from the Portuguese As Doze Ilhas, meaning the twelve islands, which may have been the original Portuguese name for Farquhar, transferred in error.
HistoryThe first temporary residents of Astove were shipwrecked sailors including in 1836, Major Stirling of the British ship Tiger. Stirling’s diary gives one of the earliest insights into the nature of the outer islands. Sergeant Rivers visited Astove in 1878 and reported no trace of any residents, though he found a well dug by shipwrecked sailors in the southeast. In1895, James Spurs left four men here to start a fishing enterprise. In 1901, Bergne found the atoll abandoned although 60 hectares had been cleared for maize, tomatoes, pumpkins and several hundred coconuts had been planted. Five workers were left there and by 1908, a visitor found cultivated gourds, pumpkins, watermelons, maize and tobacco. Guano extraction proved profitable and by 1960 more than 72,000 tons of guano had been extracted but reserves were estimated at less than 5,000 tons. In 1968, the lease was passed to Mark and Wendy Veevers-Carter but later abandoned.
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ConservationFour land bird species still survive: The vegetation of Astove is similar to Cosmoledo including several plant species found only on other islands of the Aldabra group. The shoreline of the lagoon is fringed with bwa-d-amann and bwa matlo. There are areas of sisal which is very difficult to penetrate in places. The eastern rim of the atoll, exposed to the strong southeast winds, is almost bare of trees except for a few coconuts. Mangroves grow along much of the lagoon shore, especially in the southeast and close to Gueule Bras Channel. Astove is renowned for its butterflies. Giant tortoises were exterminated from Astove early in human history but have been re-introduced from Aldabra. The Astove Day Gecko is an endemic subspecies. Green turtles breed. The reefs of Astove are the most spectacular in Seychelles. Renowned underwater photographer Stan Waterman pronounced it to be the most spectacular coral reef he had ever seen.
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Economic ActivitiesIn 2015, IDC re-opened the airstrip constructed several decades earlier but subsequently abandoned and overgrown. A guesthouse was constructed, Astove Atoll Lodge. The lodge, accommodates guests in six single-occupancy, air-conditioned rooms that surround a central courtyard. Each private room has its own bathroom, and accommodations is fairly basic but comfortable. In addition to the six rooms, there is also a main lodge area that serves as the dining room and social area for the lodge.
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