Dunes and Depths - Mozambique 2023

How it all began

The long-awaited end of exams for the matric class of 2023 finally arrived. This meant it was time for the festivities to begin. For my brother, Michael and his friends, it meant a trip to Ponta Molangane in Mozambique. My parents offered to tag along to “chaperone” the group of 18 teenagers. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity when they extended the invite. There was space for me to bring a friend, so I invited my cousin, Caleb as he is always a great adventure buddy. My sister, Nicole would be bringing Reece, her boyfriend.

Two days before we were set to embark on our trip, Caleb came down with terrible stomach spasms that would mean he wasn’t able to join on the trip. I knew exactly who to ask… the man… the myth… the legend… Rob Brown. Luckily Rob is a champ and always down for an adventure. He arrived at the farm on Friday afternoon for us to drive down to Hillcrest so we could leave with the rest of the crew early Saturday.

A Chaotic Send-Off

Friday nights’ festivities consisted of a braai at my parents’ house in Hillcrest with family and friends which only ended around 11. Some friends of mine (Tehan and Thone) were visiting from Namibia, and in true Tehan-style, he had far too much to drink… along with Michael and his friend Daniel.

1:30 am was the agreed-upon wake-up time, as the kids would start arriving at 2am to leave around 3. Now… all of us slept through our alarms, except Rob. Luckily, Thone woke up at 2am so she could see us off and she woke me up saying: “What are you guys still doing in bed?! The guests have started arriving!”. We jolted out of bed and were downstairs within minutes.

Meanwhile, Tehan, Michael and Daniel decided that instead of only getting 2 hours of sleep…they would avoid going to bed completely. We woke up to the three of them absolutely sloshed, shirtless, singing along to Sweet Caroline. It was at that moment that I was grateful that I would not have any of them in my car, and Tehan would be Thone’s problem. Rob was stoked that there was enough space to bring his “toys” as we call them, these included 2 surfboards, a foil, and lots of kites for kitesurfing.

By 3am we were off! The first while, driving in the dark was… interesting. We had to pull over for the boys to throw up, and I’m pretty sure that my dad was still half asleep at the wheel. We were a convoy of 5 cars, the first and the last cars had walkie-talkies to keep in contact. We stopped off at a garage in Hluhluwe for some breakfast and a much-needed cup of coffee. Soon after, we reached the Mozambique border around 9:30am. After a slight setback of not having some of the paperwork for the one cars, we managed to all get our passports stamped and we were on our way.

Mozambiquan Arrival

We stopped off in Ponta de Oura for some lunch, the locals flocked to us saying “bracelets? sunglasses? special price just for you”. After our lunch, we headed to our accommodation to check in. The downstairs floor had just been painted, which we discovered after walking on it and emerging with white feet. The house we were staying in was stunning, a large entertainment area with doors which opened onto the wrap-around patio that overlooked the ocean. There were 2 large whale bones on the veranda which proved to be a fascinating addition.

Not long after settling, Michael and Daniel arrived looking concerned. Michael, it turned out, had swallowed a folded bottle cap... After Daniel had attempted to use his finger to make him throw up, they fessed up. Daniel suggested that we stick a hose pipe down his throat to make him throw up, like one would do with a cow. After much debate, we opted for a less dramatic approach; we would feed him bread, in hopes that it would cushion the sharp edges. I can now say, almost 2 years later, that Michael is still kicking and hopefully a bit wiser.

The Beach House

The kids stayed in a larger house in the complex, just close enough for us to keep an eye on them but far enough that we didn’t have to put up with their drunken shenanigans the whole trip.

Our house sat high on a dune, meaning the short walk to the beach involved tackling multiple flights of wooden stairs. But the reward was worth it: a stretch of bright blue water and, most of the time, the entire beach to ourselves. We even spotted a snake along the walkway one day on our way back to the house.

This trip had it all… including injury. One morning, Reece leaned onto a couch, causing it to slide into my dads’ foot, swiftly removing his big toenail. A few choice words were used (not towards Reece) as my dad writhed in pain. This unfortunate accident put a bit of a dampener on my dad's trip, as walking proved to be challenging with a painful big toe.

