Dhow Safari to Benguerra Island (day 1) Fr 29/11/2002   Wandered over to Baobab's to get a lift with Jackie to the Sailaway office, from where the safari would be departing. I soon was joined by an Austrian who also wanted to join the safari, so we both made our way down to the beach where the dhows had already been stocked with food and supplies awaiting only our baggage before departing. As soon as we got going towards Benguerra Island which was about a 2.5 hour trip our cook started on the preparation of the crabs which we were going to have for lunch. The boat had a small sand pit which held an open fire over which the cooking was to take place. So by the time we had arrived at Gabriel's Lodge and Camping on Benguerra all the crabs had been cooked and were soon to be served for lunch. Whilst the lunch preparations were still under way I set up my tent, this being the first occasion on which I would be able to use it during my round the world trip. Shortly after I had concluded my task I met the group of South Africans from Alberto's which were also staying at Gabriel's the only affordable camping site within the Bazaruto Archipelago. After a spledid lunch and a short afternoon siesta our group wandered off around the island to some sweetwater lakes which supposedly are the home to a few crocodiles. On arrival the fitter half of the group climbed a large sand dune, from where one could overlook almost the entire island. At this point I decided I would rather return on a different route circumventing the northern tip of the island. This turned out to be slightly more adventureous than I had planned as the dusk set in slightly earlier that I had expected. Hence I decided to jogg back towards the other side of the island rather than trying to navigate along the outline in the dark. The jogging option worked out well and I got back to Gabriel's even before some of the people from our group made it back. Had a great dinner and some beers at the bar, by which time I was suspecting that we actually were on a culinary rather than a dhow safari! The Bazaruto Archipelago Dives (day 2) Sat 30/11/2002   Woke up in the early morning to find that it had rained during the night, but my Vau De tent had again proven to be watertight. Luckily the weather improved during the course of the day, however the wind and surf would remain. The group took off on a dhow trip ot Bazaruto Island, whilst I stayed behind and waited for the diving group to arrive from Vilankulo. Together with three Americans and another German we got picked up at 9am and rode the zodiac out through the rough surf to 2 mile reef where we would be going to dive. The ride there turned out to be rather interesting and less entertaining for some of my fellow passengers who decided to throw up at a later stage. On our first dive I saw "the regulars" but nothing special which I had not seen in Tofo, however the strong surge even at even at 20 metres depth turned the dive into an interesting experience. We rode the boat to Bazaruto for a lunch break in the sun, waiting for the nitrogen levels to subside before heading back out for a second afternoon dive. This would turned out to be fantastic as I saw a huge sea turtle which was digging around in a small cave and only noticed us when we were sitting right behind it. It backed out of the hole, looked slightly puzzled at us and swam away. On our return to Gabriels I met up on the beach with the South African crowd and had some rewarding beers to be followed by a great evening meal The Slow Return to Vilankulo (day 3) Sun 01/12/2002   The next morning I was to return to 2 mile reef in the dhow, which took about 4 times as long as with the zodiac, where we stopped on the other side of the reef which was sheltering the surf and and played around in the water with snorkeling equipment only. Saw some of the reef regulars (Goupers, Parrotfish, and a small Octopus). We returned to Gabriels for lunch and then started our journey back to Vilankulo stopping off on Magaruque wbere we wandered around the beach chasing the little crabs and gazing at a fairly large ray that had been caught and dissected on the beach. After having arrived back in Vilankulo I checked back in to Alberto's Beach Huts and met up with the South Africans who were staying next door at at Baobab's Backpackers for drinks at their bar. Said my goodbyes as I would be flying out of Vilankulo to Joburg the following morning, ending my Mocambiquan adventure.

no map Gabriels Camping and Lodge Benguerra Island

Sunrise at Alberto's Crabs for Lunch on Dhow Our Dhow Crew Hermit Crab on Benguerra Sand Dune @ Sunset Sand Dune Panorama Sunset on Benguerra Chris, Martin & Steve Sunset Beer with South Africans Sunset over our Dhow Group Picture during Last Lunch