AZURA BENGUERRA: AN ISLAND IDYLL
Experience luxury and natural beauty at Azura Benguerra Island, where helicopter rides, private villas, and ocean adventures await. Indulge in gourmet seafood, explore pristine beaches, and unwind under Mozambique’s starlit skies
In a chopper from Wildlife Helicopters, I fly low over the aquamarine and cerulean Indian Ocean, from the mainland of Vilankulos to Azura Benguerra Island. Although only a ten minute flight, it’s unforgettable for the spectacular panorama of tropical waters of Mozambique, with sporting humpback dolphins, slow turtles and a castor sugar beach edging the resort. After an enthusiastic welcome song by staff, my personal butler-host escorts me through indigenous gardens, along a path laden with shards of mother-of-pearl shells that glint in the sunlight.
My private villa is one of 20 along the beach, all constructed by Mozambican Islanders, using local materials. Coconut palm leaves form the thatching, with a long fringe left to sway in the breeze. The wooden deck is made of Zimbiri timber. As well as an en-suite bathroom with shower and bath, I find twin outdoor showers beneath the canopy of a tree. I linger here at night, to gaze at the Southern Cross and Milky Way spiral galaxy. With few lights on Azura Benguerra Island, unlike in a built-up area, the stars are astoundingly bright. Lying on my King-sized bed, I see past my private plunge pool, daybed, thatched sala and the beach, to the ever-changing sea.
When the sun peeps over the ocean in the morning, I stroll for miles along the beach. On the tideline I find empty shells of varying sizes and hues, some with living molluscs; scurrying crabs, tracks of seabirds and footprints of local people en route to their fishing dhows. I chat to women clad in capulana, Mozambican sarongs with distinctive patterns in bright contrasting colours. These village women are sourcing fresh seafood for their families, or helping the men to drag in their nets from the night’s catches. Each day, Azura Benguerra Island buys squid, lobster, prawn, blue crab, or line fish, so the seafood meals are always tasty and varied.
Venues for lunch include the Jellyfish Restaurant and Star Bar in the communal area, with tables under thatch or on the beach facing the sea. Azura Peri-Peri Beach Club, a short walk along the beach, has a relaxed atmosphere for delectable braaied seafood, for lazing on deck chairs next to the swimming pool, or for snoozing under a private thatched canopy. One lunchtime, after snorkelling in the warm Agulhas current, I am treated to a picnic on a secluded beach picnic near Pansy Island. Dining is a romantic happening in a different location each evening, with candles and lanterns to complement the moonlight. Decorations of fresh palm fronds, bougainvillea flowers and shells in a jar, are assembled by my host. During a beach dinner at my villa, I watch lambent light in the waves, as I sip a Pīna Colada.
As this eco-retreat is situated within a Marine National Park, snorkelling, scuba diving, swimming with dolphins, as well as catch-and-release deep-sea fishing, are all richly rewarding activities. I hope to view the critically endangered Dugong – a sea cow with a forked tail – but fishermen have not spotted them for several days. While scuba diving at Two Mile Reef, I enjoy the diversity of healthy corals, an array of tropical fish, moray eels and a highlight for me: a crocodile fish.
Approaching the reef the seas are rough, but it’s an adventure worth having for the chance to find the dugong, pods of bottle-nose dolphins and green turtles along the way. The striking colours of the ocean contrast with the white of the sandbar, where a flock of pink-tinged flamingos are foraging. When the speedboat returns to Azura Benguerra Island, I stride through the low waves in my wetsuit, feeling like a Bond Girl! My host heralds me from the shore, proffering a tray with a glass of iced Sauvignon Blanc.
At sunset, in Azura Benguerra Island’s traditional dhow, it is silent save for the soft wind unfurling the sails, as I sip a gin and tonic. The resort is authentic, romantic and remote, in sublime surrounds. Surely a glimpse of heaven.
Getting There: AIRLINK offers direct flights to Vilanculos from Johannesburg and Nelspruit.
Images by Gillian Mclaren
Taken from: https://yourluxury.africa/travel/azura-benguerra-an-island-idyll/
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