A Night to Remember

This was a trip of firsts. One night, just after dinner, a frantic and out of breath Michael and Daniel ran up the stairs exclaiming “turtles! Come quick!”. There was no time for questions, we ran after them towards the beach. The boys had come across a leatherback turtle laying her eggs and kindly ran back to fetch us. Rob and I ran ahead with the boys, while the parents followed, huffing and puffing. We sat on the sand, watching the large turtle work with determination to lay her eggs and then eventually cover her nest with sand. It was clear that a lot of effort was required to complete the task at hand, and it took all my self-control to not help her cover the nest and carry her back to the beach (though this may have required a forklift).

After a good while, she was satisfied with her work and began the slow return to the ocean. We trailed her, conscious of keeping a respectful distance. Eventually, exhausted from a long night of taxing work, she reached her beloved ocean. Her pace quickened after she felt the first wave touching her face, and moments later, she expertly caught a retreating wave, back into the dark water, and she was gone. We walked home that night filled with awe of what we just encountered. What an absolute privilege it was to have that experience, unspoiled by large crowds.

Surf, Sun, and Sokkie

The weather was prime all week. Rob and I were first up in the mornings and would head down with the surfboards when the waves were good. Rob would cruise along the waves seemingly effortlessly while I basically spent the entire time paddling for dear life, my lack of experience embarrassingly evident. Once, dolphins even joined him in the waves — like a scene from a movie.

One day, while taking a break from the relentless paddling, a rip dragged us out past the breakers. We chatted away while I tried to hide my frustration for all the paddling I had been doing to try to get to the same place. My dad had a good laugh, looking out from the patio, coffee in hand, watching me struggle while Rob cruised along the waves like he was born in the ocean.

We visited Jacks Barefoot bar in town, where golf balls were hit off the deck towards a target below. The prize for hitting the mark… a rum and raspberry (otherwise known as an R & R) plus the eternal glory of adding your name to the wall of champions. Afterwards, the music led to some good old South African Sokkie, vibes were good and stoke was high.

Kites, Seafood and Gecko-Earrings

Rob introduced us landlubbers to the world of kites and kitesurfing (well… we never got good enough for the surfing part).  Lots of fun was had as we swooped the kites to lift us off the ground. Daniel especially had a great time, swooping harder as he got more confident, occasionally face planting into the rough sand, standing up with a well-exfoliated face and a sandblasted grin.

The caretaker of the house was a man who went by the name of Albi. When we asked what that stood for, he informed us that it was short for Albino, after his father. This led to much speculation about whether his father was NAMED Albino or WAS an Albino. I guess we’ll never know… One evening, Albi offered to cook dinner, and he did not disappoint. He whipped up an incredible prawn and calamari dish — creamy, rich, and led to some overindulgence from our part.

Meanwhile, the kids’ nightly outings became the stuff of legend — whispers of gecko earrings and bush diving filtered back to us. My dad managed to fool Michael into thinking that the police arrived at the house, looking for some people who performed reptile abuse (in reference to the gecko earrings), causing him to squirm like I’m sure the poor geckos did when hanging onto the boys’ ears. The matriculants rarely emerged from their slumber before midday. Quite the contrary to our early mornings and peaceful moonlit walks.

One afternoon, Daniel and Michael came by, complaining that no one at their house wanted to sokkie. Rob and I went over to help get the vibe going, only for them to announce they were heading out again. Still, we had fun dancing on the wooden deck, and cooling off in the pool, before heading back for dinner.

Part of the Pod

We wrapped up our magical week with an ocean safari at the Ponta Malongane Dive Resort.  Michael and Daniel joined us while the rest of the kids had a sleep in and a slow pack-up.

It turned out to be the highlight of the trip. We came across a large pod of dolphins and swam alongside them, part of their world for a fleeting moment. Rob, of course, managed to keep up with them far longer than the rest of us — further proof, I suspect, that he’s really a dolphin in human disguise.

Back to Reality – Turns out… it’s not so bad.

Leaving Mozambique was bittersweet. We returned to Hillcrest by 6 p.m., where one of the parents greeted us with a pizza-making kit. The next morning, Rob and I met Caleb for a church service at City Hill, followed by a friendly game of padel before heading back to Richmond.

It was a week packed with laughter, adventure, and unforgettable moments.