Southern Mozambique

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Southern Mozambique
(All hostel recommendations etc are at the end of this blog)

So this was our final stint in Africa and it certainly didn't disappoint. After a very brief stay in Maputo we were wedged onto a bus at 4.30 am until it was full and then they crammed on about ten more locals and we all headed in one coalesced lump for Tofu about eight hours North along the coast.

Tofu
Tofu has become somewhat of a diving mecca. One of our reasons for going there is that you are virtually guarenteed to see whale sharks all year round and that is the one thing we've been hunting all over the world in all the 'Guaranteed-to-see' places which we seem to turn into 'Not so much as a fin sighting' places! So, somewhat predictably, we arrived and they had all bugg@red off somewhere. There'd been one sighting in the last month. We were kind of expecting this since some Orcas who's inner pigeons seemed to have gone a bit haywire had rocked up there and seemingly scared them all off. What we were not expecting was that all the manta rays had done a runner too! Marvellous!

However, all was not lost. Tofu was far from the tourist resort I had expected due to its popularity with divers and South African Holiday makers. It was a sleepy town, with dunes stretching into the distance along the golden sandy beach brandishing only a handful of wooden hostels and hotels with humpbacks playing in the sea. We couldn't really complain! We'd met a really good group of people and spent many a happy day lazing on the beach, perusing the market, fending off the bead sellers and visiting the fried egg sandwich lady! Not the most industrious woman since she claimed she'd run out when sitting between an egg stall and a bread stall but, a tasty and cheap alternative to pricey hostel meals! As was the much loved bunny chow available on the road to Fatima's which is basically half a loaf of bread, hollowed out and filled with chilli! Not exactly aitkins friendly but, it was gooooood and all with an oil drum with a fire under it as an oven!



We also of course partook in some local culture and sampled the local rum (tipo tinto) and after going to see a band decided to head to a shabeen (a local bar) which came alive once more once we arrived with everyone keen to try to teach us to 'dance like an African' and get us to sample more of their local delicacies! It was brilliant and we left after Erik (one of our new Dutch companions) had demanded to meet the chief and slipped his granny a tenner for letting us attend the party!



As it turned out, Tofu also didn't disappoint below sea level either with some great dive sites. We got bored of seeing humpbacks from the boat since there were so many and lucky for us, the mantas started to reappear and although the visibility was poor it was great to see them swooping down on us as we listened to the calls of the humpbacks all around us which, we agonisingly couldn't quite see! We did quite a few dives and along the grape vine we heard rumours of whale sharks sightings. It seemed they were returning too!




Vilankulo
Our plan had been just to stay in Tofu and dive but, the conditions were worsening and some friends we met, Erik and Nynke, were heading up to Vilankulo where they had been invited onto the boat of a South African they had met to sail around the very exclusive Bazaruto archipalego. Fortunately for us they managed to get the invitiation extended to us as well and we all headed up on a somewhat lengthy and cramped journey up the coast. We were not really sure what to expect but, it certainly wasn't what we got. A beautiful 14m catamaran with all modcons, three bedrooms, three bathroom and a ship's dog! Just as we set off and we were pinching ourselves, Fred (the owner) come out with a bottle of champagne to welcome us on board! We'd had what you might call a complete result! The weather was fantastic and the islands were beautiful, the food and the company were excellent and Fred wouldn't take a penny from us! We spent the days exploring the islands, watching for dolphins and Dugongs, snorkelling and swimming and apart from a minor incident where Erik decided to hurl their new camera into the ocean we couldn't complain at all!





After 3 nights boating around the islands we headed back to Tofu for one last attemp at a whale shark sighting. The Whale sharks were well and truly back and with regular sightings at the sites we were heading out to. We had some more great dives but, it wasn't until with the help of the brilliant guys at the dive shop (Diversity Divers) who had a word with the boat captain to make sure we did some proper whale shark spotting on the transfers to and from the dive sites that we saw one on the way back from our last dive. I donned mysnorkel gear and I was soon swimming next to the biggest fish in the sea. It was a perfect end and I could go return back to the UK one happy camper!




Full photos can be found at www.picasaweb.google.com/dabilster/SMozambique

Recommendations
In Maputo both hostel options are expensive and fairly grim. We found it better to stay at the more central and cheaper (if there are two of you) Pensoa Central on Ave 24 de Julio, just near teledata and then phone either base or Fatima's to organise for them to pick you up from there if you are taking the shuttle.
In Tofu, Fatima's nest is convenient but, somewhat run down and expensive for what you get; Bamboozie is better value for money and also on the beach but, further out of town; if you want something a bit quieter Albatros is great option with a great bar, good location for town and the beach and dive shops and no nightly parties! Turtle Cove, a good few kilometers from town is superb with a beautiful bar but, is a bit of a trek in. However, Tofu is generally small so nothing is really that far!

If you are heading to Vilankoulos via the ferry the guy at the ferry will try to charge you for your luggage (you might even get stung twice by both the ticket man and the boat man). The ticket at time of writing was 12.50 Mts try and keep the almost compulsory luggage charge to a minimum. They will try and double the price!

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