50 Shades of Turquoise in Mozambique
Mozambique exemplifies the Indian Ocean’s top destination. Colorful boutique hotels and lodges along white sandy beaches stretch into glistening bright turquoise waters. The ocean tides create their own magic. Every time you look out over the ocean, there will be a different canvas with one of the 50 shades of turquoise.
The variety of hotels and lodges range from budget filled with charm to the super luxurious, mainland as well as on private islands. There is something for every client and budget.
Upon arrival at the very relaxed and welcoming Vilanculos Airport, all clients are personally welcomed no matter to which lodge or hotel they are headed. If guests are heading into the islands, they are received in air-conditioned lounges with fresh drinks and a cozy couch to await their helicopter transfers. The luxury treatment does not end there! This is just the beginning…
My amazing 10-day trip to Mozambique was nothing like I have experienced in all my years of travelling. I don’t think I have been greeted and waved to more in my life while on vacation. The warm friendliness of the people was just as warm as the waters of their magnificent ocean.
EXPLORING THE LODGES ON THE MAIN LAND
While there are so many lodges that I visited on the mainland, all of which were lovely and definitely worth a stay, I have picked these two gems that I can recommend highly:
Vilanculos Beach Lodge is cozy, with a relaxed ambiance, very friendly vibes and happy staff all around. The reception is right next to the open beach restaurant. There is a large pool that seems to join seamlessly with the ocean where lively beach offerings any kind of water-based sports and entertainment take place.
AsDunas just 30 min up the coast from the Vilanculos Airport, is the last estate built on a red dune. With eight canvas chalets, tucked into the deep autochthonous bush, it is slightly elevated above the sea which leads to a consistent cooling breeze. Italian architect meets Italian chef, and both are loving their new home of Mozambique. For clients, this is a rather fortunate combination, as you will be delighted with impeccable style and handcrafted furniture in public spaces, spacious hidden canvas tents with their wooden decks and private pools, outstanding culinary creations, daily massages in an open therapy hut, as well as excellent service. Sandy paths lead through the labyrinth of thick bush to stairs down to the beach where private beach lounges are dug into the sandy cliff, providing the best views over the soft blue waters of the Archipelago. A productive co-operative relationship with the locals has led to an outstanding array of cultural or water sport excursions.
Another amazing new lodge is Sussurro – unique location, amazing staff, attention to detail.
At the tip end of the peninsula Nhamabue I find the little paradise around the lagoon, the six spread out chalets are hidden in the deep bush, and impress with their utter purity and luxury of quiet spaces, from the open bath to the shady terrace. Earthen colours and natural materials ooze relaxation, glad to order my baobab, ginger and pineapple smoothy per WhatsApp as I don’t intend to leave this soothing, healthy ambiance for a while and rather tend to a session of yoga in the private outside patio. What impressed me most: their lovely staff creates different private spaces for each meal, on the tip of the pier, under palm trees or on the beach with a huge bondfire, what a Feng Shui moment, sniffing the PeriPeri Chicken and fresh calamari from the BBQ. The open kitchen beams with friendly faces always happy to reveal their healthy culinary secrets to their guests, soft Maputo jazz beats hum through the warm atmosphere to complete the dream of a beach holiday in Africa.
Sussurro also shines with its unique position: the quiet lagoon in front of the lodge is ideal for long swims and all kinds of water activities, a 20 min stroll around the tip of the peninsula takes me to the endless, lonely coastline along the open ocean, breathtaking spot, not easily found anymore on this planet.
Another good news is that they are building a heli pad and transfers (at the moment a 1,5 hours road transfer – an adventure in itself) in the future can be taken by helis or best, a mixture of one way road, one way heli!
DIVING INTO THE LODGES ON THE ISLANDS OF ARCHIPELAGO
My adventure starts again in the gardens of the Vilanculos Beach Lodge as the boat to the next lodge departs from their jetty (high water) or 10 min walk into their bay (low water). We cruise for one hour through the ocean, passing Magaruque and Benguerra island, landing at Anantara Bazaruto. This is a laid back beach resort, on a very long beach, with chalets in their tropical gardens having direct beach access as well as private salas (loungers & leafy sun shade). The family villas and the SPA are set up on the hills with spectacular views towards the coast. There is a good vibe between the large (adult) pool and the kids’ water park, different pool bars and different restaurants. The quirky old main bar complete with a piano with views over the tropical resort and the soft waters, inspired Bob Dylan to write his famous song ‘Mozambique’.
