Stranded with a whale

There is something magical about Africa and her people, and after a week back in the mighty continent the people of Mozambique have rekindled the magic. It comes from the easy laughter of the locals who are always joking and laughing whatever the occasion; whether they are riding on the minibus, browsing at the markets, or walking along the beach. Mozambique is a portugese speaking country in Southern Africa, which is a little more than a decade out of civil war and heading into a brighter future with the encouragement and support of South Africa just across the border.

I flew from Sydney to Johannesburg, and then took a connecting SAA flight to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. Maputo is known as the only latin capital in Africa, complete with salsa clubs for the locals to strut their stuff. It was very exciting to jump right into new travel adventures but it doesn't seem to matter how many times I travel overseas there's still a temporary culture shock on arrival in a new country, where you feel like curling up into a little ball in a corner somewhere. However this feeling quickly passes, and I cleared immigration and caught a taxi to a nice hostel in the centre of town. The staff and guests were great and I quickly fell in with a Chinese guy from Hong Kong who has travelled extensively for the last two years, which helped me fall into my stride. This intrepid traveller has a goal to visit 110 countries and is a real dynamo.

We explored the museums and the markets during a long day walking around town, and then relaxed back at the hostel. We also stumbled into an Indian restaurant for dinner just in time to watch Australia's own master blaster Adam Gilchrist causing havoc with the Sri Lankan bowlers as Australia went on to effortlessly win the Cricket World Cup. I explained the laws of cricket to my Chinese friend as best I could, and only went into any detail when explaining the rules behind a six ... as Gilly was batting! I had an enjoyable few days in Maputo before catching a mini bus north to Tofo.

Tofo is a famous beach for diving and snorkelling, and features the highest concentration of whale sharks in the world. Travellers in Maputo told me that Tofo scuba offered an ocean safari where we searched for whale sharks, dolphins and mantarays to snorkel with, and I was very excited to have a try. The mini bus ride was the usual travel adventure in Africa, with people crammed in like sardines, but the locals do it all without fuss and in a cooperative spirit, and we completed the trip with it's many stops in around seven hours. I checked into a backpackers beach resort with a South African guy who travelled up with me from Maputo, and looked out from the dorm right onto the beach featuring a water temperature of 26 degrees.

We quickly signed up for the ocean safari, and an Austrian guy from our dorm also decided to join us. The boat trip was led by a marine scientist who is studying the whale sharks, and he gave a very informative talk before we set out. The area around Tofo is very rich in plankton, and immature whale sharks up to six or seven metres are found here all year round. I just hoped one of them was willing to share a swim with us on our big day. We headed out through the rough surf and charged around for around half an hour until we met our new friend. The whale shark is the biggest fish in the world, and can live for up to 150 years. Although massive in size they are harmless plankton eaters, and we dived in with instructions not to touch the shark, which could alarm him and cause him to dive.

But our whale shark didn't seem to play by the normal rules, and to our very good fortune stayed with us on or near the surface for a lengthy period of time, including some accidental touches by snorkellers in the water because he was just so close. He even swam right up to the boat at one stage and turned at the last moment. It truly was a memorable experience and at one stage I was snorkelling with the whale shark just below me in the ocean, accompanied by several smaller fish that hang around with him. The scientist said we were lucky to meet this male, as he didn't seem to lose patience with us at all. In fact, we were all exhausted back on the boat and he was still swimming nearby, having only dived once or twice. We started to head back and briefly spotted a mantaray, but he must have dived as we lost sight of him and weren't able to get in the water.

We were very excited to have swum with a whale shark, and for the information of travellers the fact they are in the area all year round is unique in the world. I haven't met anyone yet who hasn't seen a whale shark after signing up to the ocean safari, so the odds of success seem pretty good. Since then we have been relaxing around the beach, swimming in the ocean, swinging in hammocks and eating lots of seafood. Life is good here on the African east coast! Because of it's proximity the coast of Mozambique also attracts large numbers of South Africans who come from Jo'Burg, Pretoria or Nelspruit on a short drive across the border for holidays. We spent one day exploring the nearby town of Inhambane, where there are such luxuries as bank ATMs and decent internet, and also enjoyed an excellent meal at a market stall. A big plate of fish and rice with curry sauce cost the princely sum of one USD. Now that's cheap!

Mozambique is a very cheap and accesible country in Southern Africa, providing you concentrate your travels in the south! The country stretches 2,500 kilometres north all the way up to Tanzania, and travelling overland is not easy. Tofo in particular is a magic place for scuba diving and snorkelling in a country where,............... basically all of you should be here now!

Top 3 Hotels/Restaurants
The Base backpackers - Maputo, Mozambique
Fatima's Nest - Tofo, Mozambique
Dino's restaurant - Tofo, Mozambique

Top 3 Sights/Activities
Tofo scuba ocean safari - Tofo, Mozambique
Markets - Inhambane, Mozambique
Beach life - Tofo, Mozambique

As I continue my travels, until next time it's signing off for now.

Tom

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