Sunday, June 12, 2011

This is SO exotic, that you may have never even heard of it: NIUAFO'OU. A beautiful, continuous design is spread over these se-tenant stamps from Niuafo'ou (Tin Can Island). Also, see a gorgeous photo of Niuafo'ou taken by the non-claustrophobic crew of the International Space Station!


This is a courtesy specimen (see CANCELED over the denomination) created for the Global Stamp News magazine, as a promotion.

"Niuafoʻou (meaning: new coconut) is the most northerly island in the kingdom of Tonga. It is a volcanic rim island of 15 km² and with a population of 650 in 2006."

Cold Mountain? No, Stolen Mountain! 
"According to the myths, Niuafoʻou originally had a mountain, rather than a lake in the middle. 
But the mountain was stolen one night and became Tafahi."
And hot, too, as an active volcano.

An island with 3 islands in the lake from the middle!
Bonus: a 4th island, sometimes submerged in the lake waters.

Niuafo'ou from the International Space Station, 2005-03-19



"The island is located in the southern Pacific Ocean between Fiji and Samoa, 574 km north of Tongatapu island group and 337 kilometers northwest of Vavaʻu. It is a still active volcano.

Other names for the island are Good Hope island and Tin Can island. 
The latter name originated from the fact that, since the island has neither a natural harbor nor a wharf, in earlier times, mail was delivered and picked up by strong swimmers [ :) ] who would retrieve packages, "sealed up in a biscuit tin" and thrown overboard from passing ships. 
An early trader, named Walter George Quensell, acted as postmaster at that time and stamped the mail with colourful marks which have become a collectors' item. 
The Tongan government took over this tradition with special Niuafoʻou stamps since 1983.
Niuafoʻou is a volcano located on an underwater ridge 190 kilometres (120 mi) west of the line of all the other volcanoes of Tonga
The island contains a steep-sided caldera; the rim is over 120 metres (390 ft) high, rising to a height of 250 metres (820 ft) at Mokotu. 
The coastline is rocky and steep with only a few stony black sand beaches. 
The only landing place on the island is the end of a lava flow at Futu [MY NOTE: Futu, the only place where you can go AGAINST the flow, once it's cool to do it...], in the west. 
All the villages are in the north and east. 
Public places like the post office, telecommunications station and airport are in Angahā in the north, while a high school is located in Muʻa.
The island ring encloses two lakes. The largest, Vai Lahi, is a crater lake 23 meters above sea level, 4 kilometers wide, and 84 meters deep. 
The lake contains three islands and a submerged island that appears when the water level drops. 
Vai Lahi is separated from the smaller Vai Siʻi (or Vai Mataʻaho) by a desolate landscape of sand hills. 
The island is covered by forest on the inner walls of the crater lake, and on the island's eastern and western slopes."


Kingdom of Tonga
Puleʻanga Fakatuʻʻo Tonga
FlagCoat of arms
MottoKo e ʻOtua mo Tonga ko hoku tofiʻa
God and Tonga are my Inheritance
AnthemKo e fasi ʻo e tuʻʻo e ʻOtu Tonga
Capital
(and largest city)
Nukuʻalofa
21°08′S 175°12′W
Official language(s)TonganEnglish
DemonymTongan
GovernmentConstitutional monarchy
 - KingGeorge Tupou V
 - Prime MinisterLord Tuʻivakanō
Independence
 - from BritishprotectorateJune 4, 1970 
Area
 - Total748 km2 (186th)
289 sq mi 
 - Water (%)4.0
Population
 - 2009 estimate104,000[1] (195th)
 - Density139/km2 (76th1)



===============
Happy Sunday Stamps meme!


4 comments:

Postcardy said...

Beautiful stamps!

My word verification is "uncent" which seems quite appropriate.

viridian said...

Definitley this volcano has blown its top. Great stamps. And, thanks for participating!

Postcards Crossing said...

Oh, a vanishing isle?!? Cool!
It reminds me of a question that was asked the Miss Philippines candidate during the Miss Universe '94 pageant - she was asked how many islands are there exactly in the Philippines. Ms. Phils, without batting an eyelash, shot back... "High tide, or, low tide?" LOL.
Beautiful stamp sheet, Dorin. That's exactly how I imagined what a tropical paradise is. Did it get issued eventuallly?

Joy said...

I always like a scene made up of stamps. Fascinating story of the tin can islands, which I had never hear of. A pleasant trip to swim with tin can, no so much here.

