Ilha de Mozambique, Mozambique  

The Island of Ali Musa Bin Bique. Pardon... of Mozambique


At the end of the afternoon
Fishermen on board their dhow off the north coast of Stone City.
in half shadow
Kids play in front of the façade of the Misericórdia church.
faith in line
Believers prostrate inside the mosque on Rua da Solidariedade, the largest on the Island of Mozambique.
posted data
Friends play a board game decorated with the logos of Benfica, Barcelona, ​​Sporting and the image of Cristiano Ronaldo.
islam chalked
A Muslim believer prays in front of a framework with religious and behavioral directives.
Navigation time
Fishermen in small fishing canoes in front of the São Sebastião fortress.
above the story
Passersby around the Vasco da Gama statue, in front of the island's Maritime Museum.
A good buy
Women display an octopus just bought from fishermen, near the Fortim de Santo António.
just because yes
Teenagers kiss next to an ambulance parked in front of the mosque on Rua da Solidariedade.
an avenue in pastel
Passersby on Amilcar Cabral Avenue, one of the main arteries of Cidade de Pedra.
Step by step
Muslim women pass in front of the old hospital on Ilha de Moçambique, once the oldest in southern Africa.
Embarkation-Disembarkation
Owners of dhow they look after their boats while the tide goes out.
Siro
A resident of Ilha de Moçambique retouches her mossiro mask, which was previously damaged by the inevitable sweat in these tropical latitudes.
among coconut trees
Resident talks on his cell phone, installed in front of the Fortim de Santo António church.
in the shadow of time
Couple conversing protected from the strong sun and overlooking the fortress of São Sebastião.
With the arrival of Vasco da Gama in the extreme south-east of Africa, the Portuguese took over an island that had previously been ruled by an Arab emir, who ended up misrepresenting the name. The emir lost his territory and office. Mozambique - the molded name - remains on the resplendent island where it all began and also baptized the nation that Portuguese colonization ended up forming.

Next to us, during the more than three hours of crushing on the ticket that linked Nampula to Ilha de Moçambique, a young Mozambican mother with obvious Indian genetics talks to her little daughter and puts up with her tantrums.

He always speaks to you in a haughty way, very audible to the other passengers and with a delicious post-colonial accent that is more noticeable to us than that of many Portuguese. When we reach the end of the 4km narrow bridge that connects the mainland to Ilha de Moçambique and the long and exhausting journey from Gorongous, this exuberant passenger explains to the driver where the Terrace of Quitandas is.

Mr. António, the host of this stunning guest house full of history, welcomes us.

We take rewarding showers and sleep until longer. We saw him again at the first breakfast with his company, an invigorating meal in which we talked mainly about the road trip we had been through.

A Mozambican of Portuguese origin, from well before the colonial war and independence, António tells us about his life experiences in Lichinga, the capital of the province of Niassa, and the trips that most influenced him. We talk until the magnetism of Ilha de Moçambique attracts us without appeal and sends us back to its centuries-old streets.

From the Terrace of Quitandas to the Massive Fort of São Sebastião

The imagination of the great fort, the largest in sub-Saharan Africa, built between 1558 and 1620, with stones that arrived on the island as ballasts for Portuguese vessels, seduces us. Already armed with a small map, we find it in a few minutes. Adílio and Hélio, two kids on the island, aspiring guides, make conversation with mild manners.

They follow us chatting among themselves and with neighbors they meet along the way. They use the Macua dialect. With us, a curious young Portuguese.

They end up offering us a lot of important information and a friendly company that would last until nightfall. Over the next few days, Omar, a 14 or 15-year-old street vendor of samosas, replaces them.

Fortress of São Sebastião, Island of Mozambique

Couple conversation protected from the strong sun and overlooking the fortress of São Sebastião

We contemplate the São Sebastião fortress for the first time from the tip of a small white sand, surrounded by the crystalline shores of the Indian Ocean.

Around this time, three fishermen are launching canoes into the water. Soon they round the most amphibious edge of the fortress and disappear behind.

We left that bathing corner. We pass in front of a fashion store called “Uso Africano. There, a group of friends play on a board decorated with symbols of Benfica, Barcelona, ​​Sporting and an iconic CR7 painting in each corner of the square.

Traditional game from the island of Mozambique

Friends play a board game decorated with the logos of Benfica, Barcelona, ​​Sporting and the image of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Hélio and Adílio know that the fort is outside their area of ​​influence and are following the hobby. Instead, a seller of old coins made with the guard of the monument guides us to accompany us without having to pay the entrance fee.

