2018 Itinerary Magical, Pristine. Warm, Accommodating Mozambique.
5 full days with a minimum of 2 dives a day on the tropical coral reefs off the coast of Mozambique.
Please remember, this is purely a “suggested itinerary” and we can add / reduce it any way you like, by increasing or decreasing the number of days spend diving in Moz.
DIVE QUALIFICATION NEEDED
OW1 or equivalent.
Some of the deeper dives require an OW2 certification,
or equivalent. No nitrox.
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Best time of year: Mozambique lies within the tropics so this dive location is a 12 month of the year dive location. But February month is known as “cyclone month” off the east coast of Africa, in the Mozambique Channel, so, if you can, avoid visiting Moz in February / early March. Mother Nature has no set dates.
Please note, the Sharks, especially the Whale Sharks have not read this timetable and have no idea where they are meant to be and when!
Mozambique must offer some of the most pristine tropical coral reef diving anywhere in the world. Situated within the Tropic of Capricorn, in an area not yet threatened by climatic charges and coral bleaching, it’s more popular pristine coral reefs with an abundant sea life are situated 25 km’s plus from the shore. Too far out for the local fishermen to plunder and rape in their flimsy dhows. These reefs are untouched, spectacular and pristine.
Unlike dive sites in the Red Sea and Caribbean, Mozambique cannot offer multiple dives a day. “The pool is open” type of diving. All dives are done in the early morning so as to take advantage of the calm sea conditions with little wind. The wind normally picks up at about noon, causing a chop on the water and unpleasant and even dangerous diving conditions. That coupled to a 3 meter variance between low and high tide limits diving to 1 hour either side of the turn of the tides. Please don’t expect to do more than 2 dives a day anywhere along the South African & Mozambique coast. By late afternoon the wind drops making a night dive an unforgettable experience. But this can only be decided on the day, a few hours before the dive.
Please also remember, when diving anywhere off the coast of Mozambique you are miles, thousands of miles, from a recompression chamber. Do no push the limits! All reputable dive operators err on the side of caution! This is the epitome of recreational diving.
Remember to take out dive insurance and also remember you are diving in a high risk malaria area. Please take the necessary preventative measures.
Also… you’ve come this far to dive. Why not take advantage of being in Africa and spend 3 days on safari in the world famous Kruger National Park. We have a 3 night / 2 full days safari special for all divers travelling with “Dive The Big 5”.
Day 01
2018:
Arrive OR Tambo International Airport, own arrangements. After clearing customs and immigration you will make your way to the City Lodge OR Tambo Hotel which is situated at OR Tambo International Airport. Overnight at City Lodge OR Tambo on a bed and breakfast basis.
Included:
Accommodation at City Lodge OR Tambo
Excluded:
International / domestic air
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Bar
Items of a personal nature
Gratuities
Days 02
2018:
After an early breakfast, you will walk the 15 minutes or so back to the International Departures Hall at OR Tambo International Airport to report at the LAM check-in desk @ 06h40, to check in for LAM’s flight TM312 to Maputo, which departs OR Tambo International Airport @ 08h40. On arrival at Maputo International Airport @ 09h40, you will have a short lay-over until you check-in @ 11h30, for LAM’s flight TM 124 to Inhambane, which departs Maputo @ 12h30, own arrangements. On arrival at Inhambane Airport @ 15h00, and after clearing customs and immigration, you will be met by a representative of Barra Beach Club for the 1-hour road transfer to the Resort. Rest of the afternoon / evening is free. Any additional activities and local touring would be for your own account. Overnight at Barra Beach Club, in a single Deluxe Ocean Room, on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis.
Included:
Road transfer from Inhambane Airport to Barra Beach Club
Dinner
Accommodation
Excluded:
International air from OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg to Inhambane
Departure and arrival taxes
Mozambique visa which must be obtained in advance from the Mozambique Embassy in your home country before you leave home
Lunch, Bar
Items of a personal nature
Gratuities
Day 03
2018:
At a time to be advised, you will assemble at Barra Reef Divers’ dive centre,
www.barrareef.co.za which is a 10-minute walk from Barra Beach Club, to kit up for the first dive of the day, and for dive planning, weather permitting. All dives in Mozambique are best done as early in the morning as possible, as this is when the diving conditions are at their best. No wind, flat calm seas, usually little current, and good viz. As the day progresses, the wind tends to pick-up, whipping the sea and forming "white horses" making it very choppy and dangerous for diving.
For purposes of costing this itinerary all dives are costed as being done on the near “house reefs.” There are surcharges for diving reefs 5 < 10 km’s from the launch site of ZAR 50 per dive, and for diving reefs >10 km’s plus from the launch site of ZAR 100 per dive. These far reef dives can be booked directly with Barra Reef Divers and are dependent on a minimum number of divers wishing to dive these far reefs.
After the first dive, you will return to Barra Beach Club for breakfast and surface interval time, before launching for the second dive of the day. Please don't expect to do more than two dives a day when diving anywhere in Mozambique. Also, remember that you are thousands of kilometres from the nearest medical facility and recompression chamber with the result that all dive operators in Mozambique do not allow, "pushing the limits" and prefer to err on the side of caution, so as to minimise the possibility of any dive accidents.
After the second dive, the rest of the day is free to partake in the following activities, which are available at Barra Beach Club:
- Dhow trips @ 350 per person.
- Pansy Island trips @ ZAR 425 per person,
- Seahorse Lagoon Trips @ ZAR 350 per person.
- Sea kayaking. Kayak hire @ ZAR 250 per person.
- Ling-Linga Island trips @ ZAR 500 per person.
- Inhambane town tours.
- Quad biking.
- Horse riding.
- Surfing, lessons available.
- kite surfing.
- Deep-sea fishing.
The costs of these activities have not been included in the cost of your tour itinerary, and would be for your own account. As you will note, you are not likely to get bored whilst at Barra Beach Club. Night dives are also possible, depending on weather conditions, and based on a minimum of 6 divers wanting to do the night dive. The cost of a night dive is ZAR 650 per dive, and would be for your own account. Please check availability and book directly with the dive shop. Overnight at Barra Beach Club, in a single Deluxe Ocean Room, on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis.
At a time to be advised you will report to the dive centre, at Barra Reef Divers which is a 10 minute walk from Barra Beach Club, to kit up for the first dive of the day. All dives in Mozambique are done as early in the morning as possible, as this is when the diving conditions are at their best. No wind, flat and calm seas. As the day progresses the wind tends to pick-up, whipping the sea and forming "white horses" making it very choppy and dangerous for diving. The first dive of the day is usually scheduled for one of the far reefs, between 15 and 25 km's from the launch site. After the first dive you will return to the lodge for your surface interval time and breakfast before going out for the second dive of the day. The second dive of the day is scheduled for one of the closer "house" reefs. Please don't expect to do more than two dives a day when diving anywhere in Mozambique. Also, remember that you are thousands of kilometres from the nearest medical facility and recompression chamber with the result that all dive operators in Mozambique do not allow, "pushing the limits" and prefer to err on the side of caution, so as to minimise the possibility of any dive accidents. After the second dive the rest of the day is free. Overnight at Barra Beach Club on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis.
