So much to see and do!
While on holiday here you will be amazed at the variety of activities in the area to keep you and your kids entertained. Lets just hope you are staying long enough to fit it all in.
In Ilala
* Relax on the beach and swim in the sea. It is safe to swim here and you will be amazed how warm the water is. Pick a beach umbrella as the sun is a scorcher!
* Lounge by the pool for the day.
* Climb the dune and watch the sunset, or if you are an early bird watch the sunrise over the sea, the view is gorgeous. This is the highest point in Inhassoro and the only dune. It is known as Inhassoro Mountain and can be seen for miles from the sea. It is a good landmark to head for when coming back from fishing or snorkelling.
* The bird life around Ilala is brilliant for those keen bird watchers.
* Collect ameijoa (baby sand clams) on the high tide. You will fill up a bucket in no time and what a fun and delicious meal you will experience.
* Collect oysters and mussels on the low spring tide, or buy from the locals. See how many tiny pearls you can find in the oysters. The mussels also contain pearls occasionally.
* In the late afternoon you can buy fish, prawns, lula (calamari), lobster and crab from the locals who come past Ilala holding up the catch of the day.
* Round up all the energetic folk for a game of beach volleyball.
* How about a beach party? Ask management to arrange the bonfire on the beach for you. Invite all and have a laugh.
Around Inhassoro
This sleepy holiday town has not much to offer in the way of services but due to the development along the coast we are sure to see it grow. There is still a lot to do.
* For groceries there is the Supa Ana store, a bakery next door for fresh bread and the local market for vegetables and produce. The vegetable choices are limited so it is a good idea to try some of the traditional local varieties. There are 3 types of African vegetable that are common, cheap and healthy. The locals cook all varieties in coconut milk with crushed ground nuts and salt and it is a delicious dish.
* The market also sells second hand clothing and you will be surprised at the great stuff you can find there, no it’s not Harrods but it is a lot more fun.
* You can buy seafood and chicken and ice in the village.
* Seta does a great meal, we can recommend the Portuguese chicken, chips and salad with peri-peri and garlic sauces.
* Visit Johnsons’ bar up the beach for a pleasant drink or many, there is a great atmosphere, lovely view and he also does a delicious lunch / supper.
* Bartholemew Dias lagoon lies about 30km north of Inhassoro and is worth a visit. Take a picnic or braai and go for the day. On the way to BD is Redcliffs where you will find surf waves great for body surfing or boogie board.
* About 5km south of Ilala are the mangroves, which has a fascinating ecosystem, see the fiddler crabs and varied bird life.
* Hire a local dhow and sail off to wherever the wind or whims take you.
* Visit the fishing nets to see what they’ve caught. You can often buy fish and prawns from them and save a turtle or two, as well as rescue sea horses and pipefish.
* There is a small clinic in the village where many treatments can be given. You can also get malaria treatment there. If you are unfortunate enough to get sick Ilala management can arrange for you to be treated.
Vilanculos
This touristy town can be quite a trying place to visit and we only go when absolutely necessary. Watch out for little tsotsies (thieves). There is a supermarket there with a slightly bigger range of groceries as well as Taurus with all its imported South African goods. A nice fruit and vegetable supply can be bartered for at the local vegetable market.
There are 2 banks and a telecommunications service with 1 computer that has access to the internet, prepare to wait for your turn. There are dive schools at Baobab Campsite and at Archipelago Sun.
Baobab Campsite has a full moon party at their beach bar as well as a good inexpensive meal, a great selection of drinks and an internet facility
You can have a good meal at Samara, the airport and there is a pizza parlour in town. Smugglers Bar has a pool, serves meals and also has volleyball competitions.
The Bazaruto Archipelago
The archipelago comprises of 6 islands. They are Bazaruto, Benguerra and Margaruque, Santa Carolina (formerly Paradise Island) and the tiny Banque and Pansy Shell Islands. This group of Islands was once a peninsula and part of mainland which broke apart from the African continent 25 000 years ago. Santa Carolina the only true rock island (the rest being giant sand dunes) had separated some 120,000 years before this.
The archipelago was declared a National Park in 2000, which was once only encompassing Bazaruto and Benguerra but has since been extended to include all the other islands and a lot of the surrounding reef. We hope that it will continue to expand to include further reefs like 25 Mile Reef in order to protect this precious environment.
