The next adventure will take us on a flying safari in Mozambique to explore some remote islands and national parks.
The choice for Mozambique has been largely informed by climatic considerations. Temperatures can drop quite low during the southern hemisphere winter, particularly on the higher lying inner plateau of Southern Africa. Mozambique’s coastline and most if its interior is at lower altitudes and has a mild climate influenced by the warmer Indian Ocean.
Here is an outline of our planned routing.
Exploring some remote islands
Our first destination will be Vilanculo. For the regular reader, Vilanculo is a well-known destination. He will definitely visit the Check-in pub for a cold beer after landing. By now that’s become a tradition on any trip to Vilanculo.
We plan to head out to the Benguerra and Bazaruto islands during our stay in Vilanculo. Both islands are part of the protected Bazaruto archipelago. The Bazaruto National Park protects the last population of Dugongs in the Western Indian Ocean. Hopefully we will finally spot one. He missed them the last time he was hanging out there.
From Vilanculo we will fly north along the coast past Beira and Quelimane to Ilha do Fogo, or Fire Island. This is a tiny island off the Northern Mozambique coastline and is protected by Fire Island Conservation. The island is a nesting site for endangered green and hawksbill turtles.
We then fly further up north along the coast to Ilha de Mozambique, or Mozambique Island. The island is a UNESCO World Heritage site and as the name implies, the country derives its name from this historic destination. No wonder then, that this island is part of our flying safari in Mozambique.
Visiting some National Parks off the beaten track
It will then be time to route back towards South Africa. On route we will visit some remote National Parks off the beaten track.
Our next destination is the Gorongosa National Park, which has just recently been re-opened after a long closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Gorongosa has a rich history as one of Africa’s most dense and unique wildlife environments. Thanks to international support and decades of restoration work after the Mozambiquan Civil War, it is on track to return to its former glory as a unique remote wilderness destination. As a wildlife and nature enthusiast he is very excited to finally add this destination to a flying safari in Mozambique.
From Gorongosa we will fly over to the other side of the Mozambiquan border in Zimbabwe. Our destination is the Gonarezhou National Park. Gonarezhou is part of the Greater Limpopo Trans Frontier Park, which covers national parks of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa. It is one of the largest conservation areas in the world and famous for its breathtaking landscapes.
From Gonarezhou we will then route back past the Soutpansberg to Polokwane and finally back to Pretoria our home base. In total we plan 10-11 days for the total trip with two nights stay at all destinations except Ilha do Fogo. But from what he has been looking up so far about Ilha do Fogo, this is very likely becoming a place to return in the future.
Stay tuned for the detailed blog posts about this trip to learn and see more about these exciting remote destinations. With N3 Aviation you get to places few have been …