The Baron of Arms of the Portuguese Crown insinuates himself at the top of the old portal through which we pass. As we walk along the wide adarves, we surrender to the reminiscence of the Portuguese feats of other times.

The Outstanding Anchorage of Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama arrived on the island in 1498, when he wanted to complete the sea route to India of spices. After months of sailing along the wild coast of Africa, he was surprised to see how civilized the place was, said to be an important commercial hub and a kind of naval shipyard then populated by Swahili and black inhabitants, ruled by a vassal emir from the neighbor's sultan Zanzibar.

The emir responded to Ali Mussa bin Bique, with variations of this name over time: Musa ibn Bique, Ali Musa Biki, Ali Mussa bin Bique and others. Whatever his grace, the Portuguese were quick to return and remove him from his post.

Until 1507, they established a port and a kind of naval base blessed by the Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Baluarte. It has long been considered the dean colonial building of the Southern Hemisphere. Later in the XNUMXth century, the “City of Stone” of the new settlers became the capital of Portuguese territory in East Africa.

Fishermen on the beach near the Fort of São Sebastião, Ilha de Moçambique

Fishermen in small fishing canoes in front of the São Sebastião fortress.

The fort we skirted protected from attacks by Dutch rivals an intense missionary activity and the trade in slaves, spices and gold. Thereafter, infrastructure continued to increase and enriched the colony. They included what was considered for many years the largest hospital in sub-Saharan Africa.

Portuguese Heritage in Contrast with Mozambican Ethnicities

Over time, Ilha de Moçambique was divided between a nuclear area that concentrated the imposing historic buildings: the Cidade de Pedra, and an adjacent residential area, full of low-rise and humble fishermen's houses: Makuti, the term quimoane that defines the covering made of flat coconut leaves.

Return from the fort along Av. dos Continuadores. We enter the Cidade de Pedra, in front of the Palace and Chapel of São Paulo, now colored with a predominant red of white friezes that, despite being worn by the tropical sun and sea air, contrast with the blue sky.

Vasco da Gama Statue, and Maritime Museum, Ilha de Moçambique

Passersby around the Vasco da Gama statue, in front of the island's Maritime Museum.

Built in 1610 as a Jesuit college, the palace later welcomed the governor. Today, it is the Maritime Museum of Ilha de Moçambique. To match, a superb Vasco da Gama statue in front of its main façade looks out over Mossuril Bay. As would happen in browser time, dhow colorful ones are anchored on the gentle coastline below.

The São Paulo Palace opens onto another square bordered by the Misericórdia church and impressive colonial mansions. Of these, the Terrace of Quitandas is one of the most impressive.

This particular corner temple houses a crucifix carved in the style of Maconde art. It continues to welcome masses and the faith of the Christian inhabitants, a minority on this island of Mozambique, who have long been a part of Islam.

Misericórdia Church, Ilha de Mozambique

Kids play in front of the façade of the Misericórdia church.

We cut to Amílcar Cabral Avenue. We walk, dragged along by a tide of students in blue and white uniforms who, on their way home from school, converse with great care. A part of them follows in the shadow of the street's arcades. Others prefer the middle of the road, which is bordered by the surrounding houses, by old mansions that succeed each other in different pastel shades.

The Adventures and Misadventures of Luís de Camões on the Island of Mozambique

On the parallel and marginal street of Combatentes, the house where Luís de Camões lived preserves a similar plaster. By restoring, it degrades before our eyes.

Camões lived on the Island of Mozambique between 1567 and 1569. Goa and he settled down for some time in the expectation that his friend Diogo do Couto would find him there and help raise money for the ticket to Lisbon. On the island, it will have ended “The Lusiads” before having the work edited in the capital of the Empire.

It is even possible that Barbara “that captive who has me captive” was a black slave she met there. She would most likely be Mozambican and would have left her with deep disgust.

We left the poet's house given over to erosion. We continue down Rua dos Combatentes towards the southwest of the island. Along this other coastal road, the Cyan Indian Ocean finds its limit in an old colonial wall. Just a few meters away, the wall gives way to the cove and the gentle beach that serve as recreation for the Makutian district of Areal.

Fishermen trade fish, octopus and cuttlefish with some young housewives. Two of them, wrapped in hijabs and lush capulanas stay with the molluscs. They show us the triumph of bargaining and point to their afternoon tasks.

Residents display fish, island of Mozambique

Women display an octopus just bought from fishermen, near the Fortim de Santo António.

Neighborhood kids take advantage of this short interaction and surround us. "akunha! akunha!” (Whites! Whites!) shout determined to claim the photographic attention of their contentment.

