MOZAMBIQUE - CORALS, TURTLES, SHARKS, MANTAS AND WHALE SHARKS
Ponta da Ouro is accessed via South Africa, Durban being the nearest airport, five hours away. Access from Maputo is currently being completed, but is not operational yet. Coming in via South Africa also means that is is super easy to combine with a safari. Ponta has over a dozen shark species between October and April, big groupers, a diverse variety of rays, turtles, and dolphins year round. Can also be done as a self-drive.
Tofo is one of the best places in the world to see both manta species and whale sharks in the same spot. . All three are visible year-round. Tofo’s reefs are also home to other large members of the shark and ray family: the odd-but-stunning bowmouth guitarshark, leopard and zebra sharks, blotched fantail rays, and, if you’re lucky, you’ll see the small-eyed stingray, the largest of the ray species, the only place in the world where it has been seen alive. The winter months of June to September see humpbacks passing by.
Vilanculos is a great access point to dive the Bazaruto archipelago's famous Two-Mile reef, between .the islands of Benguerra and Bazaruto. The area has more corals than Tofo, being further north and in warmer waters, and is home to big groupers, six shark species, three turtle species, and multitude of reef fish and critters. Only 4 hours by road from Tofo, it is easy to combine the two. There are also direct flights to the Kruger from Vilanculos.
The Quirimbas Archipelago is home to a handful of luxury island lodges and one budget dive resort on the mainland. Pretty coral reefs with lots of colourful fish life is the draw here, combined with a feeling of peaceful isolation. There are aslo some great options for non-divers to relax after a safari with good flight connections from the Kruger ad southern Tanzania. Dhow safaris are a speciality of the region to.
Tofo is one of the best places in the world to see both manta species and whale sharks in the same spot. . All three are visible year-round. Tofo’s reefs are also home to other large members of the shark and ray family: the odd-but-stunning bowmouth guitarshark, leopard and zebra sharks, blotched fantail rays, and, if you’re lucky, you’ll see the small-eyed stingray, the largest of the ray species, the only place in the world where it has been seen alive. The winter months of June to September see humpbacks passing by.
Vilanculos is a great access point to dive the Bazaruto archipelago's famous Two-Mile reef, between .the islands of Benguerra and Bazaruto. The area has more corals than Tofo, being further north and in warmer waters, and is home to big groupers, six shark species, three turtle species, and multitude of reef fish and critters. Only 4 hours by road from Tofo, it is easy to combine the two. There are also direct flights to the Kruger from Vilanculos.
The Quirimbas Archipelago is home to a handful of luxury island lodges and one budget dive resort on the mainland. Pretty coral reefs with lots of colourful fish life is the draw here, combined with a feeling of peaceful isolation. There are aslo some great options for non-divers to relax after a safari with good flight connections from the Kruger ad southern Tanzania. Dhow safaris are a speciality of the region to.
