Choosing a southern African safari with a beach holiday was once an easy decision: the Kruger Park and Mauritius, and … that was it. Then Mozambique opened up, first with its dazzling archipelagos – the Quirimbas and Bazaruto – and then with the Vilanculos coast. But you still had to go on safari in the Kruger, or Botswana, or Zimbabwe.
Until now.
You may have heard of Gorongosa National Park. Lying at the heart of Mozambique, the name was once synonymous with abundant animals, and then tragically associated with their almost complete extinction. But after two decades of investment and dedicated management, Gorongosa is on the rebound: herds of buffalo and elephant roam its woodlands; lions and African wild dogs hunt the grasslands.
Safari accommodation of the standard you’d expect is now up and running in the park, and while it’s true that Gorongosa doesn’t have the effortless wildlife watching of the famous Kruger, Serengeti and Masai Mara – what it does have is a raw, remote ambience coupled with a human element.
As a conservation project, Gorongosa can only work with the involvement of the communities that live in the area. This is found through local employment, funding of infrastructure such as schools, and social initiatives, and that is funded through tourism to Gorongosa – plain and simple.
That’s the safari part; what about the beach holiday? Vilanculos is the answer: it’s a town lying on Mozambique’s subtropical Indian Ocean coast. Flanked by long sandy beaches on either side, Vilanculos has built up a great reputation as a beach holiday destination. Boutique lodges and beach resorts are tucked away along the coast, offering the same activities as their sister lodges in the Bazaruto and Quirimbas but without the price-tag that comes with island destinations. You can go diving, snorkelling, kite surfing, sailing – it’s all there.
Now we combine the two. And here comes the deal-maker: it may be only a few hundred miles between Vilanculos and Gorongosa but you do NOT want to drive it. The journey will take all day and you’ll regret it at the first pothole. So, you now fly between Vilanculos and Gorongosa: there are twice weekly departures, and the whole combination can be packaged together on 10 or 12-night itineraries. These represent good value as you’ll only pay – for example – for 8 nights on a 10-night itinerary; two nights are free!
When to go? For a combination of wildlife watching and your personal comfort, Gorongosa is best in the dry season – May to October – though beachgoers should note that the first half of the season (May, June and July) has much cooler weather than August, September and baking-hot October. This dry-season time frame works well for the Vilanculos coast as you also avoid Mozambique’s infamous cyclone season – January through March.
