N'Gouja

N'Gouja is the beach at the south-western tip of Mayotte and the place most visitors are taken first, a bay of pale sand under baobabs where green turtles graze the sea grass a few metres from the shore. Snorkellers meet them without going out of their depth, which is why the bay fills up at weekends. Brown lemurs, brought here long ago and now thoroughly at home, come down into the trees behind the beach. The reef closes the bay off, so the water stays calm. The village of Kani-Keli lies just inland.