MOZAMBIQUE & KRUGER NATIONAL PARK

by Kathy Moore

After 2 years of planning we were on our way to our African dream, scuba diving in Mozambique followed by Safari in Kruger National Park. This is not a trip for the faint hearted 'it's not a holiday it is an adventure' as Scuba Addicts quite rightly told us. However if you want to experience fantastic diving on pristine reefs with close at hand experience of manta rays and whale sharks then this trip is for you.

We booked our trip through Scuba Addicts Website a company, which is owner managed by Craig Smith and Dave Moldenhauer who were our guides for the duration of the tour. Their tours are aimed exclusively at the international market, they provide packages in South Africa and Mozambique. With group size limited to a maximum of 9 they ensure exclusivity and a fantastic personal fully guided service. They meet you at the airport and travel with you for the full duration of the tour on land and underwater, daytime and evening. They are both experienced divers who have had experience of diving in the UK, Europe and Africa and have both returned to their homeland where they can now combine their love of diving with work. Their passion for diving is self evident this is obviously not just a job but a lifestyle and they just want to share their best diving experiences with other divers. They work hard behind the scenes to ensure the trip runs smoothly and have extensive hands on experience of South Africa and Mozambique and are therefore able to predict any potential problems and deal with them. The currency in Mozambique is meticais but the exchange rate can vary considerably so Craig and David provide a fair exchange rate for South African Rand and became affectionately nicknamed the bank of craigdavid!!.

After 11.5-hour night flight from Gatwick to Johannesburg with Nationwide airlines we found our way to our connecting flight, which took us to Nelspruit Airport in 45 minutes. We were given a generous 28kg luggage allowance for our international flight but beware the internal flight allowance is 24kg! Luckily with an email confirming our 28kg allowance our luggage was accepted. Nelspruit Airport or Kruger International is a very small but beautiful wooden beamed thatched roofed building and it looked picturesque surrounded by lush green vegetation and blue skies and brilliant sunshine, a stark difference from the cold winter conditions we left in the UK.

We were met by Craig Smith one half of Scuba Addicts and Nick whose lodge we would be staying in for the safari part of our holiday. They were taking us on the next leg of our journey across the border into Mozambique and onto Tofo Beach, which was a 10-hour drive. In an air-conditioned minibus we travelled through the valley of the crocodile river which is on the boundary of Kruger National Park, The mountainous topography was covered in lush green forestation and in the valley we passed vast sugar cane fields and banana plantations. After 1 hour we crossed the Komati River and reached the border of Mozambique, Craig and Nick dealt with all the formalities, which went very smoothly for us, and soon we were on our way. This is not always the case so be prepared for a potential wait.

Once in Mozambique we immediately noticed the difference from South Africa. The country has been ravished by 17 years of civil war and the evidence of this is obvious everywhere you look. The only animals you see are cows, goats, dogs and birds, the whole wildlife population was wiped out during the war. Evidence of war-ravaged buildings are round every corner and there is no money to rebuild.

After 3 hours we arrived at Casa Lisa for an overnight stay. We had a meal and drinks and everyone started to get to know one another.

Refreshed and ready to roll we left at 0630 and continued on the final leg of our journey. From here the roads dramatically deteriorated and in an attempt to avoid all the potholes the vehicles weaved all over the roads. We passed may communities of tiny straw roofed buildings with children running around and nearby women working on a piece of land preparing it for planting. We passed many roadside stalls selling anything from live chickens, cashew nuts and fruit to wood piles, roofing straw and pots. At one point we also passed a 200km coconut plantation part of a bio fuel project.

