Things to Do in São Tomé and Príncipe in August

Start at 5:30 AM when the 663 m (2,175 ft) needle is wrapped in cloud that burns off by 8 AM. August's dry soil means you can reach the lower lava tubes without the usual thigh-deep bog. You'll hear greater double-collared sunbirds before you see them and smell wild cocoa pods that have fallen from abandoned roças.

Boats launch from Santo António at 7 AM when the water is glassy and plankton blooms draw the last whale sharks of the season. Visibility regularly hits 25-30 m (82-98 ft). You'll hear them breathe before you jump in.

The 1908 plantation's wooden fermentation boxes are active only July-September. August air is thick with the sour-sweet tang of turning cacao. You can taste still-warm nibs straight from the dryer - something impossible during the wet season when mold risk shuts the sheds.

Leatherback and hawksbill nests peak in August. Patrols start at 9 PM under red-filtered torches. The sand is still warm from the day's sun, and you might catch females hauling up the 800 m (0.5-mile) beach while palm fronds rattle overhead.

Paddle the 1 km (0.6-mile) channel at 5 PM. Water is flat and the lowering sun turns baobab trunks gold. Onshore, fishermen light oil lamps and the Ogum brotherhood rehearses rhythms that sound half Brazil, half Angola. August evenings are dry enough to sit outside until midnight.