Included:
Breakfast
Full equipment hire
Services of a local dive master
2 x house dives
Dinner
Accommodation
Excluded:
Additional dives
Far reef surcharges
Items of a personal nature
Gratuities
Local tours and excursions
Day 04 - 07
2018:
Four full days spent diving with diving with Barra Reef Divers, weather permitting. Currently there are 14 reefs on which to dive at Barra / Tofo, with more reefs being discovered daily. For a full pen-picture of these 14 reefs, please go to our Website
http://www.divethebig5.co.za/inhambanebarratofo.html
If it’s Whale Shark’s you’ve specifically come to Mozambique to see, the best way to encounter Whale Sharks is to trawl the back-line, just beyond the breakers, and look for the tell-tail tail fin of this massive beast. But, because Whale Sharks are so plentiful in these waters, you are likely to encounter these animals on your way to and from the reef. When you do spot a Whale Shark, the skipper will drop you off in front of the animal allowing it to swim up to you. The best way to "dive" with Whale Sharks is on snorkel as the exhaust bubbles from your regulator, if on scuba, often frightens the animals away. After the animal has passed you by, you will climb back into the boat and the skipper will move off to position you in the path of the on-coming Whale Shark, allowing it to swim past you again. This could carry on ad infinitum until either you or the Whale Shark tire first. Day free after the second dive. Overnight at Barra Beach Club, in a single Deluxe Ocean Room, on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis.
Included:
Breakfast
transfer from Agulhas House to the Umkomaas River mouth, the launch site
Full equipment hire
2 x house dives
Dinner
Return transfer to Agulhas House
Accommodation
Excluded:
Lunch, bar
Items of a personal nature
Far reef surcharges
Gratuities
Additional dives
Day 08
2018:
After breakfast, at about 12 noon, Barra Beach Club will transfer you back to Inhambane Airport in time to connect with your 14h00 flight TM126 from Inhambane to Maputo. Check-in for this flight is at 13h00. On arrival in Maputo @ 16h30, you will immediately transfer to International Departures, to check-in for LAM’s 17h30 flight, TM 126, to OR Tambo International Airport – Johannesburg, which departs Maputo @ 17h30. You are scheduled to arrive at OR Tambo International Airport – Johannesburg @ 18h30 which is too late to connect with the majority of International flights out of OR Tambo International Airport. As a result, we have included the cost of an overnight stay at The City Lodge, OR Tambo International Airport to the cost of this itinerary. Overnight at the City Lodge, OR Tambo International Airport – Johannesburg. End of services.
s
Included:
Breakfast
Road transfer from Barra Beach Club to Inhambane Airport
Accommodation at City Lodge OR Tambo
Excluded:
Departure tax
International air from Inhambane to OR Tambo International Airport
Lunch, Dinner, Bar
Items of a personal nature
Gratuities
Non-diver cost based on two people sharing, diver with a non-diver
Cancellation policy:
- Full refund in the event of the dive being cancelled due to bad weather.
- Should we launch the boat for the dive and during the course of the dive the skipper decides to return to shore due to unfavourable weather conditions, there will be no refund.
- The skipper’s decision is final and is based purely on your safety and comfort.
When diving anywhere in South Africa or Mozambique, please don’t expect to do more than 2 dives a day. By noon, along the entire east coast of southern Africa the wind tends to pick up quite a bit, causing white caps on the ocean and making diving conditions difficult and even dangerous. As all dives are drift dives, it’s very difficult for the skipper of the Rubber Duck to spot the buoy in rough conditions and even more difficult to spot individual divers as they surface after their dive. The first dive of the day is usually scheduled for sunrise with the second dive of the day being scheduled after surface interval time and breakfast, at about 10h30. By noon, when the wind has picked up, all dives for the day have been completed. If by chance there is no wind, then a 3rd or even 4th dive might be possible, but this is very unlikely. The wind tends to drop by about 17h00, and if it does, then there is the possibility of a night dive. But this can only be confirmed on the day, at about mid-afternoon.
Remember when diving anywhere off the coast of Mozambique you are thousands of kilometres from the nearest medical facility and recompression chamber with the result that all dive operators in Mozambique do not allow "pushing the limits" and prefer to err on the side of caution, so as to minimise the possibility of any dive accidents. There is no technical diving or deep de-co diving in Mozambique.
Please note: Mozambique falls within a “high risk” Malaria area, and we strongly suggest that you consult your doctor about which is the best prophylactic to use to prevent contracting this disease.
Itinerary and prices are subject to change without notice.