At 1230 after 48 hours of travelling, we arrived at Tofo beach and our lodge Casa Barry that would be our base for the next 6 days. Our accommodation was a fantastic ensuite Casita with a shower, kitchen and lounge area and veranda overlooking the beach. It was a wooden framed building with bamboo walls and roof and wooden floor which had ceiling fans in all rooms (note you need a special plug adaptors for Mozambique if you need to recharge batteries for cameras and torches, however Scubba Addicts are well prepared with enough for everyone to borrow). Mansuella our chalet boy kept our Casita clean and tidy for a small tip at the end of the week and also if required would arrange for washing to be done.

Surprisingly our priority was not unpacking, getting food or sleep but diving. We gathered our dive kit and after a 5-minute drive we were at Tofo Scuba, the dive centre Website. With formalities dealt with the usual disclaimers signed, proof of qualification provided we were ready to kit up and get into the water. Scuba Addicts charter the services of Tofo Scuba who provide the boats, boat crew, dive guides and any kit, which needs hiring. Scuba Addicts provided weights and cylinders, they use mainly 12 litre dumpy steel cylinders, which are more comfortable for rib diving but the dive centre do have 12 litre ally cylinders.

The routine for diving is quite simple. Arrive at reception at the allotted pick up time or at the dive centre for dive meet time if you fancy a 20-minute beach stroll. The first dive of the day is 0630, which means group breakfast at 0545. The dive centre staff will be ready and waiting with a helpful hand and cylinders will be ready for kitting up. Dive kit is stored in a secure dive store at the dive centre for the duration of the stay.

Diving is for advanced divers, currents can be strong, seas can be choppy with large swells. We were exceptionally lucky and had superb diving conditions on most days. In November water temperature was a comfortable 26 degrees and 5mm wetsuit was ideal.

Prior to each dive a detailed dive brief is given by the dive guide who gives an explanation of the dive site, currents, what you can expect to see and reinforces some safety issues. The main dives sites are mainly 24 metres plus. For the dive guides everyone's safety is paramount, they fully understand that the sea can be an enemy and a friend. They have experienced the ferocity of changing currents and surface swells and are continuously monitoring this to ensure the group gets the best dive. Understandibly they like the group to stay together within reason and keep the dive guides in view at all times. They like the group to ascend and surface as a group, however if necessary (usually due to air consumption) one of the dive guides will return divers safely to the boat and then return to the rest of the group.

Tofo scuba use 8 metre ribs with twin Yamaha 85 outboard engines. Boats are launched from the beach and detailed instructions must be followed to ensure a safe launch. The boat is loaded and taken to the waters edge by Landover. This is where the hard work starts. The group plus dive centre staff push the boat into the water keeping the boats nose heading into the surf so the surf cannot flip the boat over. Once waist/chest deep in water the instruction is given to jump in, with waves crashing over your heads it is not an easy task and here it is everyone for themselves. Once in help is given to those struggling. Once everyone is aboard with feet in foot straps and holding on to rope handles the Cox accelerates through the surf and into deep water. It is an exhilarating experience and no one launch is the same.

Depending on numbers and distance to the dive site you will either stay out all day having a snack on the boat during the surface interval which means you are back early afternoon which leaves time for exploration, relaxation, swimming and surfing whatever takes your fancy. Alternatively you return to shore for lunch in between dive one and two which gives you a longer relaxed surface interval but expends the dive day with a finish time of about 4.30pm.

Once at the dive site the guides help everyone to kit up. As one the group does a backward roll off the boat and a negative entry enables to people to descend quickly. Because of variable surface conditions it is crucial everyone gets into the water and down to the seabed as quickly as possible. The lead dive guide goes in with an SMB line and Craig and Dave act in a sweeping capacity. This enables the dive guide to concentrate on guiding and the sweepers can observe the group, sort out any problems, help with ascents for those low on air so others can continue their dive.

After completing the 2 dives and a leisurely boat ride back everyone is prepared for the adrenaline pumping surf onto the beach where the dive centre staff are marshalling any beach walkers out of the danger zone and freeing space for the boat to surf at speed onto land.