We negotiated the rest of the walk around Ilha de Moçambique with as much patience as possible. To the vicinity of the Fortim de Santo António and the colony of leafy and stiff coconut trees that accompany it.

Mussiro, the Sun Mask and Mozambican Beauty

Nearby, a group of women are peeling beans in a mild cavaqueira. One of them, older, protects herself from the sun with an exuberant mossiro mask. Mossiro is the natural sunscreen of these parts, made from a plant substance used for centuries by the “muthiana prays”, the beautiful girls from the Nampula region.

Proudly, the lady gives us permission to photograph her but is warned by the others that part of the mask has dissipated. “Come with me” urges us. "Let's get this straight!"

We follow it through the stone, clay and cane houses of Bairro do Areal. We are accompanied by dozens of neighbors excited by the unexpected expedition. Arriving at her house, she enters. She returns shortly afterwards with a casual beauty kit, sits down and reconstitutes the mask as best she knows how.

A resident of the island of Mozambique composes a moss tree mask, Mozambique

A resident of Ilha de Moçambique retouches her mossiro mask, which was previously damaged by the inevitable sweat in these tropical latitudes.

We, enjoyed and recorded that fascinating face art. Until the lady shows us the perfect work, we thank her and we all return to the starting point.

A few hundred meters away, with the southern end of the island at the edge, we come across the long bridge that joins it to the mainland. An employee in uniform controls the gate that determines the passage of traffic to and fro. During breaks, chat in the shade of your cabin.

Island of Mozambique: Legacy of Islam and Slavery

We reversed the path, now along Solidarity Street, which runs along the western edge of Makuti's houses. We pass the door of the local RENAMO headquarters. Then, through a port of deep-sea fishermen left to work. Then, for the largest mosque on the island, green and white, as suggested by Muslim precepts.

the call of the muezzin place soon appealed for the new communion of Muslim men with Allah.

Muslim believers on the island of Mozambique

Believers prostrate inside the mosque on Rua da Solidariedade, the largest on the Island of Mozambique

Somewhere there, Rua da Solidariedade becomes Rua dos Trabalhadores. At the fish market, as usual, vendors and vendors hold dramatic and noisy discussions that amuse the most spirited passersby.

We listen to them almost as far as the entrance to the Jardim da Memória, where, on the contrary, the topic discussed can only be taken seriously.

From the end of the XNUMXth century to the turn of the XNUMXth century, and for most of that time, despite the Portuguese Crown, Ilha de Moçambique remained a slave warehouse which processed the trafficking of natives from East Africa mainly to the Indian Islands off Mozambique or to the north (Mauritius, Reunion Island, Madagascar, Seychelles) but also for the Brazil.

The Portuguese Slavery Traffic, on the Zanzibarian Path

The trafficking was already carried out by Arab slavers based in Zanzibar operating in northern Mozambique. There, with the connivance of Muslim Muslim leaders and other ethnic groups, they captured large contingents of indigenous people around Lake Niassa and went down the coast to sell them.

By seizing the island, the Portuguese forced their participation in this traffic, keeping the captives and sending them from there to their final destinations. Located right on the edge of the Indian Ocean, the Jardim da Memória was built to recover the atrocious reality of that colonial era.

When we visit it, we cross history from the days of Ali Musa Bique towards the independence of Mozambique. The island, we unraveled it until we could no longer. Then we traveled to an unavoidable historical sister: Ibo, in the Quirimbas archipelago.

More about Ilha de Moçambique on the respective page of UNESCO.

Ibo Island a Quirimba IslandMozambique

Ibo to Quirimba with the Tide

For centuries, the natives have traveled in and out of the mangrove between the island of Ibo and Quirimba, in the time that the overwhelming return trip from the Indian Ocean grants them. Discovering the region, intrigued by the eccentricity of the route, we follow its amphibious steps.
Pemba, Mozambique

From Porto Amélia to the Shelter Port of Mozambique

In July 2017, we visited Pemba. Two months later, the first attack took place on Mocímboa da Praia. Nor then do we dare to imagine that the tropical and sunny capital of Cabo Delgado would become the salvation of thousands of Mozambicans fleeing a terrifying jihadism.
Table Mountain, South Africa

At the Adamastor Monster Table

From the earliest times of the Discoveries to the present, Table Mountain has always stood out above the South African immensity South African and the surrounding ocean. The centuries passed and Cape Town expanded at his feet. The Capetonians and the visiting outsiders got used to contemplating, ascending and venerating this imposing and mythical plateau.
Ibo Island, Mozambique

