My third trip to Oé-Cusse, an enclave of Timor-Leste completely surrounded by Indonesian West Timor, was in the middle of the wet season (January). I found it almost completely unrecognisable from my previous two trips in the dry season. The landscape was incredibly green and lush, which happens across Timor-Leste, but I found Oé-Cusse particularly beautiful. On my flight in from Dili it wasn’t till I spotted the port that I realised that we were in Oé-Cusse.

Here is the comparison between visiting in January and September.

Pante Macassar, the main / only town in Oé-Cusse, lies on the coast and is backed by the most incredible hills, seen here from my drone.

I went for a hike up this hill, it was an adventure!

An easier hike was along the Via Sacre Trail from Lifau, where the Portugese first landed in Timor-Leste in 1515. This is marked by Stations of the Cross.

The summit offers some of the best land based views of Oé-Cusse.

I could see the Tono river, across rice fields (weirdly less photogenic in the wet than the dry season), and Ponte Noefefan, the longest bridge in the country.

There was a beautiful lagoon near the markets, which was almost completely dry a few months before, and now was incredibly scenic.

And clearly refreshing for this herd of cows and water buffalo.

The waters were home to surprisingly large crabs.

To finish with a few more photos from around Pante Macassar. The road photo is typical, with excellent but barely used infrastructure, lots of tom-toms (the main way people get around, 50c a ride), and the ever present hills behind.