Followers

Labels

aircraft (2) Albania (3) Angola (2) Antarctica (5) architecture (31) Arctic (4) Argentina (1) art (6) Australia (12) Austria (5) Azerbaijan (1) bat (2) bear (10) beaver (1) Belarus (3) Belgium (2) Benin (1) best friends (48) BFF (51) Bhutan (2) BIOT (1) bird (45) bison (7) Botswana (1) Brazil (1) British Virgin Islands (1) Brunei Darussalam (1) buffalo (3) Bulgaria (6) Burkina Faso (1) Burundi (1) butterfly (2) cactus (3) Cameroon (1) Canada (4) cat (15) chamois (1) cheetah (3) Chile (1) China (23) clouded leopard (2) cock (1) Cocos (Keeling) Islands (1) cool (263) cosmos (5) cover (17) cow (3) coyote (1) Croatia (3) Cuba (2) customized postage (98) cute (79) Czech Republic (3) Czechoslovakia (1) Dahomey (1) deer (8) deltiology (108) Denmark (2) Disney (5) dog (17) dolphin (2) dorincard (327) Dracula (8) dragon (2) educational (299) EFO = errors freaks and oddities (5) Egypt (4) elephant (6) Equatorial Guinea (1) Estonia (4) Ethiopia (1) Falkland Islands (1) famous (74) fauna (127) feline (39) Fiji (1) Finland (8) fish (3) flu (2) fox (3) France (7) frog (13) funny (40) gazelle (3) Germany (7) Ghana (1) giraffe (2) Greece (1) Guinea (1) Guinea-Bissau (2) Guyana (1) H1N1 (2) Haiti (3) hare (4) hippopotamus (2) holidays (7) Honduras (1) Hongkong (6) horse (9) Hungary (2) Iceland (1) India (5) Indonesia (3) insect (2) Iran (1) Ireland (3) Israel (6) Italy (2) Japan (7) Kampuchea (2) Kenya (3) Korea (1) Kyrgyzstan (1) Laos (1) lemur (1) leopard (4) Letonia (1) Liberia (3) Libya (2) Liechtenstein (4) lion (3) Lithuania (2) love (17) Luxemburg (1) lynx (3) Macau (2) Macedonia (2) Madagascar (1) Mailer's Postmark Permit (22) Malawi (1) Malaysia (5) Maldives (1) Malta (1) mammal (86) map (12) marcophily (183) Marshall Islands (1) maxi card (333) maxicard (335) maximaphily (334) maximum card (334) MC (135) Michael Jackson (10) Moldova (3) Mongolia (1) monkey (12) Montserrat (1) Mozambic (1) Muhammad Ali (3) Namibia (6) Netherlands (3) Nevis (1) New Zealand (2) Nicaragua (1) Norfolk Island (1) Norway (1) Obama (2) Olympics (2) opossum (1) orca (2) ox (5) P-stamp (33) Pakistan (1) panda (23) Papua-New Guinea (1) Paraguay (1) personalised stamps (95) personalized stamp (1) personalized stamps (105) philately (250) Philippines (2) pig (4) plants (13) Poland (5) polar bear (7) Portugal (2) postcards (242) postmarks (234) Princeton (1) rabbit (4) ram (4) rat (1) reptile (19) rhinoceros (5) Romania (63) rooster (1) Russia (10) Rwanda (1) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (8) Sao Tome and Principe (1) Senegal (1) Serbia (2) Slovakia (2) Slovenia (1) snake (3) snow leopard (1) soccer (5) Somalia (1) South Africa (23) Spain (9) sports (8) squirrel (3) stamp collecting (328) stamps (325) Swahili (2) Swaziland (2) Sweden (1) swine (4) Taiwan ROC (7) Thailand (1) tiger (30) trains (6) Tristan da Cunha (1) Turkey (3) Uganda (3) UK (4) Ukraine (4) UNESCO WHS (3) United Arab Emirates (4) United Kingdom (4) USA (256) USSR (1) Venezuela (1) Vietnam (3) whale (5) wild (100) wildebeest (2) wildlife (170) wolf (10) WWF (73) year (54) Yemen (2) Zambia (1) zebra (2)

Top 30 Stamp Collecting Blogs, by guidetoartschools.com

#2:
"Dorincard: Blogger Dorin C is a stamp and postcard fanatic, and luckily he's more than pleased to write prolifically and charmingly about his obsession. He has a particular bent for stamps with wild mammals on them, but his blog demonstrates an affinity for stamps of all forms and backgrounds, as long as they offer a special narrative that's worth sharing with his readers.


  • Source: http://www.guidetoartschools.com/library/best-stamp-collecting-blogs#ixzz1KirbuA4p
    "

    Some feedback received about me and my blog here

    [DORIN'S NOTE: There are over 100 million websites.]

    From alexa.com traffic rank site

    "There are 1,699,250 sites with a better three-month global Alexa traffic rank than Dorincard.blogspot.com.
    About 43% of visitors to the site come from France, where it has attained a traffic rank of 152,077.
    About 80% of visits to the site consist of only one pageview (i.e., are bounces).
    Dorincard.blogspot.com's visitors view an average of 1.5 unique pages per day.
    Visitors to the site spend roughly two minutes on each pageview and a total of three minutes on the site during each visit."



    inkling (Enthusiast)

    The best use of this site is Other.

    Likes
    • Good content

    Comments:
    Postcards and stamps, mainly featuring mammals and birds but Dorincard also has other creations
    and interests he likes to share.
    His enthusiasm for Maximum cards (a postcard and a similar themed stamps sent through the
    postal system) shines through.
    He shows how he gets the right card, stamp and postmark together.
    Visiting his site you will also learn things about the natural world told with a dry sense of humour,
    possibly with a play on words, and a unique style of headings.
    Topical and informative both for the enthusiast and casual visitor.
    • Was this useful?
    • Yes
    • No
    • Flag
    • 1 out of 1 person found this review useful.



    1 Review
    Global 1,699,251
    Alexa Traffic Rank
    France Flag 152,077
    Traffic Rank in FR

    28 Sites Linking In "


    Wedding gifts from Zazzle

    Wedding>