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Staying at Lalaland kind of gives you everything. Peace and quiet. Beach and sun. And yet you are so close to all the offerings Inhambane has to offer…
Lalaland hosts Chad and Heidi make a point of facilitating anything you need around the Tofo area. Horseriding. Inhambane town tours. Ocean Safaris. Scuba diving. Fishing. Surfing. Kayaking…
Barra is just over the peninsula from Lalaland – and is home to acres upon acres of mangrove forests. They grow happily in the saltwater – at high tide some are completely submerged! They grow randomly, but create intriguing channels through the wetlands. And it’s these channels that you can negotiate on kayaks – putting you face to face with the bird and marine life so prolific in the huge Inhambane estuary.
Laland is set in PARADISE! You can kayak the Inhambane estuary, surf the Tofinho point, dive Giants and spend time touring Inhambane town. Contact afontelda@gmail.com
The estuary is 40 times bigger than the Knysna lagoon – and is much more populated. Mangrove and blue crabs, flamingos, squid and fishies are among the main attractions – but just paddling about in clear warm water is enough to make you stoked!
Lalaland still has a few rooms open for December 2014. For more info please mail afontelda@gmail.com
More houses nearing completion at Earth Lodge Tofo
The literally private beach out front of Tofo Earth Lodge offers seclusion and safe bathing…and fish to catch!Looking up the staircase to the main bedroom and reading area, which doubles as a sleeping area.
Tofo Earth Lodge tucked away down the beach from Tofo, has many houses complete, ready and booked, with a few more nearing completion. Tofo Earth Lodge is built behind the primary dune at Praia Da Congiana – accessible only by 4wd!
The houses are each surrounded by indigenous gardens and with it’s own secluded and protected beach and swimming area, this is about as far away from the maddening crowd that you can get. (Even Mango Beach is closed so there will be NO loud music or week long parties down the beach this year).
Contact us on umzimkulu@gmail.com for a chance at booking one of these new houses, for the December season, or the future.
Gray Shark on gray shark by Brandon Parsons, at Hibberdene on the KZN South Coast.
Brandon Parsons with an estimated 60kg Gray Shark caught and released just up the beach from Hibberdene.
Brandon Parsons with an estimated 60kg Gray Shark caught and released just up the beach from Hibberdene, on the KZN South Coast. Not to worry, Gray Sharks don’t bite people, although they do cannibalise themselves – the bait Brandon used was a small Gray Shark! The shark was caught just before the otherwise weather of late set in. Brandon grew up fishing Hibberdene’s productive waters and now does professional fishing guiding all over Southern Africa. He practices catch and release – most of the time!
Contact Brandon on littlevbrandy@gmail.com for more information on when and where he can take you fishing.
Dom King rides to his favourite fishing grounds in the Transkei on the Wavejet powered Pau Hana SUP
It was with huge expectations that we loaded the cruiser with the Pau Hana Wavejet powered SUP, and almost all our fishing tackle, and headed south. Deep into the Transkei – the Wild Coast – that place where people and things just seem to go missing.
Watch this video only if you have unlimited bandwidth and time on your hands…
But this is the Wavejet SUP fishing…watch this for sure…
We were after estuarine gamefish, and headed to Mgazana…a favourite hangout for all kinds of desireable fish – just not all edible, as we were soon to find out.
Things started slow, and in between rigging the Pau Hana for fishing, got a few lines in and soon John Fish Fever was into his first inedible – an awesome sandshark that he had to handle ace out, since the rest of the crew were lights out just after sunset and supper. John caught a few more sandsharks that evening, and also tussled with one of the many marble rays that are always up for an argument over a sardine bait, in Mgazana Estuary.
Georgie, our endemic fishing guide, pilots the good ship “Takeiteasy” and the next day went and bagged us a bunch of cracker shrimp, a haul of crayfish, a bucket of oysters and another of mussels, before taking us out for the afternoon high tide. The Pau Hana was looking great at this point, mounted with a cooler box of beer, and a crate, onto which three rod holders were cable tied. What a fishing platform! SO much fun and versatility! Scooting around the estuary, trolling two lures and sipping on a Transkei dumpy – Wowser!
Anchoring some way up one of the main tributaries, we got taught well and proper, how to catch shad, by Georgie. While we mustered up a grunter, a flagtail and some smallies, Georgie caught us two beautiful shad – which together with the remains of the bait, made up a super delicious and filling seafood potjie.
What was meant to be a two day trip soon stretched itself out to 3 days, and then 6! Finding ourselves in the great company of Rob Nettleton and co, Port St Johns proved to be a real treat – a far cry from the chaos this place was back before the shark attacks. We saw no-one on tour really, a few fishermen making hay of the grunter, kob and garrick season, but aside from that – super quiet.
The otherwise and dangerous sea conditions that prevailed across the eastern seaboard last week and before, left Johnny Fever no chance but to attempt a launch on the Wavejet powered Pau Hana SUP. The Umzimkulu is normally piloted by very fast ski-boats built to punch through waves, whatever the size…so to even think about this attempt was ambitious.
John van Reenen takes on the mighty Umzimkulu Mouth in mighty surf conditions.
The task proved a huge challenge, and after his first attempt, which saw him upside down in the shark infested soup, he turned and caught a mid break wave in. Fever’s second attempt almost got him out there, but the rolling 10ft sets that stopped him, would have stopped a tug too!
Stay tuned for more pics and the video…
The Wavejet SUP was the star attraction of the show this last week in the Transkei, where it’s adaptation to a fishing craft was explored, with great results.