Our first dive was at Mikes Cupboard. This is an inshore reef at a depth of 14 - 16 metres. A series of Giant potholes linked together with caves, overhangs and gullies. It is covered in vast assortment of soft coral. All the normal array of tropical fishes can be seen. The highlights on this dive were 5 crocodile fish, a family of blue spotted ray, a boxed horn fish and finally an octopus, which was an excellent spot as it was well camouflaged in a hole. There was a continuous swell, which if you go with the flow is quite soothing, and you can just chill out and enjoy the scenery, a fantastic check dive.

Manta Reef is one of the furthest sites heading south from the launch site and known as Tofo's showcase dive. It is at a depth of 21 to 26 metres. We were lucky to dive this site twice. After the routine synchronised backward roll and negative entry we were descending through the sunstreaked sea into darker water, but at all times we had the dive guides SMB line in our sight and in the distance could see the reef outline. With expectations high we followed the dive guide around the reef exploring a series of pinnacles and then arrived at the first cleaning station.

Momentarily I was sidetracked by a huge potato wrasse and couldn't understand why no-one else was interested in my find. As I looked up I was amazed to see a 4-metre manta ray glide past just over my head. This was what I had come to Tofo for, I was spell bound. As long as we stayed still on the edge of the cleaning station the manta was happy to glide around while various cleaner fish worked hard to provide the equivalent of an exfoliation treatment. It was hard to move on but there was still more to see another cleaning station and beautiful reefs covered in colourful soft corals and an abundance of colourful fish. Finally we moved on to the second cleaning station and each time found more mantas. We also saw the normal array of tropical fish and beautiful soft corals. I've never seen a frog fish' I casually mentioned one evening and the guides assured me they would find one. On the second dive of this site as we reached the reef there resting gently on a small pinnacle was a pink frogfish it was an amazing sight.

On the way to our next dive site we had our first encounter with a 4 metre Whale shark and were able to slide off the side of the rib and snorkel with it. An amazing experience, they are so unbelievably big and yet so graceful. They are attracted to this area because of the large amount of plancton which they feed on. We were told to give them space and then it doesn't feel under threat and seemd content to slowly swim around while we finned as hard as we could to keep up with it.

Chamber of Secrets is a reef that is shaped like a horseshoe. It is about 12km to travel and is at a depth of 14 around the top and 21 metres at the base, which forms into a wall, lined with swim throughs and numerous overhangs and caves. It was a beautiful dive with a colourful reef covered in soft corals and surrounded by an array of tropical fish. We also saw octopus, nudibranch, scorpion fish, crocodile fish, trumpet fish and Dave the guide found a harlequin shrimp. As the name suggests it is full of surprises and the swim throughs are excellent areas to explore and its fun trying to co-ordinate the swim through with the gentle swell.

Giants Castle is 9 km to travel and is at a depth of 26 to 33 metres. The wall is inhabited by Giant Potato Bass and features several Manta cleaning stations. This is a dive where you are quite likely to come across game fish. We were able to dive this site twice. Using his very own acoustic method Craig (scuba addicts dive guide) soon had a huge shoal of King fish surrounding him darting about. We also saw two manta rays glide effortlessly by surrounded by hard working cleaner fish. Dave (scuba addicts dive guide) then found a slipper lobster, and then a triple find an electric marble ray lying beside a scorpion fish which has a tiny banded pipe fish on its back. My advice is always keep an eye on the guides they will spot things that you would normally swim past.

Amazon is 18km north of the launch site and is only dived in perfect conditions. Because it is so far to travel and currents can be severe it can only be dived if conditions are perfect. On this particular day the dive guide did a current check as we passed the Office dive site. Our luck was in, the dive was on everyone including the guides were excited, as this isn't a site that is regularly dived. This reef is shaped like an L, formed by two ledges with craters and large swim throughs at a depth of 22-28 metres. Because it is so far out to sea, the visibility is good and the reef is teeming with both reef and pelagic fish. The swim through housed a myriad of tiny fish and a large honey combed moray. Out the other side we swam over a plateau covered in a garden of colourful corals. We also came across a large ribbon tailed ray resting on the seabed and above that a shoal of shiny silver barracuda stealthily swimming across the top of the reef. With one eye on the barracuda and another looking into the blue we were hopeful we might spot sharks which have been seen on this site previously however only a lucky few in the group caught a split second glimpse of a shark, in the distance.

