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“Eating an oyster is like french kissing a mermaid” – Tom Robbins

Oysters on the menu at ZanziBeach in Tofo

“Eating an oyster is like french kissing a mermaid” – Tom Robbins

Or. “Oysters on the menu at ZanziBeach Restaurant in Tofo”.

Mermaids in Praia do Tofo are really ocean breeze beautiful. And then I found out that there were oysters right on the menu at ZanziBeach!

Taking the latter approach, with my lovely mermaid close at hand, a grand serving of oyster was requested. Fresh from the sea. Just the way I love my mermaid too. At this great new little seafood spot right on Tofo Beach.

The dish of regal looking oysters soon glided onto our table. Along with twin pinacoladas. A couple of lemons. Hot chilli and pepper sauce.

The floodgates of flavour opened right up. Like an involuntary spasm, the oysters rained their magic on over and into us. Each one its own fantastical adventure. None two remotely the same. Lime and chilli lubricating and spicing the dreamy and intoxicating sensation.

When they were all lovingly spent, the empty table provided that pure moment of bliss that comes flooding in.

After you have french kissed a mermaid…

Gulp down an oyster or two at ZanziBeach on the beach of Tofo

 

Catch up with ZanziBeach on Facebook right here…

https://web.facebook.com/zanzibeachtofo/

Stay posted with The Sardine News on Facey here…

http://facebook.com/thesardine.co.za/

For more information on ZanziBeach Seafood Restaurant in Tofo (video included)…click here to get their official web page – on The Sardine News site.

To get on up to Tofo and to enjoy the life here a while…

https://thesardine.co.za/product-category/accomodation/

And other holiday packaged experiences…

Fishing

https://thesardine.co.za/product-category/fishing-experiences/

Diving

https://thesardine.co.za/product-category/diving-experience/

Surfing

https://thesardine.co.za/product-category/surfing-experiences/.

Or get in touch on umzimkulu@gmail.com or http://facebook.com/thesardine.co.za/ or WhatsApp +27 79 326 9671.

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Surfing Mozambique: It’s cyclone time again

Alternative surfing accommodation in Tofo - in da barrel

Surfing Mozambique: It’s cyclone time again

Surfing Mozambique this time of the is always very interesting. Two cyclones so far, have thumped swell at us this past month. The first, AVA, had us surfing places like Tofinho every day. And the huge dollop of sand there has seen surfing right through the tides. This syclone hit the east side of Madagascar where a huge escaroment of mountains sent it packing. It floated off down south and east, just shy of the exact place we need it to be.

The second was a bit more serious but stayed farther off the coast. On Saturday the ten foot sets arrived closing out the entire Tofnho Bay. On Sunday, Barra went off the scale again. There was no footage shot, nbut this clip of it doing it’s thing last year exactly this time, tells the story.

This clip only features the last third of the first superbank. It starts kilometres further up. The second superbank was also absolutely firing this day. A lot easier but still tubular bells. Top to bottom.

At one point, after my umpteenth wave, I was staggering back only to find my two surfing mates, Aladinho and Dave Charley, lying in a puddle of water, completely spent. I kicked them back both up and out there. Only to hear both of them howl their proverbial lament, over and over – “I just had the BEST wave of my LIFE!”. Over and over again.

I wouldn’t hesitate to say that Barra has one over the other superbanks in the area. It’s easy to get to. Has great pubs and restaurants lining the bay. There are many options, through the tides. It’s all very beautiful too. And very uncrowded. Even if it was, the point is so extensive, you would be surfing alone most of the time.

BUT.

It changes continually. Right now, the second superbank down at the mouth has been replaced by a huge natural swimming pool. As the ocean assaults the bars and establishments along the way.

The first one still exists, but also has a huge swimming pool where the 100metre beach was.

The good news. Is that further up the bay, the original superbank, the one that caused all the fuss way back then, is returning to shape and form. The swell really concentrates on this particular piece of Barra. It breaks real hard and underwater.

And gets 8ft!

Surfing Mozambiques surprise leftSurfing SathanesChris Leppand and Hate Speech surfing MozambiqueSurfing the KZN South Coast in summerSurfing Tofinho is best started real young. This kids got it down. Yomo!TofinhoThe morning after. An incredible place is Pomene. (c) Boa Gente

And a video playlist of all things surfing Mozambique…

To get on up to Tofo and to enjoy the life here a while…check out our accommodation options at the following link…

https://thesardine.co.za/product-category/accomodation/

And other holiday packaged experiences here…

Fishing Experiences

https://thesardine.co.za/product-category/fishing-experiences/

Diving Experiences

https://thesardine.co.za/product-category/diving-experience/

Surfing Experiences

https://thesardine.co.za/product-category/surfing-experiences/

The Sardine crew have been operating in the tourism world in Southern Africa, for decades. We have assembled packages and options based on these years of experience and contact gathering.

We have tried and tested each option, and the facets therein. We are always on call and/or around.

If you need help with other logistics like travel, we can help.

Get in touch on umzimkulu@gmail.com or http://facebook.com/thesardine.co.za/ or WhatsApp +27 79 326 9671.

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No laughing matter. Surf launching is dangerous!

Surf launching is dangerous

No laughing matter. Surf launching is dangerous!

Surf launching is dangerous, especially on the huge spring tides. Coupled with an easterly swell, all sorts can and does go wrong in this crazy clip sent in by an anonymous contributor. He swears that’s not him laughing in the background.

Surf launching: analysis

Having been through many shoreys like this one, my only advice would have been to rather not pick on such a close together doubling up and crunching set of three gnarly waves, at all. I would have waited at least this set out. But being lifeguards, and some idiot might be drowning out back, sometimes you just have to go.

