Bush & Beach in South Africa and Mozambique

Day notes

Magic of Azura

A kaleidoscope of colour greets you above and below the ocean. Magnificent reefs for diving and snorkelling, home to the turtles that nest on the island’s outer shores. Migrating whales, dolphins, and the elusive and protected dugong ply these waters, along with marlin, sailfish and tuna to tempt the sportsfishermen.

On land, towering sand dunes give way to indigenous bush abundant with local flora and fauna, an interesting variety of birdlife, as well as the odd crocodile or two at the lakes. The island’s local people make for fascinating cultural encounters, and the starry night sky is quite magnificent to behold.

Water Based Activities

With the Indian Ocean on our doorstep, many of our activities and experiences are focused around it. You can snorkel or scuba dive, saltwater fly fish or big game fish, watch the sunset as you sail on our dhow, picnic in splendid isolation, explore the waters with paddleboards or cruise to deserted beaches to look for pansy shells.

Gaze at the dolphins, often spotted from our boats, or track down humpback whales on their seasonal migration past our shores. The offshore reefs are some of the most pristine on the coast of East Africa, and a joy to behold, with a plethora of marine life and amazing coral gardens.

Snorkelling

Snorkelling is done at the spectacular Two Mile reef where there are hundreds of species of tropical fish, coral, rays, invertebrates as well as the possibility of seeing one of the various species of turtle that inhabit the national park. Humpback whales are often seen in season (May-Oct) as they pass on their annual migration. When out on the boats sightings of dolphin are common and if you are lucky, the highly endangered gentle giants of the area, the dugong may make an appearance too.

Azura Benguerra hawksbill turtle

Scuba Diving

You can learn to dive at our Padi 5 Star dive centre with all Scubapro equipment. A full range of instructional courses from discover scuba upwards (Padi MSDT Instructor) is available and Azura has a dedicated watersports centre with dive training pool. The archipelago offers varied and interesting reefs with several species of turtle, dolphins, shark, pelagics, moray eels, eagle rays and a wonderful array of reef fish and corals.

Diving

Big Game Fishing and Salt Water Fly Fishing

Try your hand at fishing, the waters off Azura offer a variety of reef and big game fish for beginners and advanced alike. Some of the world’s best fishing for Marlin, Sailfish and Tuna is done here and Giant Trevally (GT) up to 50kg is a speciality year round. Azura has a fully equipped fishing boat and we have a tag and release policy at Azura.

Azura Benguerra Fishing

Beach Picnics

Beach picnics are part of the signature activities at Azura. Deserted sand banks that can only be accessed at low tide or North Point, a remote location on the tip of a sand spit off the top of Benguerra Island are the kind of locations Azura guests can enjoy. Idyllic locations, with bleached white sand that is coated with Pansy shells or sand dollars, and is surrounded by crystal blue turquoise waters.

Azura Benguerra North Point beach picnic with guests

Dhow sailing

A time honoured tradition in African waters, set sail in a traditional Mozambican Dhow sailboat, and watch the sunset as you drift along on the ocean breezes.

Azura Benguerra dhow sailing 2

Paddle Boards

Go on a self-guided adventure! Take a paddle board and explore the pristine waters off the Bazaruto Archipelago and ride along with the dhows. This is the best way to have fun while around the Island.