From Pretoria in South Africa, it was about an 11 hour bus ride to the capital City of Maputo in Mozambique. We were told before that if we didn’t have our Mozambican Visas prior to reaching the border, then the bus would leave without us. good thing we listened to that guidance because the line ups at the border crossing were huge.

After a little bit of bribery (in the form of $1 each) the whole bus was able to be stamped in best away. Our first taste of bribery and corruption in this country…more to come. Maputo was a good city, our first real “African” feeling place. We found a terrific Backpackers to stay in and it was packed with other travellers from all over the world. We spent 3 nights in Maputo just hanging out with other backpackers, walking the streets and going to the local markets.

the very long line up at the Mozambique immigration, border with South Africa

a stunning church in Maputo, Mozambique
checking out some of the wood carvings at a market, Maputo, Mozambique

We left Maputo on August 19th and headed up to the beach village of Tofo. We hadn’t seen a beach because Kabak in Turkey so we were really looking forward to lounging out and unwinding for a few nights near the ocean. My cold had worsened because Maputo so the 8 hour chapa (small bus) ride was hellish for me. I was sweating out a fever, hacking and coughing the whole way. fortunately we met some really amazing people on the bus who helped make it bearable. There was 7 young backpackers on the trip and we all chatted, in separate groups, the whole way. There were two German girls in the back of the bus named Maria and Anna, who were on a 1 month trip in Mozambique. A sweet, easy going girl named Alice from Luxembourg (don’t worry, we’d never heard of it either), a unusual Israeli who nobody was quite sure of, and a lively, ultra positive German character named Henry who we quickly hit it off with…despite him sleeping for 6 of the 7 hour bus ride.

Mozambican young boys on the bus ride from Maputo to Tofo

Once we arrived in Tofo, we checked into our funky beachside hut. While checking in the Israeli seemingly lost his mind and started yelling at the staff in the hotel. guideline one in travelling is to unwind and this man was off his rocker. If there was any possibility of the 6 of us forging a friendship with this creepy lurker, it was right away shattered with his spontaneous and uncalled for hostility.

The rest of us essentially laughed at him and apologised to the incredibly friendly staff after the unexpected onslaught. We ditched the aggressive Israeli and headed straight to the beach. stepping on the sand was like stepping back into paradise and back into a world reminiscent of our Asia trip only with a palpable African flavour.

As soon as we saw the beach Henry and I ran into the water and swam in the waves for a bit. That [turned out to be] the last of my energy for the next few days. While Dariece hung out with our new pals I mostly stayed in our hut combating off a fever and nasty throat infection. After 3 days when I was still in and out of hot flashes I chose to take one of the self malaria tests we purchased in South Africa, just to be safe. fortunately it was negative, and the cold started to subside the next day.

fruit market in Tofo, Mozambique

freshly caught crayfish, Tofo, Mozambique
the stunning beach at Tofo, Mozambique

coming back from a swim in the waves, Tofo, Mozambique
The entire time we were in South Africa I had heard about the incredible diving in Tofo so I had really been looking forward to diving there. It is one of the few places in the world where massive, 4 meter broad manta rays come to be cleaned by other fish. sadly the week before we arrived the entire coastline was ravished by a freak winter season sea storm and so the visibility on dives was next to zero. each time we saw divers coming back from the sea Henry and I would run up and ask how it was and each time they would tell us either that the visibility was bad, or the dive was cancelled. I planned to try anyway so I booked a dive on the same day that Dariece planned an ocean safari with Alice to snorkel with some of the substantial creatures that frequent the seas near Tofo. My dive that day was cancelled but Dariece still went on her safari and was incredibly lucky. She found Humpback Whales and a pod of dolphins which came best up to the boat and bobbed with there head up long enough for Dariece to have a conversation with one of them.On the way back to shore a Whale Shark was basking in the shallows, feasting on krill and all the people on the boat jumped in and snorkeled with the huge 7 meter long fish.

Whale Sharks are the largest fish in the world measuring up to 18 meters long and weighing in at astonishing 13 or so tons. I spent an entire month on Koh Tao Thailand diving 26 dives trying to see one and Dariece got to swim with one before me. I was amazed that she even got in the water because she screams when we snorkel with 2 foot long groupers, but she did and she loved it. Although she still did yell when the the enormous shark headed straight for her and all of a sudden came visible in the murky water! On the boat she met a fellow oceaphobe from England named Faye and her spouse Oliver. When she came back to shore the three of them told me about the trip and I was incredibly jealous and I right away planned to do a safari the next day with Henry. That night we ate a tolerable meal at a funky local hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Black & White. We picked at the cold food and chatted with a table full of our new friends.

Oli passing around some delicious food, Tofo, Mozambique

The next morning at 10:00 Henry and I set out on our ocean safari and for nearly 2 hours of slowly cruising around wavy seas we saw absolutely nothing. finally we found a turtle bobbing on the surface and at that moment all the animals chose to come out and say hello. The chauffeur found a couple of boats floating around a substantial shadow. sure enough when we got close we could see the substantial Whale Shark! While we were getting ready we also saw a few dolphins playing in the water around the boats.

Henry and I hastily dawned our snorkeling gear and we were two of the first people off our boat. At first I was anxiously searching for this mythical creature that has managed to evade me for the past 2 years, then all of a sudden the shadow became bigger and the comprehensive image of the amazing beast came into view. I swam along side it, crowded with other snorkelers, occasionally diving down a few meters below the shark to see his underside.

He was an adolescent male measuring maybe 6 or 7 meters long and he wasn’t shy at all. He stayed feeding near the surface for nearly a half an hour even with the dozen snorkelers crowding his space. At one point Henry gave me the thumbs up under water, knowing how long I’d waited to see a Whale Shark, and already seeing one himself in the Philippines, he knew the feeling I was having. I stayed in the water with the shark for a few minutes after everyone else had exhausted and went back to the boat. The one on one time with the shark swimming next to me is something I will never forget, a really amazing ocean experience.

Nick & Henry walking the beach to the dive shop, Tofo, Mozambique

so numerous people helping to get the boat in the water, Tofo, Mozambique
That night Henry, Alice, Dariece and I shared a bottle of red wine on a hill at the edge of the bay. We talked about our Whale Shark experiences, prior travels, and home life, while Henry (a music teacher) played us a sound track to tropical paradise on his ukulele while we viewed the sun set over the palm fringed beach. on that night it became clear that Henry and Alice were about to become our close pals and travel companions in Mozambique.

sunset at Tofo, Mozambique
view from our hut on a sand dune, Tofo, Mozambique

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