Chalet saint Antoine
This site is a natural reserve and birds observatory of the island
It is on the top of Miringoni village where you have one of the best waterfall of the island
Miringoni waterfall was once used as a natural swimmpingpool for the Queen Djoumbe Fatima of Moheli island, 19 century
Chalet st Antoine is an old colonial inn among the top of Moheli Mt Koukouli
It is not only a beautifull panoramic view but also an interesting birding observatory of the island
It is the only home of the most endemic green pigeon of Comoro
Chalet St. Antoine is The place on Mohéli to see all the endemics of the island. However, access to this site is very difficult. I have no idea what the best strategy should be. We simply arrived in Miringoni, where the trail starts, by hitching a ride from Hoani and ended up sleeping in the drivers house (Although there are bungalows in the village, he insisted on inviting us to his house. Awsome experience!) In Miringoni we organised a guide, called Abacar, who speaks very decent French, but no English. You really need a guide, for otherwise you just won´t find the trail. At the top, at Chalet St. Antoine (800 m.a.s.l.) is no accomodation, nor food, so you have to camp out. We found that buying food in Miringoni is very difficult and therefore I advice to stock up somewhere else. We walked the entire very, very steep trail in three hours, arriving at 8:00 at the top with a load of spare time.
Birds seen on the trail and around the chalet included the endemic Comoro Green Pigeon (just two and I think if IUCN acceps this form to be a full species it will be rated as endangered, at least), Mohéli Thrush (Very different from Grande Comoro Thrush. We saw a few, mostly around the camp), Moheli Bulbul, Long-billed Green Sunbird (ssp. voeltzkowi), Madagascar White-eye (ssp. comoriensis), Malagasy Harrier (a pair preformed stunningly at the chalet), Madagascar Paradise Flycatcher (ssp. voeltzkowiana), Cuckoo Roller (apparently it is unknown which subspecies is represented on this island or even which species!) Benson´s Brush Warbler (just one noted), Comoro Blue Vanga (two males seen) and Comoro Cuckoo Shrike (just one female observed of the scarce moheliensis subspecies)
