A beautiful eco lodge located on the dunes of the Dovela village in southern Mozambique. Reporting by Polly When we think of Mozambique there's a high chance the first thing that comes to mind are the wide range of beaches. Ponta, Tofo, Vilanculos and Pumene are some of the most popular beaches in Mozambique, but there are so many more. Inharrime is a town just under two hours away from Tofo and near it is the Dovela village, which leads to one of the most underrated resorts in Mozambique: Dunes de Dovela. The lodge was constructed by childhood friends Thomas and Fred “who have always shared a lifelong dream of creating a project.” When Thomas first visited Mozambique while living in South Africa he believed he had found the perfect place to develop the project of their dreams. So from 2007 until early 2011 they worked extremely hard and made those dreams come true: “a sustainable and luxurious nature oasis that would conserve rather than detract from its glorious surroundings”, according to the Dovela website. You may ask yourself, what makes Dunes so unique? Alex, a woman who left her life in Paris behind in order to start a new one in the resort, has now been living there for almost 15 years and here is what she had to say: “I guess that what makes Dunes so unique depends on everyone's taste and everyone's sensibility. For some, it will be the chance to be alone on a beach, for others the paths through the still preserved forest and others the possibility to walk through the village as if it was theirs. For me, what makes Dunes unique is that it has been built (and now run) with people from the community and that this small company is useful for the village.” Another unique thing about the lodge is the quality of activities offered. Although we are used to finding ocean safaris and diving courses at the typical beach resort, in Dunes you get the opportunity to choose one of many guided nature walks through the dunes or village, learning more about Mozambique and its culture. If this doesn't interest you, you can try kayaking through the Poelela lagoon near the village, and enjoy a relaxing day with clear blue waters. In addition, snorkeling in the natural rock pools created during low tide is still a beautiful way of spending your time at the resort. Even If you prefer just relaxing on the beach, then Dunes is the perfect place for you, as the beach is always quiet and peaceful and, if you need it, a built up shade will await you. The cuisine at the resort is also a highly recommended experience. Alexandra, together with Hilario and Veronica, create wonders in the kitchen. The three do their best to create delicious meals twice a day inspired by a Mozambican and French fusion. Almost everything they serve is exquisitely homemade, all the way from bread to their fantastic macarons and passionfruit tarts. As Alex describes it their goal is to “give a nice experience (taste and freshness) to the guests, local products for spreading more cash in the area and having a lesser impact on the environment. The three objectives are at the same level” This means enjoying freshly caught lobster and other seafood as well as a wide range of fresh fruit desserts or local vegetable tarts and salads. And you can enjoy all of this whilst having a charming view of the Indian ocean. During whale season binoculars are around, but even without them, you will be quick to spot many whales breaching in the sparkling ocean. Dunes de Dovela is only one of the many hidden treasures of Mozambique waiting to be discovered. To get more information about the eco lodge visit the their website.
All images used with the permission of Dunes de Dovela.
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AISM parent Laura Alvarey tells a compelling story about a unique encounter with wildlife in Namibia Reporting by Laia Laura Alvery is one of many parents in AISM, who has had her share of exciting adventures and travels, many of them occurring in her time in Namibia with her family, where she lived for 3 years before they arrived in Mozambique in 2022. Laura and her family, as well as her brothers, found themselves in Bwabwata National Park, a protected game reserve that is abundant in all kinds of wildlife, including lions, leopard, zebras and blue wildebeest. It is located in Kavango East region of Namibia, bordering both Angola on its top half and Zambia on its bottom one. After driving 12 hours from Namibia's capital, Windhoek, they camped right by the river bed in a very remote area in the park, with their heads nearing the edge of the water. In the middle of the night, whilst everyone was sleeping, she and her husband began to hear noises coming from the water, right next to where they were lying. “We could smell the river being churned up, and even the animal before we heard it.", said Laura. They quickly realized that it was a hippo who had come up from under the water, and was eating some form of food. Laura described feeling a mixture of shock and fear, as she was worried that something might happen to her and her family. After the hippo had left, she fell back asleep, but her slumber was cut short when she was woken up only a few hours later by another noise that sounded almost like a saw being used. It turned out to be a leopard breathing only a few feet away from them, but Laura wasn't fully aware of this at the time. "A part of me wanted to get up and look around to see what it was making the noise, but I was honestly too scared to even move from my sleeping bag", she remembers. The next morning, they found leopard print tracks around their campsite, proving that the animal had been just nearby. Laura described the experiences as nerve wracking but also very exciting, as it was almost as if she was experiencing all the different senses of the animals at close quarters. Although Laura's encounters with wildlife in the savannah went smoothly, and turned out to be a story to be shared, the events of that night could have taken a much more dangerous turn, and to make it through two close encounters with some of the most dangerous animals in the region is extremely lucky. Although it doesn't happen often, it is not completely uncommon for tourists and people visiting national parks and reserves to be attacked by animals, especially when one is camping out in the open at night. Wild times indeed.
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