Luckily those boats are designed to go over and inflict as little damage on the lifeguards as possible. There is no console. They are mostly soft. Nothing to catch on. The engine is the only thing to avoid when the boat goes over. Althpough that in itself is enough!

But in this case, the boat rolls over and away from the crew, who were dumped quite luckily actually.

As the boat gets through the annihilator wave that broke literally on them, the skipper mistakenly but unavoidably hits the throttle, as all that water crashed over him and he tried to hold on. This was the tipping point well overreached. The boat comes flying up and out of the white water under power, and at the wrong angle completely.  No coming back from that.

No injuries and plenty people to help made the event just something cool to learn from.

Well survived!

Catch up with us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/thesardine.co.za/

If you want to learn all about surf launching, get in touch on umzimkulu@gmail.com, and we can schedule a course.

For more information check out Advanced Surf Launching.

 

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Surfing Sathanes

Surfing Sathanes

Surfing Sathanes

Surfing Sathanes with an energetic Dustin Volker aka Krusty, and a polished Chris Leppan, this film with camera lady Riz Laine and edit by Xonalanga, tells the real story of surfing the fabled Mozambican point breaks.

A fickle coastline at best, Mozambique surf spots much prefer east swells, which start hammering though as the cyclone season kicks into gear. The swells in this clip were south swells, and as you can see, the wave seems to warble a tad.

It’s great surfing as usual. Krusty kills it on his backhand whilst natural footer Chris is just loving his time up here in the tropics. Right hander after right hander after right hander.

It’s been a good summer so far. And with the first Cyclone, “AVA”, having already caused mayhem on the east side of Madagascar, it looks to be a good season into 2018. This cyclone made landfall half way down Mad, and the steep mountain escarpment that side broke it’s speed from 150kph right down. Where it careened off south-east and out to sea.

But not without sending us some of it’s juices in the form of a punchy east swell, that lit up the Tofo Bay at high tide, with some perfect shore-breaking waves, for quite a few days. It wasn’t big enough for the Barra sand to come alive. But that’s coming soon!

There is a tropical depression way up top, in the cyclone factory right now. Will it form up into a real spinner? The ones we want are not the ones that come into the Mozambique Channel at all. Those randomly cause havoc and chaos, and are literally completey unpredictable. No, the ones we want spin-off and hang around the very tip of Mad. Those are the conditions to watch for.

Get your paddling arms on! These swells are short period and very strong.

Check out our offerings in the Trips and Travel menu at top. Or click here.

And lets go surfing!

Catch us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/thesardine.co.za/

More from surfing this area in Mozambique…

Chief Sathane: Fishing Pomene VillageThe morning after. An incredible place is Pomene. (c) Boa GentePomene by sea: the natural sand harbour at the top of the point. Kayaks abound here.Chris Leppan and his huge couta at Pomene
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The Bonefish of Mozambique

Jimmy Bonefish regularly catches these world record potential bonefish in summertime

The Bonefish of Mozambique

The bonefish of Mozambique – well Inhambane in this case. Often this time of year (Summer), whilst working the shallow waters between Tofo and Tofinho, big silver fish can be seen lolling about the surface. Their silver backs are exposed as they dart this way and that, seemingly on the feed. But cast after cast and all you might get out of them is a look. Dropshots don’t work, nor do spoons or plugs. I am sure they will take a well-presented fillet bait, but they won’t touch a rapala or even a daisy chain.
Bonefish!
Right behind the Tofo headland is where the shoals of huge bonefish swim...
Right behind the Tofo headland, is where these shoals of huge bonefish swim…
Some local subsistence fishermen know where and how to catch the smaller ones. Right in the surf zone, in the white waters below the cliffs, with bait won off the rocks at low tide.
But Jimmy, our fishing champion, based on the point at Tofinho…knows how to catch the big ones.
He has taken 5 in an evening…on squid bait!? And the size? Average 6 or 7 kilos!
Even Jimmy’s clients (he is a great rock ‘n surf fishing guide), have taken 2 or 3 in a session, using this method.
Highly acclaimed as a prizefighter, bonefish are extensively hunted on the flats of the Florida Keys in the USA. It’s one of the biggest sport fishing industries there is. And all on fly.
Saltwater fly fishing grew enormously as a result of these fiesty and fussy game fish.
Permit (pompano to us) and tarpon frequent the same waters as bonefish and many fishing guides and charters take their clients fishing for these acclaimed fish, all over the South.
But. In the USA,  they hardly get half the size of the behemoths hanging out on the backline off Tofo and surrounds.
IGFA, the International Game Fishing Association, is the custodian organization for world and regional fishing records. And the all tackle world record bonefish is recorded as being caught in Zululand, South Africa, by Brian Bachelor in 1962. 8.6kgs.
When the bonefish come through here, they are really active. They seem to feed on tiny surface fish and organisms on the backline and the edge of the surf zone, with their otherwise suggesting down facing tiny mouths. In the USA they are fished on the flats on an incoming tide, where they feed on the sand bottom and in and about seagrass fields.
If you are super keen to get onto whipping a few flys about the back line, between Tofo and Tofinho points, and if you can handle a 9 weight, give us a buzz on umzimkulu@gmail.com.
It might be an even better plan…to bring a 12 weight rig too, as kingfish, sailfish, tuna, king mackerel and queen fish also patrol the shallows behind the long, shallow ledge just off the Tofo headland.
And 8.6kgs is an easy target.
Jimmy says he has caught many 9kg bonefish! And bigger!

 

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