Friday, November 29, 2013

Mozambique, paradise on our doorstep!



I had this awesome opportunity to take pictures of two 5 star lodges for their brochures and new marketing material. Darin and Chris had just bought a new Scape 39 catamaran for there lodges from master boat builder Allan Knight, thank you Allan for the opportunity to share this bit of paradise through my pictures. We were flew up from Lanseria to Inhambane on a private plane with a short stop over at Kruger Park for breakfast and customs. on arrival we were shuttled across the lagoon to Castelo do Mar on Cassinga the new Scape 39 catamaran. We were greeted with cocktails at the lodge and shown to our rooms; the staff at Castelo really went the extra mile, Ursula and Neil the managers at the lodge were absolutely amazing, right away we felt at home. Below are some of my pics, enjoy!    
 
Castelo do Mar in the background and Cassinga the Scape 39 catamaran.
Arrival in paradise.
Can't get better than this, fishing in Mozambique on a luxury catamaran.



Chris, one of the owners at Castelo, showing us how it's done, with Neil, a Springbok fisherman, keeping a watchful eye.
Chris with this stunning GT (King Fish), we caught in total for the day 9 yellow fin tuna, 2 GT's and a Couta. We even caught a baby Marlin which was quickly released.
Lunch on Pansy Island, we ate like kings all week.
Flamingo's taking off.
The pool area at Castelo with the boats moored in the background.
The library.
My favourite room.
These two new friends joining us for a walk.
A yellow billed Kite, lots of bird life near the lodge.
A ship wreck next to the lodge.
High tea with a view, as you can see we were spoilt rotten.
"Miniature" boats in wine glass.
One of the new rooms, this shot took a lot of planning, a stunner if I say so myself.
Another golden sunset.
A local girl, with a super cool hairstyle.
A drop of oil in the water gave off the most amazing colours.
Cassinga with Castelo do Mar in the background.
Local fisherman with their nets.
Massinga Beach.
A night shot of Massinga with the bar and dining room in the background.
Another night shot with moon and beach in background.
A room with a view.
One of the best rooms I ever had the pleasure of staying in.
The bedroom in the new beach house.
The new beach house.
A local showing us how to get coconuts, every part of the coconut tree gets put to use and every tree is owned by a local.
The water in Mozambique is amazing, warm and blue, love it.
Cassinga in full sail past Pansy Island.
The media crew that joined us for the last weekend with our skipper Rob.
The last night of our fabulous trip we had a poker and roulette evening for a grand prize of another weekend stay at Castelo do Mar.
It was a fantastic evening filled with laughter and betting.
Our ride home; this Embraer 110 aircraft is available for private charters.
Allan and I homeward bound.
Our pilots getting ready to land at Kruger Park.
Miss this paradise already!


Contact Details:
Masinga Beach: www.massingabeach.co.za; reservations@massingabeach.co.za, +27 11796 5029
Castelo do Mar: reservations@castelodomar.co.za, +27117965029 or +27 828544521.




Thursday, November 7, 2013

Macro Photography


A mate of mine asked me to do a shoot for him on his aquatic plants; Pierre and I had great fun doing the shoot for his web site. They have some amazing plants check out riverside aquatics if you are in Somerset West or any leading nursery in Western Cape. These shots below were taken after the shoot with a macro lens. I borrowed  a Tamron 90mm f2.8 Macro lens from a mate, not as easy as I thought to shoot macro but had great fun trying, here is a couple of shots from the day: