Waiting for Whale Sharks, Tofo, Mozambique

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Martin's Reflection on Tofo Beach

Since we had done some snorkelling up North, and not found any whale sharks, I really wanted to return to Tofo in search of the world's biggest fish.  On our way back down south we dropped in for a couple of days in Vilanculos. it was nice to see the changing scenery of the shallow bay as the tide of the clear aqua water headed in and out revealing sand spits it seemed all the way to the Bazaruto archipelago. We couldn't resist staying at Beach Village again and love being welcomed and seeing the familiar faces of Terrick and his staff, and of course, cheeky little Brutus the puppy (not so little, perhaps even a little wider!).

A couple of days hanging out, catching up on internet and onto Tofo in search of whale sharks. Tofo has the highest concentration of these beasts in the world apparently as it has the best habitat and good phytoplankton food supplies. The snorkel trips out to the Indian Ocean have about a 70% success rate of seeing them, so odds are good - and should be for the price.  But, when will I get another chance like that, so we went to Tofo.  And there, we hit bad weather - rain and high winds which caused a large swell in the Ocean in which the boats would not go out in.  So, we waited, and waited, and waited, and waited.  5 days in total, with no break in the weather, and also no break in the forecast.  So, it was time to move on, and I was disappointed, but also because I didn't take the chance to go out on our first visit to Tofo.  Swimming with whale sharks will have to stay on my 'to do' list!!

Mozambique Flag (Complete with AK-47 Machine Gun) Plus Moon

We attempted to make the most of our time in Tofo again, but the weather just didn't allow much beach time.  With the rain, there was not much time to explore.  The backpackers  where we were staying was very busy as it was South African holidays, so with all the people around, it was easy to meet others, and we had fun with different groups.  There were some big overland trucks that pulled in over our time, some groups of 35 people!  We managed to party a little bit, and headed to the big busy backpackers party spot called Fatima's Nest for drinks on the beach.

We did manage to make a couple of day trips.  One to the next beach area to the North, called Barra.  Nice to see a different place, and after taking a chap there, we decided to walk the 7km back along the beach, which was a great choice.  Another trip to replenish supplies to the Colonial town of Inhambane.  Some very interesting buildings, almost art deco style, but otherwise an uneventful day.  We did return through Inhambane with a nice South African couple who gave us a ride there in their RV on our way to Quissico.  *Stub