No direct flights from Europe. No international hotel chains. No tourist strip. What Rodrigues has instead is a lagoon that makes everything else feel oversubscribed.
Aerial view of Rodrigues Island — full lagoon visible, reef edge, the small scale of the whole island apparent in one frame
1200×560px · High-altitude drone · Clear day · Shoot from the east so Pointe Coton is in frame Click to expandThe full island from altitude. What strikes first is how small it is — and how much lagoon surrounds it.
The outer reef holds most of the marine life. The inner lagoon is where the island actually lives — fishing, kite surfing, octopus diving at low tide.
Traditional pirogue at dawn — silhouette of a fisherman setting out, mist on the flat lagoon
800×600px · First light · Silhouette ExpandKite surfer at Pointe Coton — mid-jump, lagoon and reef edge behind, blue sky
1200×800px · Midday · Telephoto from shore ExpandThe things that make Rodrigues worth staying for longer than you planned. The food, the music, the market mornings.
Port Mathurin Saturday market — wide shot, colourful produce stalls, local life in background
1200×700px · Mid-morning · Wide angle · Natural light Click to expandThe Saturday market at Port Mathurin — the social and commercial centre of the island, all in one location.
One of the few places in the Indian Ocean — or anywhere — where you can see the Milky Way clearly without driving anywhere.
Milky Way panorama — shot from Rodrigues east coast, stars reflected in still lagoon water below
Full-frame · 20s exposure · ISO 3200 · f/2.8 · 14mm Click to expandThe Milky Way from Rodrigues — southern hemisphere, no light pollution, taken from the east coast at about 11pm.
Most visitors never leave the resort belt. The Mauritius worth photographing is the one that exists outside it.
Port Louis Central Market interior — colourful spice and produce stalls, Mauritian vendors
1000×650px · Mid-morning · Available light · Wide angle Click to expandPort Louis Central Market — where Mauritius actually feeds itself, nothing to do with tourism.
The dramatic, undervisited half of the island. Black rock, rough water, smaller villages.
Black River Gorges national park — dense forest canopy, misty morning light
900×700px · Morning mist · Drone ExpandGris Gris headland — black volcanic rock, rough waves, no tourists visible
1100×700px · Overcast · Wide angle ExpandThe photo essay on Réunion is in production. The island — volcano, cloud forest, cirques — requires a different visual grammar than Rodrigues and Mauritius. We're building it properly.