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.

Mozambique - Part 2

From Maputo, we set off to Tofo, Inhambane where we stayed at Fatima's backpackers. We ate loads of seafood and went fishing.

We went fishing and I caught my first Cuota (King Mackrel) and Marcia a cool American dude caught a Tuna. We saw some awesome humpback whales really close but I had no camera with me, just as well, everything got soaked. The funny thing was the skipper behind me was called Sean and his deck hand Paul so Paul and Sean went fishing with Paul and Sean...lol.

From there it was off to Pomene one of the most amazing campsite's I have ever been to. We had no one else there just the beach in front of us and the estuary behind us with Flamingo’s in.

The Flamingos on the beach behind our campsite in the estuary, less than one minute walk. They had stunning chalets on that side.

I decide to sleep in the hut, with mosquito net over me, never slept better in all my life, on the sea’s doorstep. Woke up each morning to the waves crashing and stunning sunrises. The cover shot was taken from here early one morning.

We went for a hike and some fishing with the owners son, he took us to this natural blow hole in the rocks. Paul getting wet, his shower for the day.

At the Lodge what a stunning place, definitely want to go back with the family, I think it was call Pomena Lodge. Paul managed to organise us a whole Barracuda from some local fisherman....yummy we ate like kings. What an awesome place!

From there we drove to Vilkankulo and then to the Gorongosa National park, Paul met his Swiss Holiday romance.

Me in Gorongosa National park camp site.

From there off to Ihla da Mozambique, took this pic on route one mist morning.

Ihla da Mozambique is a small island that is separated from the mainland by a bridge. Which one can cross over if you want to get to the island.

Ihla da Mozambique is surrounded with history and has an old fort with walls as thick as a house. This shot was taken on the way to the fort of a fisherman and his Dow (local fishing boat).

Local kid playing on a motorbike, loved all the alleys and small houses.

Road heading towards to Pemba.

Quick lunch on route to Pemba on the side of the road.

Big smiley faces! Mozambique people are very poor yet everyone I saw was always smiling. Maybe less is more....

My car and local on his bike with containers, I prefer Toyota power.

A chameleon crossing the road, he was huge and froze when my car approached, I helped him to the other side.

At Pemba we stayed at Russell’s place a local backpackers, were we could set up our tents. The owner Russell gave us 3 nights of tuna steaks and sushi that night if we could clean and fillet the fish for him (we did provide the wasabi and soya sauce). Luckily for Paul I have done this many times and knew how to clean and fillet, Tuna. There were some amazing carvings here from a local carpenter whose life works are spread around the spot.