The Office is near to Amazon. It is at a depth of 19 - 24 metres. The reef is made up of a number of ledges and gullies. This is primarily a drift dive with a cleaning station situated on the Northern point of the reef. We descended onto the reef and found two eggshell cowries and a very small snow moray. We then swam through a gully full of large shoals of tropical fish and then headed straight towards a large shoal of Jacks circling overhead. On the way to look for the leopard shark we saw a giant honeycombed moray, it was a beautiful green with gold honeycombed pattern, hence the name, its main body was curled into a hole but its upper body and head were swaying with the current it was huge and I am glad it wasn't free swimming. We then continued along the reef and right where Craig said it would be we found the leopard shark quietly sheltering under a small overhang. After the excitement of the leopard shark siting it was time to ascend and as we did our 5 metre safety stop we watched a ribbon tailed ray swim below us.

Hogwarts known as magical dive. We were lucky to dive this site twice and on one of these dives during the journey we came across a pod of humpbacked dolphins, which are a rare site in this area. We had already had several encounters with bottled nose dolphins on previous dives. Then we had another opportunity to snorkel with a whale shark. Some people wait a lifetime for one encounter so this was very special. I don't think it matters how many opportunities you get to snorkel with whale sharks its always a magical experience they are the gentle giants of the sea and are so graceful and as long as they don't feel threatened they are content to swim alongside. Once at the dive site we descended and swam over a plateau looking for manta rays and came across a huge green turtle about 1.5 metres across. Swam over sponges, which looked like pots and often had fish resting in or around them. This was a successful day for turtles as we then came across a very old hawksbill turtle. We also saw manta rays and one came so close it was almost on our heads. The highlight on the safety stop was 4 mobular rays swimming below us in formation.

Evenings were spent as group with Craig and David eating a various restaurants, reminiscing about the days spectacular diving and having a competition as to who could stay awake later that 10pm!!

On our last day we ended with an early morning dive followed by brunch and were on the road by 12 midday for our 6-hour return journey to Casa Lisa and an overnight stay and then onto Du Bois Lodge on the edge of Kruger National Park (www.duboislodge.co.za). Here we were reunited with Nick (the lodge owner and his family) and we said tearful goodbyes to those who were heading home and to Dave who was heading to Johannesburg to collect the next group. A small group remained at the lodge for the Safari experience. The lodge comprised of ensuite rooms with bath and shower, air conditioning and a veranda, complete luxury in the middle of the bush. As we sat chilling and dangling our legs in the splash pool we watched monkeys, wart hogs and exotic birds eating in the front garden.

The safari package included a sunset drive, an all day game drive and a bush walk all in Kruger National Park. We thought we had had early morning starts for diving but for the safari you need to be at the park gates at 0530. However as we were reminded this is not a holiday it is an adventure and with the sunrise at 0430 and the birds and animals starting their morning calls it is hard to sleep late and you'd miss the best part of the day. We had fantastic sitings and managed to come up close and personal with 4 of the big 5 and saw loads more as well including elephant, giraffe, rhino, impala, lion, hyena, buffalo, warthog, hippo, bush buck. Evenings were spent around the braii (barbeque) and this was a fantastic way to end the holiday.

Soon it was over and time to return to the UK and plan for next year's visit. Craig, Dave and Nick are right you cannot just visit once. Next year's itinerary for Scuba Addicts combines shark diving in South Africa with Mozambique and Kruger National Park. I can't wait!