As a South African, you don't need to travel far to find the most beautiful and unspoilt gems our planet has to offer. While the magic can often be found right on our own doorstep, our neighbouring countries have alot to offer as well.
Having recently travelled to Mozambique for a few days of surfing with mates I thought I would share a short experience of what you can find at a magical and secluded spot named Vista Abril.
Vista Abril is in Machangulo, a private nature reserve, nestled in between The Maputo Elephant Reserve and Inhaca island. The reserve boasts 20km of unspoilt coastline, with pristine lakes and indigenous forests.
The drive from the SA/ Mozam Kosi Bay border to Vista Abril is approximately 2h30 minutes and can only be done by 4X4. Don't even try to attempt this overland journey with anything less, we however, had the right vehicle and chose to drive which afforded us the opportunity of seeing a herd of about 30 elephants in the reserve. There is an option to fly into Maputo and ferry across or use the private landing strip at Vista Abril if you are a baller'.
Upon our arrival in the afternoon, we were greeted with epic right handers running over a mixture of flat bedrock reef and sand. A slight onshore was on it making it a 3 to 4 foot punchy right with a lot of power behind it.
Greeted by turtles on the paddle out and dodging some flying fish, we surfed our brains out all afternoon before retiring back to the Vista just before nightfall to light a fire and braai some meat like proper Saffas.
You wont find a better view than this all to yourself for miles and miles. It's all yours for as long as your stay.
The following morning (and every morning after) we woke up to an offshore breeze and 4 foot clean lines running off the point... This is often followed by the wind dying down at about lunch time for an hour or two followed by a wind change to onshore.
If you are surfed out or Neptune’s not playing ball, snorkelling, diving, fishing, kitesurfing, SUP’ing options are great.
View of the point break from the deck of the lodge.
The days became a blur of surfing, eating, exploring and relaxing. During this time we discovered a quality A-frame peak around the corner from the main point which breaks on a sand bottom. Left and right barrels were limitless... a surfers heaven had been hidden 100m around from where we were surfing most days. We named this spot "Charlies", after CEO of EasyEquities Charle's Savage riding the very first wave there (ja, who would of thought a vaalie CEO charges)...
Charles Savage and Tony Schroenn stoked after an epic surf at the newly discovered "Charlies".
Being the middle of winter, the air temp was averaging 25 degrees and water temp 22 degrees. Most would probably be comfortable in boardshorts in winter but we chose luxury and wore suits. Getting a bit hot during midday in a suit but helps to keep a slight onshore windchill off in the afternoons making being in the water a pleasure for as long as your arms can paddle.
Returning back home to East London after such an amazing experience, it is difficult to slot back into the daily grind when your mind is set on going back and sampling the many undiscovered surf spot Vista Abril has on right on it's doorstep. From beach breaks to shallow reef shelf pitts! It's all there and it is a surfers dream.
Nature, surfing, good food, peace and quiet is what you will find in abundance.
If someone in your party is into wildlife, the forests abound with a wide variety of birds and sightings of Trumpeter Hornbills and Narina Trogons are common.
Wifi is also available, making this spot a prime working getaway for innovative tech teams to give birth to the next Uber or Airbnb, after all, Moz was just the right mix of magic that inspired Charles to start the now award winning EasyEquities platform!
You can check availability and pricing by clicking on the Enquiry button below. Let Greg or Tony (lodge owners) know that you got their info from Dead Reckoning and who knows, you may just get a small discount to sweeten the deal?!
Greg and Tony will equip you with a map of the current discovered surf spots, perhaps you can find a new one and name it for yourself for the map!
P.S. If you see any of these little guys (pictured above), please say hello from me!
Jono