Island of a Gone Mozambique

It was fortified in 1791 by the Portuguese who expelled the Arabs from the Quirimbas and seized their trade routes. It became the 2nd Portuguese outpost on the east coast of Africa and later the capital of the province of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. With the end of the slave trade at the turn of the XNUMXth century and the passage from the capital to Porto Amélia, Ibo Island found itself in the fascinating backwater in which it is located.
bazaruto, Mozambique

The Inverted Mirage of Mozambique

Just 30km off the East African coast, an unlikely but imposing erg rises out of the translucent sea. Bazaruto it houses landscapes and people who have lived apart for a long time. Whoever lands on this lush, sandy island soon finds himself in a storm of awe.
Príncipe, São Tomé and Principe

Journey to the Noble Retreat of Príncipe Island

150 km of solitude north of the matriarch São Tomé, the island of Príncipe rises from the deep Atlantic against an abrupt and volcanic mountain-covered jungle setting. Long enclosed in its sweeping tropical nature and a contained but moving Luso-colonial past, this small African island still houses more stories to tell than visitors to listen to.
NP Gorongosa, Mozambique

The Wild Heart of Mozambique shows Signs of Life

Gorongosa was home to one of the most exuberant ecosystems in Africa, but from 1980 to 1992 it succumbed to the Civil War waged between FRELIMO and RENAMO. Greg Carr, Voice Mail's millionaire inventor received a message from the Mozambican ambassador to the UN challenging him to support Mozambique. For the good of the country and humanity, Carr pledged to resurrect the stunning national park that the Portuguese colonial government had created there.
Lüderitz, Namibia

Wilkommen in Africa

Chancellor Bismarck has always disdained overseas possessions. Against his will and all odds, in the middle of the Race for Africa, merchant Adolf Lüderitz forced Germany to take over an inhospitable corner of the continent. The homonymous city prospered and preserves one of the most eccentric heritages of the Germanic empire.
Enxame Mozambique

Mozambican Fashion Service Area

It is repeated at almost all stops in towns of Mozambique worthy of appearing on maps. The machimbombo (bus) stops and is surrounded by a crowd of eager "businessmen". The products offered can be universal such as water or biscuits or typical of the area. In this region, a few kilometers from Nampula, fruit sales suceeded, in each and every case, quite intense.
Cape of Good Hope - Cape of Good Hope NP, South Africa

On the edge of the Old End of the World

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Elmina, Ghana

The First Jackpot of the Portuguese Discoveries

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São Tomé and Principe

Cocoa Roças, Corallo and the Chocolate Factory

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Amboseli National Park, Mount Kilimanjaro, Normatior Hill
Safari
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A Gift from the Kilimanjaro

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Faithful light candles, Milarepa Grotto temple, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
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A Walk between Acclimatization and Pilgrimage

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coast, fjord, Seydisfjordur, Iceland
Architecture & Design
Seydisfjordur, Iceland

From the Art of Fishing to the Fishing of Art

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Adventure
Boat Trips

For Those Becoming Internet Sick

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Native Americans Parade, Pow Pow, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Ceremonies and Festivities
Albuquerque, USA

When the Drums Sound, the Indians Resist

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Jerusalem God, Israel, Golden City
Cities
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Closer to God

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Tsukiji fish market, Tokyo, Japan
Meal
Tokyo, Japan

The Fish Market That Lost its Freshness

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Bride gets in car, traditional wedding, Meiji temple, Tokyo, Japan
Culture
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A Matchmaking Sanctuary

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Spectator, Melbourne Cricket Ground-Rules footbal, Melbourne, Australia
Sport
Melbourne, Australia

The Football the Australians Rule

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Chiang Khong to Luang Prabang, Laos, Through the Mekong Below
Traveling
Chiang Khong - Luang Prabang , Laos

Slow Boat, Down the Mekong River

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Passage, Tanna, Vanuatu to the West, Meet the Natives
Ethnic
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From where Vanuatu Conquered the Western World

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Portfolio, Got2Globe, Best Images, Photography, Images, Cleopatra, Dioscorides, Delos, Greece
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Got2Globe Portfolio

The Earthly and the Celestial

Maui, Hawaii, Polynesia,
History
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Maui: The Divine Hawaii That Succumbed to Fire

Maui is a former chief and hero of Hawaiian religious and traditional imagery. In the mythology of this archipelago, the demigod lassos the sun, raises the sky and performs a series of other feats on behalf of humans. Its namesake island, which the natives believe they created in the North Pacific, is itself prodigious.
Ilhéu do Farol, Porto Santo, Ilhéu de Cima, Porto Santo, facing Ponta do Passo.
Islands
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The First Light of Who Navigates From Above

