Due to problems with the local boats, we did not managed to get to Anjouan, so we missed the four (three if you don´t count the Thrush, which you should) local endemics. Therefore we had some spare time and ventured from Miringoni to Nioumachoua, which was rather difficult as there are no taxi-brousses on this stretch of road. There we found, to our surprise, very good accomodation in the form of the Laka Lodge and so we had our first shower in two weeks... From here you can organise all sorts of tours, including hikes and whale watching. We however, as we were short on money and it was not in the season for the whales, organised a boat form a local fisherman for 15.000 CMF to visit Oeunefou.
Oeunefou is one of the small uninhabited islands offshore, that are part of the only national park of the country. This site is not a part of the standard circuit (if such a thing exists in the Comoros), but we thought it might be encompromise a breeding colony of Persian Shearwaters and we were eager to make some better sound recordings than on Chalet St. Antoine.
We just camped on the beach, which almost ended in disaster, for the high tide is very high here during the night. We had a very lovely time on this small island though, for the snorkeling is very good. Besides we also saw some good birds including: Malagasy Harrier, Sooty Falcon and Lesser Frigatebird. At night we also heard some Persian Shearwaters calling, but these were only two very brief calls. The highlight however at night is the biofluorescence, which gives you the feeling of swimming with the stars.
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| Our tent on Oeunefou |
Concluding, Oeunefou is not a place you go for the birds primairely, but it was a cool place to kill our spare time. However take enough food and water, when camping out, for our boatman was 3.5 hours late... I also want to make a small note here: Oeunefou seems like the perfect place to play Robinson Crusoe and many people do so. However it is the only single "protected" area in the entire country and that should be respected, even when the locals don´t, so fuck off with your home made fishing rod or spear and enjoy the Barracuda´s alive while snorkeling!
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| Sunset on Oeunefou |
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