Mozambique

A huge country in South-East Africa, Mozambique has some of the most stunning beaches and islands on the continent. Stretching from the Tanzanian border down to South Africa, is a land full of history, wild parks and reserves, ancient ruins and bustling market towns. See Africa Offers for specials to Mozambique destinations.

Colonised by the Portuguese until 1975, this is still the main language here and evidence of those years are still seen today in the architecture, music and literature of Mozambique. Artwork and crafts produced by the Makonde people originated here and many other artisan workers can be seen carrying out their trade including silversmiths of Ibo Island. Bush and beach holidays in Mozambique are now possible, combine authentic safari days with gorgeous Indian Ocean beach breaks and you have the perfect African Safari in one country!  There are also now regular flights connecting Nampula from Nairobi, so it is possible to do a safari in Kenya and stay at gorgeous Nuarro Lodge on the beach in Mozambique.

The Indian Ocean coastline around Mozambique is simply stunning. Turquoise lagoons, pure sandy beaches, crystal clear waters and an amazing colourful underwater world surround you and there are some gorgeous luxury beach lodges to choose from.  If you want to stay somewhere with a local cultural interest too, there are several accommodations which are more authentic and rustic that have fabulous links with the local community, such as Guludo Beach Lodge in the far north on the mainland near Quirimbas National Park, in Cabo Delgado Province. This park helps protect the coral reefs and also is home to turtles and elephants (not in the water of course!). Off shore here is an archipelago of islands called The Quirimbas.  Further south is the lovely Nuarro Lodge where whale watching and diving are superb. There are some stunning luxury lodges here such as Vamizi, Quilalea and Medjumbe and lovely rustic lodges and historical locations such as Ibo Island. If adventure is your thing, ask me about a Dhow sailing or Kayak safari, camping on remote islands in the Quirambas.

The southern part of the coastline around Maputo and up to Vilanculous is a popular holiday destination for South Africans and there are plenty of hotels, beach bars and restaurants to choose from here.  Deep sea fishing is popular in this region and connecting flights from Johannesburg are frequent.  Getting to the north of Mozambique is more of a challenge but once in Pemba, there are plenty of island options to choose from, reached by charter plane.

The Bazaruto Archipelago in the south of the country, accessed via Vilanculous, is a protected national park and the islands remain mainly undeveloped.  They are also home to the Dugong, a rare aquatic mammal that gave rise to the legends of mermaids.

Cashew nut trees are indigenous here and the local residents harvest the nuts and the toxic husk to brew very strong alcoholic drinks.  There are plenty of natural crafts produced here from the palms, sisal and other plants.  This is a great birding location with around 165 species on the islands in a variety of habitats. Benguerra Island is a sun drenched island in a simply stunning setting. In central Mozambique there are some lovely beach lodges including Coral Lodge which is a fantastic place for whale watching and enjoying miles of windswept, untouched beaches and fabulous seafood.

Mozambique is one of the best locations in the world for a Diving Holiday. With the incredible reefs and islands dotted along the coastline there is plenty here for advanced and beginner dives.  Whale Sharks migrate through Mozambique waters along with incredible huge shoals of fish and other sea life. Whale watching along the coast is also popular at various times of the year.

Safari camps – inland in Mozambique the great parks and reserves that were once teeming with wildlife is still reeling from decades of civil war and poaching but the news is good – there are several recently established safari lodges and camps and the landscape is simply stunning with the wildlife coming back and re-establishing itself. Gorongosa National Park is located in central Mozambique and is a little remaniscent of Botswana’s Okavango with huge swamp areas and plains, although it does have hills and forested mountains, something you won’t find in Botswana!  There is a fabulous rustic safari camp here called ‘Explore Gorgongosa’ the long journey to get here will be hugely rewarding – go there now before the tourism world discovers it!!  In the far north is another wildlife destination, the Niassa Reserve, which is twice the size of South Africa’s Kruger Park and stretches almost all the way from the coast in Cabo Delgado west to Lake Malawi.  Here you will find vast plains and mountains home to large populations of elephant, buffalo and other mammals, originally having been joined by game corridors to Tanzania’s huge Selous Game Reserve.

Tourism in Mozambique is developing at a fast rate and there are some fabulous community projects here too, let me put together a bespoke holiday maybe combining a South Africa Safari with an amazing Mozambique beach holiday. Dugong Lodge on the coast actually has some great ‘free flight’ offers from South Africa – ask me for details!