I recently took my family on holiday to Benguerra Lodge on Benguerra Island, the second-largest of the four islands in the Bazaruto Archipelago on the Mozambique coast. It’s so easy to get there – a two-hour flight from Johannesburg to Vilanculos followed by a scenic and exciting half-hour boat transfer or an equally scenic 10-minute helicopter flight. Benguerra is a magical place. It’s a paradise of warm, turquoise water, clear blue skies and palm-fringed beaches with some of the best diving and fishing in Southern Africa.
The serene shoreline at Benguerra Lodge
As soon as we had checked in to our beautiful oceanside casitas, we headed down to the endless white beach, where we were to spend a large part of the next ten days. We ate lazy lunches out on the deck in the sea breeze after which we dipped into and out of our private pool to cool down and digest our delicious freshly prepared meals. Of course, we just had to sample Mozambique’s signature dish – fiery peri-peri prawns. And we also had a delicious al fresco dinner set up for us on the beach in front of our casita one evening with a beautifully decorated table and a bonfire. But we made up for the excess by taking long walks,swimming, playing beach bats, and a range of other activities.
One of the things you have to do at least once in your life is to ride a horse on a beach. The wind in your hair, the salt spray on your face and the sense of freedom is like nothing else on earth. Those that partook in the horse ride really loved this, but my personal highlight was catching a sailfish, and I’m not sure who was more tired at the end of it – me or the fish. It took 45 minutes to land it, and 10 minutes to revive it in the sea before we could release it. These magnificent fish are so beautiful, and so threatened, that catch and release is strongly encouraged by the lodge, and we were more than happy to comply. Everyone on the fishing expedition caught something – even absolute beginners. We didn’t try the fly fishing, but evidently, the Bazaruto Archipelago is one of the best saltwater fly fishing destinations in the world.
Sam helps Chris hold the sailfish steady for a quick photo
It’s also one of the best scuba diving destinations on the planet, and we logged a couple of great dives, seeing all the usual pretty colourful tropical reef fish, and a few larger pelagic species as well. The water is warm and clear so diving is a pleasure as you need only wear thin wetsuits, and some tougher divers even go without. But you don’t have to don tanks and head out to sea on a dive boat, we saw lots of really interesting things just snorkelling in the “Aquarium” near the reefs, including some beautiful and fascinating rays. We regularly took a couple of kayaks out and paddled along the shore just enjoying the scenery and sunsets.
Although there are, officially, four islands in the archipelago, there are actually four and a half. Pansy Island – the shy half island – only appears at low tide. It’s a great place for a picnic, for snorkelling and – of course – for looking for pansy shells. These beautiful mementoes are the exoskeletons of sea urchin-like animals that live under the sand. They’re similar to what are called sand dollars in the Northern Hemisphere. We only took a few as, even though they are dead shells, the lodge encourages restraint. And, anyhow, the memories in our cameras, and in our hearts and minds, are enough to keep us going. Till our next trip, that is.
We will be back soon as with the mostly mild climate, its almost a year round destination.
I recently took my family on holiday to Benguerra Lodge on Benguerra Island, the second-largest of the four islands in the Bazaruto Archipelago on the Mozambique coast. It’s so easy to get there – a two-hour flight from Johannesburg to Vilanculos followed by a scenic and exciting half-hour boat transfer or an equally scenic 10-minute helicopter flight. Benguerra is a magical place. It’s a paradise of warm, turquoise water, clear blue skies and palm-fringed beaches with some of the best diving and fishing in Southern Africa.
The serene shoreline at Benguerra Lodge
As soon as we had checked in to our beautiful oceanside casitas, we headed down to the endless white beach, where we were to spend a large part of the next ten days. We ate lazy lunches out on the deck in the sea breeze after which we dipped into and out of our private pool to cool down and digest our delicious freshly prepared meals. Of course, we just had to sample Mozambique’s signature dish – fiery peri-peri prawns. And we also had a delicious al fresco dinner set up for us on the beach in front of our casita one evening with a beautifully decorated table and a bonfire. But we made up for the excess by taking long walks,swimming, playing beach bats, and a range of other activities.
One of the things you have to do at least once in your life is to ride a horse on a beach. The wind in your hair, the salt spray on your face and the sense of freedom is like nothing else on earth. Those that partook in the horse ride really loved this, but my personal highlight was catching a sailfish, and I’m not sure who was more tired at the end of it – me or the fish. It took 45 minutes to land it, and 10 minutes to revive it in the sea before we could release it. These magnificent fish are so beautiful, and so threatened, that catch and release is strongly encouraged by the lodge, and we were more than happy to comply. Everyone on the fishing expedition caught something – even absolute beginners. We didn’t try the fly fishing, but evidently, the Bazaruto Archipelago is one of the best saltwater fly fishing destinations in the world.
Sam helps Chris hold the sailfish steady for a quick photo
It’s also one of the best scuba diving destinations on the planet, and we logged a couple of great dives, seeing all the usual pretty colourful tropical reef fish, and a few larger pelagic species as well. The water is warm and clear so diving is a pleasure as you need only wear thin wetsuits, and some tougher divers even go without. But you don’t have to don tanks and head out to sea on a dive boat, we saw lots of really interesting things just snorkelling in the “Aquarium” near the reefs, including some beautiful and fascinating rays. We regularly took a couple of kayaks out and paddled along the shore just enjoying the scenery and sunsets.
Although there are, officially, four islands in the archipelago, there are actually four and a half. Pansy Island – the shy half island – only appears at low tide. It’s a great place for a picnic, for snorkelling and – of course – for looking for pansy shells. These beautiful mementoes are the exoskeletons of sea urchin-like animals that live under the sand. They’re similar to what are called sand dollars in the Northern Hemisphere. We only took a few as, even though they are dead shells, the lodge encourages restraint. And, anyhow, the memories in our cameras, and in our hearts and minds, are enough to keep us going. Till our next trip, that is.
We will be back soon as with the mostly mild climate, its almost a year round destination.