It is part of the group of six islets around the island of Porto Santo, but it is far from being just one more. Even though it is the eastern threshold of the Madeira archipelago, it is the island closest to Portosantenses. At night, it also makes the fanal that confirms the right course for ships coming from Europe.
Era Susi towed by dog, Oulanka, Finland
Winter White
PN Oulanka, Finland

A Slightly Lonesome Wolf

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silhouette and poem, Cora coralina, Goias Velho, Brazil
Literature
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The Life and Work of a Marginal Writer

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Cachena cow in Valdreu, Terras de Bouro, Portugal
Nature
Campos do GerêsTerras de Bouro, Portugal

Through the Campos do Gerês and the Terras de Bouro

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Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Dominican Republic, Bahia de Las Águilas Beach, Pedernales. Jaragua National Park, Beach
Natural Parks
Lagoa Oviedo a Bahia de las Águilas, Dominican Republic

In Search of the Immaculate Dominican Beach

Against all odds, one of the most unspoiled Dominican coastlines is also one of the most remote. Discovering the province of Pedernales, we are dazzled by the semi-desert Jaragua National Park and the Caribbean purity of Bahia de las Águilas.
Lonely Walk, Namib Desert, Sossusvlei, Namibia, dune base acacia
UNESCO World Heritage
Sossusvlei, Namíbia

The Namibe Dead End of Sossusvlei

When it flows, the ephemeral Tsauchab river meanders 150km from the mountains of Naukluft. Arriving in Sossusvlei, you get lost in a sea of ​​sand mountains that compete for the sky. The natives and settlers called it a swamp of no return. Anyone who discovers these far-fetched parts of Namibia always thinks of returning.
now from above ladder, sorcerer of new zealand, Christchurch, new zealand
Characters
Christchurch, New Zealand

New Zealand's Cursed Wizard

Despite his notoriety in the antipodes, Ian Channell, the New Zealand sorcerer, failed to predict or prevent several earthquakes that struck Christchurch. At the age of 88, after 23 years of contract with the city, he made very controversial statements and ended up fired.
conversation at sunset
Beaches
Boracay, Philippines

The Philippine Beach of All Dreams

It was revealed by Western backpackers and the film crew of “Thus Heroes are Born”. Hundreds of resorts and thousands of eastern vacationers followed, whiter than the chalky sand.
Mount Lamjung Kailas Himal, Nepal, altitude sickness, mountain prevent treat, travel
Religion
Annapurna Circuit: 2th - Chame a Upper BananaNepal

(I) Eminent Annapurnas

We woke up in Chame, still below 3000m. There we saw, for the first time, the snowy and highest peaks of the Himalayas. From there, we set off for another walk along the Annapurna Circuit through the foothills and slopes of the great mountain range. towards Upper Banana.
Flam Railway composition below a waterfall, Norway.
On Rails
Nesbyen to Flam, Norway

Flam Railway: Sublime Norway from the First to the Last Station

By road and aboard the Flam Railway, on one of the steepest railway routes in the world, we reach Flam and the entrance to the Sognefjord, the largest, deepest and most revered of the Scandinavian fjords. From the starting point to the last station, this monumental Norway that we have unveiled is confirmed.
Singapore, Success and Monotony Island
Society
Singapore

The Island of Success and Monotony

Accustomed to planning and winning, Singapore seduces and recruits ambitious people from all over the world. At the same time, it seems to bore to death some of its most creative inhabitants.
Busy intersection of Tokyo, Japan
Daily life
Tokyo, Japan

The Endless Night of the Rising Sun Capital

Say that Tokyo do not sleep is an understatement. In one of the largest and most sophisticated cities on the face of the Earth, twilight marks only the renewal of the frenetic daily life. And there are millions of souls that either find no place in the sun, or make more sense in the “dark” and obscure turns that follow.
savuti, botswana, elephant-eating lions
Wildlife
Savuti, Botswana

Savuti's Elephant-Eating Lions

A patch of the Kalahari Desert dries up or is irrigated depending on the region's tectonic whims. In Savuti, lions have become used to depending on themselves and prey on the largest animals in the savannah.
Bungee jumping, Queenstown, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown, the Queen of Extreme Sports

In the century. XVIII, the Kiwi government proclaimed a mining village on the South Island "fit for a queen".Today's extreme scenery and activities reinforce the majestic status of ever-challenging Queenstown.