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Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0km |
Meals
"seafood basket" for lunch, grilled barracuda
for dinner |
Weather |
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Tofo, Mozambique |
15 October, 2004 |
Bamboozi Lodge |
23°50.464’S x 35°32.249’E |
Odometer: 39691km |
Partly Cloudy, 92(F)
degrees |
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We went out to Manta Reef with
Tofo Scuba this morning. The water had calmed significantly since two days
ago, and launching the boat was much less exciting. The dive was
absolutely amazing with huge (3-4 meter (10-12 foot) wingspan) manta rays
flying gracefully through the water above us, appearing from out of the
depths like some kind of spacecraft in a sci-fi movie. We also saw some
eels, lion fish, and many other species. On the way back to Tofo, the
skipper spotted a whaleshark. The boat stopped and we quickly put on our
masks, fins, and snorkel and jumped in. The whaleshark is a harmless
plankton feeder, and is the largest fish on earth. The one we saw was
about 8 or 10 meters, and we swam along behind it and above it for about
4-5 minutes before it dove. It was an amazing feeling to be in the water
with something so large. After the dive we went to Casa Barry for lunch of
(you guessed it) seafood. We spent the afternoon swimming and relaxing,
and playing a little beach volleyball. In the evening we walked down the
beach to Dino’s for, yep, more seafood. The light of our torch picked out
hundreds of small crabs scurrying along the beach. |
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Honeycomb moray eel |
Soft coral |
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Updated Information
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Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0km |
Meals
more great seafood |
Weather |
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Tofo, Mozambique |
16 October, 2004 |
Bamboozi Lodge |
23°50.464’S x 35°32.249’E |
Odometer: 39691km |
Sunny, 98(F) Degrees |
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We got up early this morning
for a dive to the Oasis, a reef about 16km offshore. We had to face our
normal morning commute between Bamboozi and Tofo Village. The traffic on
the beach was hell, and the walk took us almost 30 minutes! The ride out
was worth the trip in itself. We saw the tail of a humpback whale very
close to our boat, and a partial breech some distance off. In all we saw
about 4 different groups of whales in the thirty minutes it took to reach
the dive site. In the water, the giant mantas came closer to us than they
had yesterday. We saw lots of eels and a few reef sharks, which are about
1m long and cause all the other fish to scurry away as they swim through.
The coral on all of our dives has been spectacular. On the way back we saw
flying fish and a pod of dolphins. We’re having so much fun diving that we
signed up for two more dives tomorrow. We’re thinking about leaving here
maybe in 2-3 days, but we’re really not in much of a rush. |
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Bigeyes and a trumpet fish |
Spanish Dancer |
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Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0km |
Meals
Seafood buffet |
Weather |
|
Tofo, Mozambique |
17 October, 2004 |
Bamboozi Lodge |
23°50.464’S
x 35°32.249’E |
Odometer: 39691km |
Sunny, 98(F)
degrees |
|
We went out for our second
dive on Manta Reef this morning. It was even better than our first trip
there. Two mantas lined up and hovered over a cleaning station for 3-4
minutes. A cleaning station is a spot on the reef where small fish pick
parasites and bits of dead skin off the mantas. There was a moderate
current and we struggled to stay in position watching them. The mantas
just hung motionless in the water, gently flapping their enormous wings.
On the way back to Tofo, we stopped to snorkel with another whale shark.
As we slid off the boat into the water, the fish was immediately below us.
We followed it around for about 10 minutes, sometimes almost close enough
to reach out and touch it’s enormous tail, before we had to return to the
boat. After the dive, we were advised to go to a local restaurant for
their weekly buffet lunch. It was expensive by local standards ($10 each)
but well worth it. After lunch we walked back to bamboozi where we spent
the afternoon swimming in the surf. |
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Updated Information
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Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0km |
Meals
More seafood |
Weather |
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Tofo, Mozambique |
18 October, 2004 |
Bamboozi Lodge |
23°50.464’S
x 35°32.249’E |
Odometer:
39691km |
Sunny, 99(F) Degrees |
|
We decided to save some diving
for further south, and spent the morning settling our account with
diversity scuba. Since we don’t have an underwater camera, we bought some
digital images from them. Those are the photos shown in these updates, but
we did actually see all of the fish shown. We spent the afternoon playing
in the sea and relaxing. |
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October 19...... |
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