Beneath African Skies

Diving and Swimming with Dolphins

White, pristine beaches and coconut palms frame the coastline in Mozambique and vacations here combine water sports with a captivating Afro-Portuguese culture.


Mozambique’s surface area spans a distance of over 800 000 square kilometers and is bordered by Tanzania in the north, South Africa in the south, Malawi in the west and Zimbabwe in the south west.
Mozambique dive sites are famous the world over. Bazaruto and Benguerra islands near Vilanculos and the Quirembas Archipelago have coral reefs bursting with color and life and one can expect to swim alongside dolphins, whale sharks, the rare and shy dugong and huge manta rays.

Dive with dolphins in Mozambique

Northern Mozambique Quirembas Archipelago
Pemba is the capital of Cabo Delgado, the northern province of Mozambique and is the gateway to these beautiful islands.
The Quirembas Archipelago consists of 32 coral islands most of which are undeveloped and include 11 islands which form the Quirimbas National Park. The reefs are rich and unspoiled and provide the diver with an abundant array of unusual marine life to look at such as lobsters, sea turtles and larger-than-usual reef fish.
Marine life on the Quilalea island is protected by the Quilalea Marine Sanctuary. Dive packages, yacht charters, island-hopping excursions and big game fishing make up some of the activities and diving is available for all levels from beginner to advanced. The region’s culture is a melting pot of Arabian, Portuguese and African influences with many an ancient trading post and church waiting to be explored.


Southern Mozambique Bazaruto Archipelago
This group of 5 islands make up the Bazaruto Archipelago and this area is a protected National Park. The islands are covered by large sand dunes, fresh-water lakes and bush-protected reserves. To keep environmental damage to a minimum, camping is not allowed but there are several private lodges which offer good accommodation. The area is superb for scuba diving vacations.
Outstanding scuba diving charters are available – to the legendary 2 mile reef, 5 mile reef and Pipe reef, where charters will specifically take one out to dive with whale sharks. There are other activities on offer such as deep sea fishing, snorkeling, and island excursions.
Swimming With Dolphins at Ponta D’Ouro
This bay is situated on the southern most point of Mozambique and is home to pods of Bottle-nose dolphins. There are several operators who organize trips to swim with the dolphins, for theraputic reasons or just for fun!
These trips facilitated by experts in the Dolphin Swim programs and they go the extra mile to protect the dolphins and avoid dolphin harassment. Children over 3 are usually welcome. Humpback whales migrate in the winter months and this provides another exciting dimension to a vacation in Mozambique.
Vacations in Mozambique – When to Go
May to August in the winter time in the southern hemisphere is the best time, temperatures are warm but not oppressively hot and humid as they are in the hottest months – December to March.
Credits – Original article take with permission from Fleur Hupston (suite 101)
Picture credit – Picture taken from merala

From Vilanculos to Pafuri

The best time to do the trip from Vilanculos to Pafuri is between May and July since the Limpopo river is likely to be low.

A 4X4 is with good ground clearance is essential if you are planning the trip alone. If you are traveling in convoy (always recommended), you will make it with a “soft roader” or bakkie with a diff lock. Parts of the road are nothing more than a sand track through the bush.

Road from Vilanculos to Pafuri

We did the trip from Vilanculos to Pafuri by ourselves and managed just fine. The exact route we took was – Vilanculos, Maphinhane, Mabote, Machaila, Mapai and Pafuri. The signs were good – well, home made wooden signs, but they did the trick. We were paranoid about getting lost so we asked or directions at every village. You need to be aware that Mapai is not on the river as is shown on the map, it is about 17 KM from the river. As you get near to Mapai you cross a railway line – turn right once over the railway line (don’t go straight as the map shows you should), drive parallel to the railway line until you come to Mapai. Turn left at Mapai and follow the road down to the Limpopo river.

The mighty Limpopo river

In the dry season the water is pretty low. But, in the wet season you might not be able to cross. You MUST send someone to wade the river before you attempt to cross. If you get stuck you can pay the local to pull you across with their oxen. We asked around at Vilanculos for anyone who had just crossed to find out how high the river was. The river, if you can call it a river, was very low when we crossed in June

Bush camping somewhere between Vilanculos and Pafuri

Some people do the trip in a day, but we camped twice along the way. You can pretty well camp anywhere. We found a spot which was flattened as if someone else had camped there the night before, that way we were sure we wouldn’t come across any land mines. We are told the government has cleared the area of mines, but we played it safe anyway. The road from the river to Pafuri was the worst stretch and took us 3 ½ hours.