Mozambique scuba diving safari holiday | The best tropical diving destination in Africa

» Description
Mozambique Explorer - dive the crystal clear waters of Mozambique

This is the ultimate in extreme scuba diving and 4x4 safaris. Mozambique offers tropical islands, palm fringed powder white beaches and crystal clear waters, ideal for the scuba diver and 4x4 enthusiast.

This is our annual guided self-drive 4x4 trip to Mozambique - a country ravaged by years of war that destroyed most of the infrastructure but still home to some of the loveliest and most remote dive sites that I have ever seen in my life.

Scuba diving in the crystal clear waters of Mozambique - remove dive sites

A maximum of 10 adventurous divers are taken on each safari although groups traveling together can twist my arm :-). Non-divers are welcome.

» Requirements
An advanced diving certificate or at least 20 sea dives is necessary.

» Safari Dates
12 August to 25 August 2007
Note: (This is a annual safari and bookings can be made for one year in advance)

This year's Mozambique trip is going to be a very special one...
Instead of taking the normal tourist route via Komatipoort, I intend guiding the group into Mozambique through the Northern part of the Kruger National Park, through raw Africa and Baobab forests, crossing the Limpopo river near Mapai and then travelling due East on little used tracks and bush camping for about two days before we reach the Indian Ocean somewhere between Vilanculos and Masinga.

This route can only be done in the dry season, as there is no bridge over the Limpopo. We depart from Johannesburg International Airport and travel in a convoy of 4x4 vehicles & off-road trailers, 4 persons max to a car. The vehicles are fitted with everything we will need for the trip, complete with rooftop tents and enough fuel, provisions and equipment to last us a fortnight.

Day one:
Five hours will take us to the Kruger National Park, and depending on time we will enter the Reserve at the most suitable gate. The adventure immediately starts with an hour or two trying to spot as many species of animals like lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo, giraffe, zebra and the many others that inhabit this world famous nature reserve.

The evening is spent around a campfire, with a traditional meal and maybe a glass of our best. Later we all crawl into the safety of our rooftop tents and go to sleep with the sounds of Africa around us...

Day two:
Up at the break of dawn, a cup of coffee and a light breakfast before the animals take to the shade, and then an early morning game drive to the border post. This is Africa and the border post crossing may take anything from a couple of minutes to a couple of hours).

Once through the post civilization as you know it ends. Juggling our way east on bush tracks we hope to cross the Limpopo River before sunset. The route takes us through a little travelled rural part of Africa.

Along the way we will see people living as they have for the past hundreds of years set in the lovely African scenery, complete with the odd burnt out Soviet tank here and there. Two hours before sunset we will find a suitable spot, and with permission of the local chief set up camp. Cold beer, fire, food...

Day three:
If all goes well then we will reach the ocean in the late afternoon, setting up camp at our first diving destination, Morrongulu! (If not, we bush camp again and get there the next day, who cares anyway?)

Day four:
Apart from an endless beach and thousands of coconut trees, Morrongulu offers some of the best diving in Mozambique, and we need to make the most of the two days here. Apart from the schools of tropical fish, the turtles and the odd whale, we will be looking for sharks, Manta and Devil Rays and float over forests of green coral trees.

The routine is to have something light to eat, do one dive, return for brunch, do the second dive, and chill out after lunch. The town of Massinga is half an hour away, and I will take you to the markets and sights.

Day five:
Two more dives (probably deep ones to Jake's Crack and King's Deep) and hopefully we will have collected enough fresh fish and seafood to have a party with on the beach!

Day six:
We move early enough to get to the remote an beautiful Pomene and fit in two dives. Conditions will dictate but a dive on Play Station and Steps is a must.

Day seven:
Two more dives - hopefully the tide will let us do a whopping 5 knot drift dive in the lagoon, and maybe we will get a chance to see the elusive dugongs and the rare humpback river dolphin. If time allows we can explore the lagoon and mangrove swamp by boat.

Day eight:
A good sleep in before we pack up and go - this time to Barra Reef, close to Inhambane. It is about 8 hours to get there, and on fair roads until we get off the main road and onto sand roads for the last eight kilometres. The campsite is practically on the beach and that night we will have a dinner at the local restaurant.

Days nine and ten:
Four dives on any of the 10 reefs searching amongst other things for Mantas and Whale Sharks. The routine is to have something light to eat, do one dive, return for brunch, do the second dive, and then you have the vehicles at your disposal to explore the area at leisure. Inhambane is a picturesque town with many markets, African pubs and beautiful colonial architecture. It is also worth the while to sail the bay in one of the Arab dhows.

Days eleven and twelve:
A short hop (50km) over tricky terrain takes us to the highlight of the trip - Jangamo Bay. The four dives here are aimed specifically at finding mantas and whale sharks - but no promises as you well know by now. And if we do not see them then the reef & scenery shall not disappoint you at all.

Day thirteen:
All good things come to an end and we have to leave the diving behind now. We drive back to Maputo and the luxury of a hotel bed and hot bath after a week's camping. The Rovuma is centrally situated and allows for easy exploration of the city. If you want to sample the bustling nightlife of Africa in the capital city, this will be your chance to do so!

Day fourteen:
Crossing the border we drive back to Johannesburg via the scenic Mpumalanga Province and get you on your flights home.

Excluded from the price
» Excluded are the air tickets and insurances, visas, arrival and departure taxes and other personal expenses. You have to take precautions against malaria. Floods should not influence the areas we are visiting. If so we will divert to another site at same cost.

Terms
» 25% Non-Refundable deposit to secure booking.
» Balance payable 30 days before departure date.
» For payment by credit card add 6.5%.
» All prices are per person sharing.

Important
We are committed to delivering the exact itinerary, but we reserve the right to make any changes that we find necessary for the comfort or safety of the client without notice.

One thing to remember is that this is really Africa - so we might have delays or forced changes in itineraries. Hopefully you trust us well enough to be sure that we will do our utmost.