Mayotte, Comores
A smooth crossing from Mozambique to the Comoro Islands was enlivened early this morning with swirling Sooty Terns, the occasional Arabian shearwaters winging low across the bow, and a lively group of dolphins. We passed Moheli and cloud-capped Anjouan at first light, as we closed in on Mayotte, the most easterly (and youngest) of the four volcanic islands. Once inside the fringing reef of Mayotte we zigzagged between lush green islets and came to anchor off the capital Mamoudzou. This was to be our base for the day’s operations.
The walkers crossed to the small island of Petite Terre and set off on a walk round the rim of an old volcanic crater. From the top there were spectacular views down to the turquoise-green waters of the crater lake, and the lush vegetation on the inner slopes, including manioc gardens and mango trees. There were also great views out to the open ocean (where seabirds were diving into fish shoals), and back into sheltered lagoon inside the protective fringing reef . The walk finished on the beach where Tom discovered a disorientated turtle hatchling under the scrub: once pointed towards the sea it made a safe escape to the ocean where it belongs.
The other groups took minibus tours of the main island Grande Terre, round hairpin bends through dense vegetation, passing coconuts, bamboo, breadfruit, and mango trees, many festooned with creepers. There was a stop at an ylang-ylang distillery where the flowers are steamed to release the aromatic oils so important to the perfume industry. At Sada on the west coast we took a walk down to the Old Mosque, then on again to a spice museum to learn about the history of ylang-ylang and vanilla in the islands. The last stop was the Botanical Gardens where the naturalists had spent the previous two hours botanizing and birdwatching to good effect.
Here, exploring past ancient cycads, under soaring Monkeypod trees and beneath giant bamboo clumps, we found gilded tree frogs, a frisky chameleon, vivid blue and red dragonflies and at close range watched fruit bats feeding on guava and Indian almond trees. Avian highlights included great views of the endemic Mayotte Sunbird and Mayotte white-eye, but best find of the day was the Madagascar Cuckoo-Roller, a bizarre species belonging to a whole family of birds found here and nowhere else on earth.
The final spectacle of the day was a fiery sunset over Grande Terre as we rode at our sheltered anchorage.
A smooth crossing from Mozambique to the Comoro Islands was enlivened early this morning with swirling Sooty Terns, the occasional Arabian shearwaters winging low across the bow, and a lively group of dolphins. We passed Moheli and cloud-capped Anjouan at first light, as we closed in on Mayotte, the most easterly (and youngest) of the four volcanic islands. Once inside the fringing reef of Mayotte we zigzagged between lush green islets and came to anchor off the capital Mamoudzou. This was to be our base for the day’s operations.
The walkers crossed to the small island of Petite Terre and set off on a walk round the rim of an old volcanic crater. From the top there were spectacular views down to the turquoise-green waters of the crater lake, and the lush vegetation on the inner slopes, including manioc gardens and mango trees. There were also great views out to the open ocean (where seabirds were diving into fish shoals), and back into sheltered lagoon inside the protective fringing reef . The walk finished on the beach where Tom discovered a disorientated turtle hatchling under the scrub: once pointed towards the sea it made a safe escape to the ocean where it belongs.
The other groups took minibus tours of the main island Grande Terre, round hairpin bends through dense vegetation, passing coconuts, bamboo, breadfruit, and mango trees, many festooned with creepers. There was a stop at an ylang-ylang distillery where the flowers are steamed to release the aromatic oils so important to the perfume industry. At Sada on the west coast we took a walk down to the Old Mosque, then on again to a spice museum to learn about the history of ylang-ylang and vanilla in the islands. The last stop was the Botanical Gardens where the naturalists had spent the previous two hours botanizing and birdwatching to good effect.
Here, exploring past ancient cycads, under soaring Monkeypod trees and beneath giant bamboo clumps, we found gilded tree frogs, a frisky chameleon, vivid blue and red dragonflies and at close range watched fruit bats feeding on guava and Indian almond trees. Avian highlights included great views of the endemic Mayotte Sunbird and Mayotte white-eye, but best find of the day was the Madagascar Cuckoo-Roller, a bizarre species belonging to a whole family of birds found here and nowhere else on earth.
The final spectacle of the day was a fiery sunset over Grande Terre as we rode at our sheltered anchorage.