Azura Benguerra is just 10 minutes away via a very impressive Heli ride to Azura Lodge where at the heli pad you will be greeted by the host and butler and introduced to the resort on a stroll through the tropical gardens. All villas offer the same outlets, just floor and pool size vary according to category. Their choice of villas provides for a very private family holiday. Space in the villa is generous with outside showers and baths as well as inside/outside private lounges, small gardens leading to private salas on the beach. The dynamic team encourages active clients to participate in the many additional activities on and around the island. The beach club entertains with al fresco lunches on the beautiful beach while for those needing total privacy, this can be provided in your villa thanks to the excellent butler service. A highlight is the private beach dinner on the last night for all clients, not only honeymooners. I enjoyed the island tour (needs to be booked) exploring the lakes, dunes and lonely beaches on the east coast meeting very happy locals living a quiet life in the small settlements at the heart of the island.
Bazaruto Archipelago National park is managed by African Parks. Apart from the protection of wildlife and marine lands, this has led to efficient and successful tourism training programmes for the local islanders. My butler at Kisawa received a scholarship to attend hotel school and is now happy to excel in a demanding hospitality job so close to his home. On a drive over the island, I learnt about the community engagement initiatives of the various lodges. Without exception, they support schools, clinics and churches for the islanders’ comfort contributing to the sustainable development of tourism and the community supporting it.
Kisawa Sanctuary, what can I say? Somebody had to volunteer to find out if Mozambique’s top luxury lodge ‘is worth it’s price’, and – YES it is!
The pure size and elegance of the chalets, their prominent positions in the deep sands or topping a dune, the sheer beauty of Kisawa’s location far out, at the southern tip of Benguerra takes a dream holiday on a beach to another level in many aspects.
Nick-named the Rockstar Lodge each chalet offers an antique record player, a brilliant sound box and a fine collection of vinyls. Each ‘Cove’ dresses in different smooth colours throughout the impressive length of the chalet, the bathtub is carved of massive rock, the lighting works simply on three ‘moods’ so no more cumbersome switch riddles, but no luxury or art can beat the effect on body and soul of the 180 degrees views over white dunes lapped by endless turquoise waters. Every time I flash myself with this view the painting has changed again. At night the dunes leading down to my poolhouse with kitchen, bar and private pool reflect under the moon as if they had been covered by pure white snow. My lovely, well educated and interesting butler seems to pick up on vibrations, as he is always there when needed and never when the biggest luxury in the world is to be alone surrounded by magic.
The estate measures 300 hectares, along the east and the south coast of the island, the easiest way to get from my Cove to the public areas is by Mini Moke; the most beautiful to walk at first light along the sheltered south-facing bay with a swim at 5 am in the luke warm water, climb the dunes and face the open Indian Ocean from the terrace of the main restaurant.
Time for a welcome treatment in the Natural Wellness Center; cozy reed huts sunk into white sand embrace the stressed traveller, Asian techniques prevail, the head therapist from Bhutan frees me of the last pains from reality out there.
General observations and USPs:
The open friendliness of the people – I think I have not been greeted and waved to more in my life in any destination – feels just as warm as the waters of their magnificent ocean.
Modern communication – lodge management and butlers communicate per WhatsApp with their clients to keep maximum discretion of privacy and service.
Marvellous food – ripe fruit and vegetables combined with freshest seafood and accompanied by a variety of homegrown nuts creates a unique quality and diversity for the lodges to pamper their clients, I might have not eaten better anywhere in the world.
Attractive activities on site – at the majority of lodges these are excluded: snorkling excursions by boat to Magaruque Island’s reef, Day Trips with lunch to Santa Carolina Island, Dhow Cruises.. additionally many lodges offer individual and unique lodges.
The Tides are magic, every time you look out over the ocean it has created a different painting in the 50 Shades of Turquoise, just one addictive factor to this wonderful country and its 2470 km of shoreline.
I have definitely fallen in LOVE and will be back.
Posted by
Christine Ess
Pelo: A heart shaped island in the Delta
If your client is looking for a unique, cozy, romantic and chilled camp, then Pelo is the answer.
Most of these requirements will already be met as the little aircraft descends over the palm tree dotted, flooded landscape of the Jao concession. Your eye gets caught by a tiny island in the shape of a heart; the Setswana word for heart is PELO.
