Islands that are effectively enormous sand dunes with freshwater lakes inside them, two-mile sandbars that appear at low water…Islands that are effectively enormous sand dunes with freshwater lakes inside them, two-mile sandbars that appear at low water, dugongs grazing seagrass in the channels, whale sharks and manta rays offshore, and marlin and sailfish on the drop-off. Bazaruto was declared a national park in 1971, largely to protect the dugong, and remains the only place in the western Indian Ocean where the species survives in numbers. Portuguese traders used the islands as a pearling and beacon station on the Indies route. Anchorage: The channel inside the islands is one of the best cruising grounds in East Africa, five sand-dune islands, protected water and settled weather most of the year. Hazards: Big tides moving hard through the channels between the islands, and shifting sandbanks that make local knowledge essential. More