SOUTHERN AFRICA 2023: DAY 29 — MOZAMBIQUE

Snorkeling on a Private Island in the Tropics

For what Africa is good for — empty beaches and oceans filled with marine life

Sitting here in the wind sipping on my coconut. I tell you what. It’s great to have an African husband. He doesn’t just know how to drive to survive on the roads, he also knows how to open a coconut.

Cicadas are trying to get some attention with their chirping but they have no chance against the constant and loud noise of the ocean. The breaking of the waves on the beach is all I’m listening to.

From the morning until the evening.

Our camp is less than 5 meters from the sea. During high tide. And about 50 meters from the water during low tide.

David wanted to go swimming yesterday and came to me a bit worried “the ocean is gone”. Yes, it was quite far as it moved out. However, we both walked down to the beach and did find the ocean again.

It was refreshing and warm. The way I remembered the Indian Ocean from when I first touched its warm water in Zanzibar in 2015.

This morning we were picked up by an old and noisy fishing boat. We had booked an island trip together with the Dutch couple staying next to us at the campsite. Snorkeling was the plan but we didn’t mind going to an inhabited island either.

The manager had decided to send us out on the bigger diesel boat instead of the smaller but faster speedboat as he feared the weather could come in and we would be safer in this one.

Well, the boat didn’t offer any protection. Or seats, by all means. We just sat down on the floor or on the side of the boat. Chatting and exchanging experiences with this couple who were also traveling overland through Southern Africa, we didn’t realize an hour had gone by before we made it to the island.

One other boat was docked but apart from those four people, we were the only ones visiting Ilha de Santa Carolina, or paradise island as the locals called it.

We had just touched the beach when David and I put our fins, masks, and snorkel on and jumped into the crystal-clear water. We were prepared for a long tour and wore our second skin covering our bodies and preventing dangerous sunburn.

I didn’t expect much when embarking on this trip. Not from the island or the snorkeling. Such island tours offered by every local on the mainland are an indicator of the place being crowded by tourists. But then again, remember it’s low season. This island might be a nightmare in the peak season.

But it's a paradise now.

Even the fish are relaxed.

We could come close to them without chasing them away.

And it felt as if we were watching the marine life through a magnifying glass. The fish species were familiar to us since we dived in Thailand in similar waters. But these ones were huge!

Especially the butterflyfish and angelfish stood out to me as I always loved seeing them. They were so pretty. And huge, over here.

There was a tiny rock standing out of the water. Our choice to begin the snorkel adventure and we were just blown away by the coral growing around this tiny island.

We also did spot many starfish. In all sorts of shapes and colors.

With both of us being equipped with a GoPro, we took a decent amount of pictures and videos of the marine life in front of our eyes.

Looking forward to hopefully soon some deeper underwater experiences, I saw this snorkeling trip as a test and warm-up for the following scuba diving adventures. Adjusting my hand signals accordingly was a start.

After about an hour in the water, we climbed out, drank some water and had a snack or two (snorkeling is tiring and certainly a dehydrating exercise) and then walked across the island to see what was hiding on the other side.

The island wasn't very big and can certainly be circumnavigated on foot. Being protected with all sorts of fishing activities forbidden in the waters surrounding this little paradise, it offers a lot you would hope to find on a hidden gem in the tropics.

We just walked to the other side of the island and went straight back into the water. Right after a large crab was racing past me on the rocks.

We did see a few different species as this side of the island was facing away from the mainland but mostly the same marine life. However, we didn't pay attention to the tides and were now facing challenges as the water got very shallow and we could barely float on the surface without touching the coral.

We tried to paddle out further and further hoping for some deeper water but it didn’t seem to bring us anywhere. Over and over we got to very shallow sections where I held my breath thinking it would make my body flatter.

In the deeper sections, we hovered a bit longer enjoying our time in the water.

It was also the first time I’d see a crayfish in the water. While yes, I’ve been diving for crayfish in the Atlantic Ocean in Namibia before but as the water is very murky I never see any and certainly didn’t dare to stick my hand in gaps to feel for them. I know, that’s a must if you want to catch any but it’s just not for me.

And the crayfish we saw here were huge. One of them measuring a meter in size from head to the end of his tale. But it makes sense. If this water is protected, they can grow freely.

We got to a point where we had to decide if we made our way out of the water or continued to paddle back around the shore. As the reef was so shallow I refrained from walking out as it would have meant walking over coral.

Therefore we ended up snorkeling all the way back to where we had launched the boat. It was a long paddle but as we were both strong swimmers, this was the safer option for sure.

As we were finally getting out of the water, it was lunchtime. Our guides had prepared a feast with barely any utensils here on the island. A vegetable curry with fish and rice on the side as our Dutch friends were vegan/ vegetarians. Certainly not an easy choice while traveling this part of Africa.

The tide was now far out and the other couple didn't get a great snorkel in as they opted for a long walk upon arrival on the island and waited too long after. The rock we had snorkeled around was now completely exposed and out of the water.

We went for a swim in the turquoise-blue and crystal-clear water to relax after all the eating and saw two or three sting rays floating by.

All good times come to an end and soon it was time to jump aboard the boat again. Heading back to the mainland we were now facing rough seas and a long ride back.

Motion sickness was taking it out on me. Even though I knew all the tips and tricks to stay grounded, I was feeling dizzy. Sitting at the front of the boat didn't help it but I didn't want to inhale all the diesel fumes at the back either.

The last part of the right I was standing on the sailing pole at the front, riding out the sea like captain Jack sparrow as David was saying. However, I made it back without letting go of the delicious lunch but was certainly relieved once I had solid ground underneath my feet again.

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