This National Park is the African version of the famed Galapagos Islands, as the islands and surrounding marine environment is a complex and unique ecosystem. The flora and fauna on the islands has had to adapt to the changes from formerly having access to the rest of Africa to now being totally isolated and separate from it.
Bazaruto Bay harbours one of the last viable populations of the extremely rare and protected dugong along the entire coast of Africa. The last consensus estimated there to be approximately 234 individuals in the archipelago. The dugongs is part of the order of Sirenia which is derived from the mythical sirens of Greek folklore who by their sweet singing enticed ships too close to the rocks where they lived, entire crews perishing in the ensuing shipwrecks. Odysseus on his homeward voyage plugged his crew’s ears with wax and lashed himself to the mast to protect himself from a similar fate. Tales of mermaids probably stem from sightings of dugongs and the related manatees whose pectoral mammals so closely resemble these of the human species.
The area is also breeding ground for 4 species of turtle all of which are protected. The samango monkey occurs on the islands and in forested and mangrove woodlands on mainland. Other wildlife includes many small antelope species, flamingos, pelicans, otters, 5 species of dolphin, humpback and false killer whales, red squirrels and even crocodiles, which inhabit the inland island lakes. Over 600 species of fish have been recorded here and 164 species of birds identified on the islands.
Conservation programmes are funded by the Fundacao Natureza em Perigo (Mozambican Endangered Wildlife Trust) The World Wildlife Fund and the South African Nature Foundation.
The 2 islands which are closer to us and are a comfortable boat ride away are Santa Carolina-Paradise Island and Bazaruto.
Bazaruto
This is the largest island in the archipelago. It is 37km long and 7km at its widest point. The name Bazaruto originates from a local word “Ushurutswa” meaning “ Island of the mist” and was translated to Bazaruto by the Portuguese. There is a legend that pearls were collected there for the Queen of Sheba.
The Farol do Bazaruto (Bazaruto Lighthouse) was built by the Portuguese in 1890 and has been rehabilitated by the lodge owners on the island. Bazaruto has 2 airstrips near each of the 2 lodges.
Things to do there
* Visit the 2 Lodges Bazaruto Lodge and Indigo Bay
* Bazaruto Lodge do an incredible lunch but this should be booked before you arrive. Call the manager Louis on 843083120 to book.
* Shop in the gift shops or laze by the pools at both Lodges.
* “Gone Fishing” is based at Baz Lodge. They offer scuba certification, tours around the islands and visits to the inland lakes to see the crocodiles and flamingos, and various water sports. Ask Ilala management to arrange these with Derek who runs it.
* The Coral Gardens on the north offer fantastic snorkelling. Occasionally you may be lucky to see small black-tipped reef sharks there.
* There are several great dive sites including Lighthouse Reef, Manta Ray Reef, Turtle Ridge Reef, 12 Mile, 5 Mile and 2 Mile Reefs.
* Climb the dune on the north point to explore the lighthouse.
* Climb the dunes on the South to admire the view.
* Just off the south point is the tiny Pansy Shell Island where you can see many Pansy Shells at low tide, be aware most are alive and the dead skeletons are very delicate and most disintegrate when picked up
Santa Carolina Paradise Island
The Portuguese called Paradise Island Perola do Indico, which means “ Pearl of the Indian Ocean”. It is about 3km long and 500m wide. It has derelict and run down buildings, which include the 100 room Paradise Hotel. This hotel, once a jewel visited by
the rich and famous, formerly had a swimming pool in front of it which has since been washed away as the eastern side of the island erodes, now the sea has almost eaten away the hotel balcony and now is out of bounds to tourists for fear that it many collapse. There is a run down church which still has a Sunday service for the local islanders. A casino was half built on the south end by a former owner and the bay in front of it is known as Casino Bay, where the snorkelling is astonishing. There is a tar airstrip on the north end and two graves where a nun who fell in love with a local islander and her ‘half-cast’ baby are buried. It is said that they were murdered, but by who and why is a mystery. There is also a ruin of a small prison fortress said to have housed slaves during the slave trade.
Things to do there
* Explore the entire island, including the mangroves.
* Snorkelling is incredible. Reefs are just beyond Battleship rock, the rock on the north end of the western bay. Church Point Reef off the north east beach and the entire south point and Casino Bay.
* Romantic walks.
* Fishing off the bricks (rocks) on the north point and Casino Bay point
* Picnic and Braai, remember to take all your litter home.