Gorongosa & Benguerra Island A 10-Night Mozambique Safari

Our journey starts in Johannesburg, South Africa – the region’s biggest international travel hub. From here, it’s a one-hour, 40-minute flight to coastal Beira in Mozambique. At 2 pm, you’ll take a charter flight inland, touching down in Gorongosa National Park, where you’ll check in at Muzimu Lodge – the park’s flagship, six-tent camp. Take a breather – have a power nap, shower and freshen up, or just relax on the deck. Then it’s time for your first game drive. Explore some of the park, watch the sun go down over a G&T or two, and return to camp for dinner and a well-deserved early bedtime.

Gorongosa’s a great example of how protected areas should benefit every part of nature – including people. This morning, on foot or by bike, you can visit initiatives run by the Gorongosa Restoration Project, learning about primary education, empowerment groups for girls, and sustainable farming, including beekeeping. After lunch back at camp, you’ll have time for a rest before the afternoon game drive.

Option two: a full-day jaunt to Mount Gorongosa, just outside the park’s boundaries, exploring the rainforested slopes, coffee project, and the glorious Murombodzi waterfalls (new profile pic loading). You’ll be back at Muzimu Lodge in time for sundowners.

Today’s all about the wildlife. Pack up your gear – which will be whisked off to your next camp – before heading out to track lions, visit the elephants and spot crocs (reptiles, not shoes – if you find the latter, you’ve wandered into the camp kitchen by mistake). You’ll combine game drives with bush walks to see as much of Gorongosa as possible. Lunch is a picnic in a shady spot. After a full day out and about, you’ll arrive at your new pad, the ten-tent Chicari Camp, for sunset cocktails around the campfire.

Gorongosa is a hub of scientific research with its own lab – the E.O. Wilson Science Laboratories - which you can visit today to hear about groundbreaking discoveries made by researchers working in the park. You’ll also have the opportunity to join the Pangolin Guardians for a stroll with their scale-clad, termite-munching charges. They monitor rescued pangolins – the most trafficked mammals after humans – as part of a conservation project. The rest of the day is for lunch, maybe a safari cat nap, and an afternoon game drive with sundowners in the bush.

As it’s your last full day in Gorongosa, a classic safari itinerary seems apt. Start with a game drive or bush walk before lunch at Chicari Camp, then spend the afternoon at leisure (we recommend keeping an eye on the pan in front of camp – you never know what kind of creatures might turn up). Then it’s back out for one last game drive before dinner at camp.

Your flight to Beira leaves mid-morning, so you’ve got time for a leisurely brekkie in camp. From Beira, you’ll connect onto a quick Safari Air charter flight to Vilanculos, where you’ll take a helicopter transfer to the white-sand shores of Benguerra Island like the VIP you are. Azura Marlin Beach is your home for five nights. Settle into your beach villa and enjoy a chilled sunset dhow cruise to set the tone for the next few days.

For your first full beach day, you might be keen to head out and explore – or just take it easy. That’s a choice you have every day here at Azura. If you’ve got itchy feet, we can plan a day of island hopping, visiting Bazaruto Dune and Pansy Island, with a spot of snorkelling over 2-Mile Reef and a beach picnic barbecue to finish off. Otherwise, you’re free to dive into some deep downtime.

Today, you could pop down to Peri Peri Beach Club, where you can borrow a kayak or paddleboard for some water-based meandering – equipment hire is included in your rate at Azura Marlin Beach. You might spend the afternoon getting pampered in the spa, and later we can organise a private beach dinner for you.

Snorkelling, scuba diving and fishing are just some of the (extra cost) activities you could do today. Keen anglers can charter a fishing boat and try their hand catching black marlin, wahoo, barracuda or giant trevally, while there are snorkelling and diving trips to 2-Mile Reef and other sites, depending on your experience level.

Optional antics for today include a guided drive around the island’s dunes and lakes, followed by a snorkelling session and a chance to spot teeny seahorses in the shallows. It’s your final day in Mozambique, and the afternoon is all yours. Enjoy your villa, before moseying onto the beach to witness that killer Indian Ocean sunset one last time.

Linger over one last beachside breakfast before your heli transfer back to Vilanculos. From here, there are direct flights to Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International, where you’ll check in for your flight home and start sifting through the millions of photos in your camera roll.