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Chris, Mark and I have booked a boat for 9:00 to go snorkelling off the 2-Mile Reef. It costs $25 per person, but we can go out for as long as we want.<br />I still have diarrhoea and I'm getting painful cramps in my gut which are really getting me down. I nearly decide to stay with Blondie and Ken on the beach, especially when I discover that the boat has no sun shade, but finally I decide to go. I'm very glad that I did, because the snorkeling is absolutely fantastic - I think better even than Hurghada.
Day 12. Thu 28th April. The Bazaruto Archipelago
DaveMidgley2005-10-22 18:43:57
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Chris, Mark and I have booked a boat for 9:00 to go snorkelling off the 2-Mile Reef. It costs $25 per person, but we can go out for as long as we want.
I still have diarrhoea and I'm getting painful cramps in my gut which are really getting me down. I nearly decide to stay with Blondie and Ken on the beach, especially when I discover that the boat has no sun shade, but finally I decide to go. I'm very glad that I did, because the snorkeling is absolutely fantastic - I think better even than Hurghada.
The trip out at high tide takes about an hour, and we anchor close to the reef. There is quite a chop on the way out, but once we are in the lee of the reef the sea is calm, although we can see the breakers on the seaward side. We snorkel for about an hour and I fill my waterproof camera with pictures.
We then motor round to Pansy Island, which is covered at high tide but is now a narrow spit of pure white sand.
Then we cross to Bazaruto Island and walk around the southern point. We are seeking the elusive Dugong, a species similar in appearance to the Manatee but actually closely related to the elephant. The pristine sea grass beds of this extensive tropical archipelago are home to the largest remaining population in Eastern Africa, helping make this newly extended protected area a global marine conservation priority. 110 of these rare creatures were counted in 1990 but the population is now estimated at less than 40.
Chris and Mark are with Pasquale, one of the boatmen, and they suddenly catch sight of a dugong, so we quickly return to the boat and motor round to the spot. We are rewarded with a brief glimpse of a vague beige shape just under the surface - well, at least I can say that I've seen a dugong.
A local family has requested a lift to Banguera, and we have agreed to take them as long as it doesn't interfere with our itinerary, so we pick them up on the way back. The father
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See photographs from:
Mozambique Gallery
