Shabby Vilanculos has silted up creeks and dirty beaches but a short and picturesque dhow ride (or a speed boat if the wind’s wrong) will take you to the heart of the Bazaruto Archipelago nature reserve. This series of platinum sand mounds rising out of the Indian Ocean are dotted with silvery driftwood trees - like sculptures sunk into the sand. £20 gets you your own personal skipper (we got two), and a day to wander aimlessly, cartwheeling along endless deserted beaches, sliding down sand dunes and snorkelling with tiny tropical fish. When we returned to our boat our two Mozambican guides had cooked up an amazing three course meal on an open fire - we sat on the beach as the rain came down, gorging ourselves tomatoey fresh squid stew and mountains of fresh fruit.

Sailaway Dhow Safaris
Rua Marginal, Bairro Central, Vilanculos, Mozambique, Mozambique
+258 29 382 385
Google map: bit.ly/w1Kckm

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Tofo with its infinite sands, windowless wicker bungalows, perfectly spaced surf-waves and amazing market eateries serving up plates of enormous buttery prawns would have put Tofo in my top five travel spots even without the whale sharks.
Having de-rusted our diving skills with the extremely patient staff in Tofo Scuba's pool we joined a boat and headed off into the Indian Ocean.
First we noticed a whale tail - then five, twenty, too many to count, the most our dive leader had ever seen.
Without scuba gear we leapt into the water and spent the next hour swimming with the pod and their hangers-on - a couple of enormous but exceptionally graceful manta rays. Coming face to face with alien whale shark grimaces, swimming between their enormous bodies and sensing their utter ambivalence towards us was a euphoric and uniquely calming experience.

Praia do Tofo, Inhambane, Mozambique
Google map: bit.ly/uF3Mk4

Tofo Scuba:
www.tofoscuba.co.za/
+258 293 29030

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