All 5 tents are on stilts facing the water, the intimate terraces open up to the safari wonderland of the deep Delta and are filled with the beautiful cacophony of birdsong.
Pelo is a water camp, meaning there are no vehicles on the island. It therefore combines superbly with productive land camps in Khwai, Moremi Game Reserve or Savute. This camp is a little jewel and shines well at the end of a safari.
Here you come to glide silently over Delta Waters in a Mokoro and explore the endless diversity of the floodplains by boat. Most importantly you come to chill and enjoy yourself and the universe – it should also win the prize for the most stunning pool in the Delta!
Jao water levels vary greatly, your safari consultant will have the best advice for you. Pelo sits in fairly deep waters, which dry out last in the Delta – another reason to include Pelo in your next itinerary!
FACTS ABOUT PELO
Pelo is run by Wilderness Safaris as an Adventures camp.
Activities on offer include mokoro trips, boat based game viewing and seasonal catch and release fishing.
The camp has five guest tents, complete with a covered front veranda, and both an indoor and outdoor shower.
Pelo is open annually from 1 March to 30 November.
Posted by
Christine Ess
The Untamed Wild – a journey to Zambia
My First Safari Into The Untamed Wild
…and despite of innumerable safaris through Botswana and into Zimbabwe, Zambia had always infused me with awe and a tempting curiosity for its claim to fame to be the door into the REAL, deep Africa.
…and all I found were lovely, warm people, welcoming me at airports, airstrips and camps, and an abundance of happy, healthy, relaxed animals.
Elephant mothers who let us come very close to admire their babies, lionesses lying down in the shade of our vehicle, leopards twinkling at us from comfortable branches of huge old trees.
Big smiles and professional hosts awaited us at camps, people proud of their country and its natural beauties guided us. We travelled on sandy roads, cruised on the mighty Zambezi and reluctantly took flights knowing that while up in the air, we would miss out on landscapes and daily life scenes.
Luckily I was accompanied and guided by an almost ‘local’ Zambia lover and expert, my colleague Bettina.
We opted on a Best of List to share with you our most memorable moments of a fabulous journey through a country offering so many (un)tamed safari options. The choice was a tough one, the list could have been much longer ….
BEST SIGHTINGS – both South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi are beaming with wildlife, I have had the most rewarding night game drives ever, with lots of leopards, lions, civit, porcupine, genets.
South Luangwa:
Huge pride of lions, unfaced by us, 13 ladies with their youngsters
So many leopards in different positions on our day & night drives
Pack of 13 wild dogs
Lower Zambezi:
While travelling by boat from the most Eastern part of the park to the park entrance on the Western side we enjoyed hundreds of very happy elephants in the river and along the Zambian and Zimbabwean shores – I have never seen so many babies and youngsters with very relaxed mothers – must be a good life along this magic river.
BEST GUIDE – a difficult choice as most of the guides we met were outstanding ref their scientific wildlife knowledge, respect of animals, empathy with their clients – but we had to choose:
MANDA – Billimungwe Camp/The Bushcamp Company
Apart from his excellent guiding and his incredible knowledge about his country and national parks, nobody could ever fascinate us the way he did with poo, plants & prints – thanks to our brave Scout we even felt save while we were LION tracking, but found a BLACK MAMBA.
BEST FIREPLACE – as we think this very fine safari habit is in danger of extinction and the warm, romantic, orange glow is replaced by the blue light of laptops too many times already. We enjoyed a very nice conversation on comfy cushions after dinner at CHINZOMBO Camp with manager Mario & fellow guests exposed to the nightly sounds of the bush.
…and afterwards we sank into the BEST BED as the camp has installed the high tec, low consumption Evening Breeze cooling system around the bed.
BEST FOOD – this was impossible to decide, as anywhere we went we enjoyed fresh and tasty food, grown in the nearby areas, we are delighted to hear that the supplies for camps are grown and transported rather sustainably compared to other safari countries and local farmers profit directly from tourism.
Therefore the category MOST SURPRISING FOOD goes to KANYEMBA Lodge, where Zambian fruits and vegetables are turned into delicious Italian specialities thanks to the boss’ cooking skills and culture, so we sampled home made banana gelato, porcini risotto, aubergine antipasti while the ellies munched away on the tropical gardens’ trees next to us.
