Best of Africa 2005
Adventure Travel
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Mozambique: The Lost Coast
By David Case
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If anyone can sing the praises of Africa, it's explorer J. Michael Fay. After recently completing an aerial survey of 90 percent of the continent, coastal Mozambique impressed him the most: "Its people, wildlife, and the Indian Ocean with its archipelago are all off the charts," he said. Brutally exploited for centuries by Portuguese colonialists, the country emerged from decades of civil war in 1992 as one of the world's poorest. But since then, this nation of farmers and fishermen has slowly developed and stabilized. The proof? On a backstreet in Maputo, the capital, an art gallery now sells sculptures of birds made from dismantled guns.
The North Shore
Aside from the country's southeast corner, which caters to a regular flow of beach-bound South Africans, it's tough to get around in Mozambique. Roads are only now being paved, and the UN warns of land mine danger throughout the interior. Fortunately, the country's principal attractions—pristine reefs in clear sapphire seas, curious 45-foot-long (14-meter-long) whale sharks, and untouched swaths of palm-fringed beach—are safely accessed along its 1,500 miles (2,414 kilometers) of undeveloped, kayak-navigable shoreline. Safari by KayakJust last year, outfitter Jakera Adventure mapped out one of the first guided kayaking expeditions along Mozambique's remote north coast. The trip starts in Pemba, a sprawling metropolis of thatched huts 130 miles (290 kilometers) south of Tanzania, and heads northward for a two-week, 150-mile (240-kilometer) tour of Quirimbas National Park, a 2,900-square-mile (4,667-square-kilometer) archipelago set aside as parkland in 2002. There, you'll find low-slung coral cays (some deserted, others jam-packed with the reed homes of local fishermen), acres of unexplored reefs, and the occasional humpback whale, which winters in the archipelago's 80-degree (27-degrees Celsius) waters. "Near the park, there were only about a dozen locals every dozen miles," says Jakera guide Paul Kerrison, recalling his exploratory trip. "When we passed by, every one of them came out and seen anything like them before."
Other than two nights' stay in luxurious, thatch-roof lodges on the islands of Matemo and Medjumbe, you'll spend your nights tenting on the beach while your South African guides cook fresh fish, lobster, and calamari. From your camp, you can snorkel or dive along reefs teeming with dolphins, manta rays, 500-pound giant clams, and docile dugongs (cousins of the manatee). Or just sit on the beach, share a grilled fish with the friendly, curious locals, and ponder the triangular-sailed Arab dhows—part passenger ferry, part fishing boat—inching by on a life-size postcard vista.
Colonial CooldownThe trip ends with two days at the Quilálea resort (see "Island Escape," below), where you can scuba dive straight from the beach or head to Ibo Island (one hour by speedboat), an abandoned Portuguese slave-trading port where colonial villas have been reclaimed by enormous fig trees.
Island Escape
Over the past three years, in what amounts to a construction boom on Mozambique's little-explored north coast, about a half dozen intimate island resorts opened for business. To get a feel for what it's like to have your own private island, spend a week at Quilálea ($375 a night, including meals, lodging, and transport; www.quilalea.com) getting scuba certified, diving among whale sharks, and fishing for six-foot barracuda. At night you'll retire to one of nine villas, all with ocean views. VITALSWhen to Go: During the dry season, May to November, temps tend to be in the high 70s. This is the best time to see humpback whales congregating in Quirimbas National Park.
Air Travel: Connections to Pemba are available on Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (www.lam.co.mz/uk-home) from Johannesburg, South Africa ($374), and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania ($195). outfitter: Jakera Adventure offers two-week tours that include meals, lodging, and equipment ($5,000; www.jakera.com).
Find more adventure travel options in Africa in Adventure magazine's September 2005 issue.
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