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When we travel to Mozambique, we don't leave anything up to chance. This is why we take all of our own equipment as well as back up, spares, extras etc. with us. Mozambique is not a dangerous place, in fact the people are exceptionally friendly and helpful. There's hardly any crime besides a little bit of petty theft here and there. Having lived and operated our own dive centre in Mozambique, we know the area and its facilities very well. A trip to where we go is not cheap, but you can rest assured, that every person will get optimum value for money. There are a few rules to observe when venturing into Mozambique, but not only will we inform you in detail before the trip, we'll also guide your trip personally and be with you every step of the way.

Whaleshark Expedition 2004

February 1st - Juerg and his 10 Swiss divers arrived at Johannesburg Airport where they were met by our driver Gerhard and his 15 seater Merzedes Sprinter. The luggage was quickly stored away and the bus made its way towards Nelspruit where we met up with our divers. Beulah and I, as well as Lourens and Brian, left two days earlier for Nelspruit towing our boat packed with cylinders, compressor, a couple of beverages and other very important expedition equipment! We all met up and got introduced to each other just outside Nelspruit on the way towards the Mozambiquean border. I remembered everyone's name and face within 10 minutes, no bullshit! We handed out the lunchpacks which we organised as well as cool drinks and water. Making it a picnic scene saved us time and added to the atmosphere.

The trek then began officially from our meetingpoint at about 3:PM. Komatipoort/Ressano Garcia border is the usual beehive of activity and organised chaos. Only a few people know what is going on, and I am as usual highly strung when I have to get funny looking machines and petrol for Africa past these officials... it took us about two hours to convince them that we are really not going to sell our valued compressor in Mozambique. In the meantime we sent the bus ahead so we could get our guests to their first destination in daylight. The rest of us ran into darkness around Maputo and had a further 50km drive from hell to finally reach Casa Lisa at 8:PM. Driving at night in Mozambique is more dangerous than playing Russian Roulette as there are cars without lights and lights without cars everywhere. However, the people are friendly and peaceful and so there is absolutely nothing to fear from that point of view. We love Casa Lisa as it's just such a stunning place in the middle of nowhere. Especially the restaurant and bar which are built around a big tree, a place of absolute relaxation. Although they serve excellent chicken everytime we go there, it always tastes better than the previous time. By the way, they have the best bread in the country!

February 2nd - Breakfast and off we went at 8:AM. We drove exactly to the local speedlimit to avoid any possible encounters with hungry cops. Here and there they stopped us to check that we carried the correct papers. A friendly approach and cooperation from our side earned us plenty of well wishes and big smiles. Nice people, as I said.

After a cruelling 7 hours drive dodging potholes which could be compared to graves, we eventually got to paradise and everything was worth the trip. Barra Lodge is still and always the best place in Mozambique and as far as I'm concerned, one of the last paradises left. Eveytime we get to Barra, something has improved. This time it was the new swimmingpool right in the middle of the coconut palms which gives this beautiful hotel a classy touch. The other new addition is the fabulous beach bar. And when I say beach bar, the emphasis lies on "right on the beach". If I ever sell my business one day, you'll find me there! Dinner was indescribable. Anything your heart desires, from the obligatory Mozambiquean prawns past a scrumptious seafoodplatter, the everpresent chicken, lula (calamari), crabcurry as well as a great variety of meat dishes. We were allowed to pick any starter, main course and dessert from the menu every day.

The rooms at Barra Lodge are stunning. Double and single occupancy is accommodated in the stylish Casitas, which are little freestanding wooden houses with bathroom en suite. The walls are made from bundles of reedgrass and the roofs from plaited coconut leaves. Paradise! To combat the mosquitos, every bed has its own net as well as a fan to bring some relief from the tropical heat. Each room has 220V electricity, which is another innovation at Barra (the generator used to switch off at 11:PM).

February 3rd - Being the first day, we decided to take it easy. We had breakfast in the restaurant - one omelette would last you the whole day - and then met at our staffhouse at 8:AM. Everybody kitted up at leisure, sorted all the weights out and packed everything on the boat. All gear was colour-coded and rinsed and assembled for the divers by Lourens and Brian. What a pleasure for our divers, just to hop off the boat after the dive and not having to worry about the equipment for the entire duration. Everything was ready for them for the next dive. The boys did work hard... and got a handsome tip in the end. Thank you all.

