TIMOR-LESTE REPTILE & AMPHIBIAN SURVEY
PHASE VII: TO BAGUIA

We made a recce of the old Portuguese fort outside town which looked an excellent place for herps, overgrown and falling down. One of the species we particularly would like to find was Boulenger's pipesnake, all eight Timorese specimens having been collected in "Baaguia" in the early 20th Century. We also did a long recce further south towards Ossuhuna where we met with several chefes de suco or their representives as we sough local permission to conduct fieldwork in their backyards.

The old Portuguese fort outside town	Inside it looked perfect for herping
On the road to Ossohuna, Mount Ossosama (1257 m) in the foreground, Mount Bremata (2158 m) in the background

The entire area was gripped with electioneering—on 7 July the parliamentary elections take place. We passed one house high in the hills, and a distinguished man waved. He was the new President of Timor-Leste, Taur Matan Ruak, who was at home for the weekend and was taking the air as we drove past. The Presidential elections had been a few weeks ago and our old friend José Ramos-Horta was no longer the incumbent.

When we got back from Ossohuna we decided to finish off a long day with a night herp in the old Portuguese fort.

The old Portuguese fort at night