BEST Pool
And as we all know that inspection trips are exhausting, especially if the temperatures rise up to 40 degrees in November, we had to spoil ourselves in some private pools. We especially liked the feel and the views from
CHONGWE CAMPS’s Honeymoon Suite overlooking the confluence of the Chongwe River and the Zambezi
We continue with being spoilt, our timing was obviously perfect, as we visited
SAUSAGE Tree Camp
where we were invited to join their Signature River Lunch – we were taken out into the middle of this gigantic river only to find a wonderful lunch buffet and a shady set table, legs in the cool water, the biggest handwash basin on earth, a true memorable experience and a unique emotional sensation – considering the huge crocs we had seen on our transfers and the hippo family stalking us – so the choice of
BEST SPECIAL EVENT was quite easy!
We close our blog on a fabulous trip with the most elegant event combined with wonderful views from the top of a hill –YES, I loved the hills and mountain ranges ‘escarpments’ coming from rather flat Botswana – over the plains of South Luangwa NP, garnished with a dramatic thunderstorm passing us
BEST SUNDOWNERS must go to CHICHELE
Posted by
Christine Ess
Our visit to the Jao Concession in the Okavango Delta
In November Muriel and I had the opportunity to explore the camps in the Jao Concession, we visited Tubu, Little Tubu, Jao, Jacana and the new Pelo Camp. I am happy to share our experience with you:
Baby Zebra at Kwetsani
Kwetsani: Spectacular setting over the lagoon, very ‘high and elevated camp’ everything is about views, large public deck, many different, intimate corners and tasteful spaces for the clients to withdraw and enjoy the scenery.
Units: due to their height they almost appear as ‘tree houses’, they will be enlarged and refurbished in the coming weeks, then the camp will be certainly my favorite of the classic collection in Jao.
Management: very passionate, open minded, outgoing, and certainly top service orientated camp manager, Charmaine.
Pelo Camp (pronounce PILU for all Setswana ignorants amongst us, as otherwise it sounds like kidney and not like heart, which is the shape of the island it is on).
New camp only open in high (=dry) season, very romantic, hidden in the thick bush on the island, pure water bases, the only activity is mokoro, so it will make a perfect last to relax in some horizontal safari (the birds’ concert is outstandingly entertaining) and concentrate on the small stuff.
The fire place with the bar is the central meeting point, elevated above the lagoon it offers views combined with a warm camp atmosphere.
The public area is a small tent with a terrace, true to the modest style, no big furniture but cushions to lounge.
The dining area is in another small tent, just enough to make clients feels safe without taking the camping feel away.
Units: from the outside it could be just a notch above mobile safari, they almost hide their luxurious interior (top comfy beds, perfect illumination, desk), which gives the camp the charisma of cozy, tented, intimate. Only outside bucket shower (in the cold winter months of June/July people should be informed/warned).
Food: great brunch, a variety a light and tasteful salads, beef sausages, cold pasta, cooked breakfast, fruit and cheeses. Dinner consisted of a veggie soup, excellent Impala stew, veggies and again salad, very pleasant.
Activities: mokoro, the nicest cruise I have ever done for over 2 hrs, safe, hippo free, and in a very lovely surrounding, apart from birder’s paradise, with hundreds of lechwe and elephant herds at our sights, we even spotted some shy Sitatunga.
Apart from mokoro, the manager takes clients to his very special Delta Pool for a refreshing swim and pick nick on the sand banks. Also catch+release fishing is possible.
Pelo Camp in the Okavango Delta
Camp Jao: Just stunning, the jewel of the concession for the pampered, the Balinese palace in the Delta. All emphasis on luxury, spa, food, wine tasting, a perfect end or relaxing start to a safari, I could certainly stay for 5 days in this camp. The whole camp is highly elevated in beautiful old trees, as if the camp was a colony of tree houses connected by swaying boardwalks.
Apart from the spa, there is a proper gym, yoga mats and pilates balls, and a wine tasting parlour, as the unusual features.
Units: the best feature (vs its sisters in luxury Kings Pool/Vumbura Plains) is the shape of the rooms, as they are not deep but long, so from any point of the unit the views over the lagoon can be enjoyed, they are airy and full of light, which takes the weight off the massive wooden furniture and gives it a noble and highly elegant feel.
The public areas are impressive, two pools, one family one adults only plunge pool bordering with the Delta, large shady sitting areas on a 10 m tall deck. The impressive fireplace with unique Balinese drums builds the center of the camp with incredible views over the lagoon and its wildlife, e.g. Lechwe hunting Lions.
Jao Camp in the Okavango Delta
Posted by
Christine Ess