After the obligatory sign-off by the coastguard, we take a small boat south beyond the tip of Farasan Kebir and across open water to Dumsuq island. The sea is choppy but not as harsh as it is later in the day when the winds pick up and so we bump, and only at times thump,…
Tag: Farasan archipelago
Farasan Kebir’s Wild North Coast
By the bridge to the second largest island of Al-Sajid there are deep green, fringing mangroves and a range of migrant waterbirds along the muddy banks including small numbers of bar-tailed godwits, dunlin, Kentish plovers, slender-billed gulls and various herons. A female brimstone appears to lay eggs on the mangroves. We travel back east towards…
Farasan’s Idmi Gazelles
The entire Farasan archipelago, including all the islands and surrounding marine areas, was declared a nature reserve in 1989 and is managed by the National Center for Wildlife; it is currently seeking admission as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The reasons are manifold but include rich coastal waters with fringing reefs and seagrass beds supporting…