Mozambique. August / Sept 2012.

Having got, by mistake, a multiple entry visa for Mozambique back in June we decided to spend some more time there on our way back to South Africa. We spent most of the time at 2 places, Pomene and Barra Lighthouse - these are definitely our 2 favourite places in Mozambique.

1. Pomene Lodge.

The Lodge is situated on a peninsula between the sea and a huge lagoon and has chalets as well as campsites. There were flamingoes at the lagoon every day.

The Lodge is 55Km from the main N1 road and takes about 2 hours. The first hour is mainly on a good hard sand road but passes through lots of settlements. Once you reach the Pomene Reserve gates (M200 per person plus M200 for a vehicle and M50 for a trailer) you'll need to reduce tyre pressures to get through the last 20km which is a soft sandy track.

Once through the villages the road passes through open areas.

The narrow sandy track through the mangrove forests does not have many passing places.

We spent a couple of nights at one of the sites near the sea but we found it rather windy so moved to a more sheltered site overlooking the lagoon.

We often saw whales out at sea. This one spent ages raising its flipper and then slapping it on the water.

Some of the chalets are on the edge of the lagoon which, at high tide, have the sea right up to them.

The Lodge has a pool, bar and restaurant and offers a wide range of activities including snorkeling, scuba diving, horse riding, quad bikes, ocean safaris and mangrove trips.

I did an introductory scuba diving course which involves a couple of hours in the pool in the morning and then an hour in the lagoon where there's an artificial reef and loads of fishes. Brilliant , I loved it.

We saw some lovely sunsets over the lagoon.

A shady spot at our campsite overlooking the lagoon.

The flamingoes beautiful colours are evident when they are flying.

We drove out to the location of an old hotel. It's been closed since the mid 70s but is still standing which bears testament to the build quality. It's recently been bought and is going to be re-developed.

The old hotel buildings.

A lovely bay at the back of the old hotel.

2. Barra Lighthouse Campsite.

We spent a week here and really enjoyed it. Once again Dennis made us feel very welcome and cooked his specialty - stuffed calamari- for us. Several of the pitches have a great view over the bay. Since we were here in June the sea has washed away a lot of the sand and at high tide the sea is now very close to the building on the beach.

In June we were able to drive up this concrete ramp which connects the beach road to the top road.

One of the apartment owners has put in 7m poles under his buildings and is building a breakwater.

We saw whales every day at Barra.

Barra Lighthouse.

3. Palmeiras Campsite, Bilene.

We stopped here for a couple of nights on our way back to South Africa. The site is near the lagoon which, after the recent high tides, was beautifully clear - the sea only comes over the dunes and into the lagoon at particularly high tides.

There were plenty of birds around the campsite. This is one of a pair of

This collared sunbird repeatedly attacked itself in the bakkie's mirror!

This scorpion was in our shower at Sunset Beach Lodge - it's one of the less dangerous ones (large pincers and a small tail) however we killed it and removed it before showering!

1. Lowveld. Phongola, Mbuluzi, Arathusa, Klaserie and Dongola.

2. Zimbabwe - Bulawayo, Hwange National Park & Sailing on Lake Kariba.

3. Mozambique beaches. Pomene, Barra Lighthouse and Bilene.

Diary. (Word '97 document)

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