Bazaruto Archipelago, Mozambique
Settled by the Bantu speaking people around 500 AD and established as a trading post by Arab maritime merchants as early as the 10th century, the archipelago's famed amber and pearls were noted well before the arrival of the Portuguese. While these once sought after treasures have all but disappeared, there is still much for adults and kids to discover. Dolphins, turtles, whales and dugong are but a few.
The sea may be the main reason for a family beach vacation in this tiny corner of Mozambique yet the land-based spectacle is no less intriguing. A walk along the beach is nothing short of a trip to a gallery of shells. And at low tide you need not search far to find a Pansy shell, hundreds of these once fury sea urchins line the sand bars as well as the shore.
Don't forget to take a peek at the island's interior. The sand dunes, mangrove forests and inland lakes are home to 125 species of birds as well as a variety of mammals and even one or two crocodiles. And although it may seem impossible, three of the Archipelago's islands -- Bazaruto, Benguerra and Magaruque - were mainland sand spits less than 6000 years ago.
White sand beaches, towering sand dunes and one thousand shades of blue. Pristine coral reefs and sea life large and small. Yet what makes a family vacation in Bazaruto unique is the total lack of crowds.
Off the beaten path, for now
There is no other way to describe our trip than fabulous. When the woman at Pelican Air desk in Johannesburg, our transit point, suggested she needed our last names only, no passports, no confirmation number, the realization of just how far we had traveled was immediate. Mozambique's twenty year civil war, series of natural disasters and history of famine have kept it off the tourist path as well as terrorist track. Rather than feeling unarmed, I was suddenly relaxed even with a 5-year-old in tow. The trip followed from there. The boat trip from Vilanculos to Benguerra was a trip through the shades of blue. A walk along the beach wi ... Read More
There is no other way to describe our trip than fabulous. When the woman at Pelican Air desk in Johannesburg, our transit point, suggested she needed our last names only, no passports, no confirmation number, the realization of just how far we had traveled was immediate. Mozambique's twenty year civil war, series of natural disasters and history of famine have kept it off the tourist path as well as terrorist track. Rather than feeling unarmed, I was suddenly relaxed even with a 5-year-old in tow. The trip followed from there. The boat trip from Vilanculos to Benguerra was a trip through the shades of blue. A walk along the beach with no one but a lone fisherman in sight, paradise. A private picnic on Benguerra's wind swept southern shore, Robinson Crusoe. A day of watersports and pansy shells on Pansy Island, just plain fun. A hike to the top of the sand dunes on Bazaruto Island, a lesson in centuries of wind. Deep sea fishing and pods of dolphins, adrenaline. All within the reach of a five-year-old. A few words of caution: snorkeling is possible at high tide only and the razor clams open at low tide make water shoes a necessity.