First dive "Anchor Bay", a shallow reef inside the Barra Bay just to find one's sealegs. Lots of small things to see.

Then a three hours break and the second dive to Buddies Reef. Now we are all ready to see what Mozambique looks like from underneath!!

February 4th - Now we have to take this trip a little more seriously. Meeting at 6:AM! Rusks, tea and coffee and off we go for the first dive to one of my favourite offshore reefs, The Office. 12km out at sea we get a pinnacle coming up to 22m. Beautiful. Back for breakfast, cylinder refill and second dive at 12:30PM to Giant's Castle. What an appropriate name for a fantastic reef. And we see our first three huge Mantas! Back from the dive at 3:PM, leisure time, relax on the white beach or go for a snooze. Juerg did lectures most afternoons and we met up with everyone at 7:PM for pre dinner drinks.

February 5th - 6:AM meeting and off we go to dive Sherwood Forest, a magical reef with big green coral trees. We saw our first Whale Sharks, 4 of them who gave us plenty of opportunities to photograph and film them. This is what we came here for. The pressure is off. Nobody was without a huge smile. I think the biggest smile was on Juerg's face!! As we push the boat back into the water for the second dive, we get sucked in by quite a large shorebreaker wave. The following wave then hits the boat from the top and rearranges our whole steering console. It came right off and left the boat unmanoeuvrable. So we had no choice but to pull the boat back out and cancel the second dive. We now had some serious work to do. At 8:PM the boat was back for action. What a job! Tribute goes to Barra Lodge Dive Charters who repaired all fibreglass work as well as Barros' Chaos-Work-Shop in Inhambane for all steel repairs on our steering columns. Unbelievable what can be fixed with very few tools and infrastructure...

February 6th - First dive back to The Office. This time we played in the canyon, went through the swimthrough, admired the archway to heaven, followed the White Tip etc. The viz was about 20m. Second dive Giant's Castle with the Manta and another Whale Shark. Great!

February 7th - We tried to dive the Workshop, 13km offshore but due to terrible visibility missed the actual spot. Strong current pushed us downhill so eventually we just drifted along. Second dive Mike's Cupboard. One of those reefs (16m deep) where you can explore forever and find new exciting things besides a whole lot of Crocodilefish. Unfortunately the surge was pretty strong which caused sand to be churned up constantly. The viz was down to a few meters, but we all really enjoyed Mike's whole- heartedly.

February 8th - Today comes the big outing. Breakfast first as we are going to spend most of the day on the boat. We are going down to Manta Reef, off Coconut Bay, 25km south from Barra. We all enjoy the scenic drive in great weather along the unspoilt coastline. Pass Tofo, pass Tofinho and then we enter Whale Shark country... first, second, third... by the time we get to Manta Reef we already saw 10 Whale Sharks. Manta Reef is probably the most beautiful reef I have ever seen. Besides countless sharp pinnacles, caves, overhangs, canyons, gullies and everything I like so much on a dive, we also got buzzed by 10 giant Mantas. There are no more words to describe the mood of everyone on the boat.

February 9th - Because it was so good yesterday, we decided to do exactly the same trip again. After rounding the point at Tofinho, we counted 16 Whale Sharks one way to Manta Reef!! An absolute record. Literally every two minutes we saw another Whale Shark. The dive was not good due to the visibility going down to less than a meter. On the way back we played with all the Whale Sharks until we didn't want to jump off the boat anymore. We didn't count them anymore as we assumed that it was the same 16 we saw on the way down.

What a great finale of a great expedition. Whaleshark Expedition 2004, and Whale Sharks we saw!!!

February 10th - Breakfast and we're all sad to say goodbye to the most beautiful place on earth. Chicken (the best) at Casa Lisa.

February 11th - Long 12 hour trip to our last destination, Margate. Protea Banks offered us its best. 30 Hammerheads, Zambezies, Sand Sharks, Black Tips, Baracudas... every one of the six dives at Protea was great. And so ended a 15 day dive trip with everybody smiling happily.

These experiences are unforgettable and will stay with us forever!