Swimming with whale sharks at Tofo, Mozambique

LIZZY HALIKOS , GAPBREAK VOLUNTEER, SOUTHERN AFRICA 2011

Imagine being surrounded by hundreds of palm trees, kilometers of white sandy beaches and crystal clear ocean, which hides some of the most amazing animals such as whale sharks and manta ray. We antipodeans were fortune enough to spend a week living in this heaven best known as Tofo in Mozambique. We would fall asleep to the sounds of the waves crashing against the sand dunes only metres away, everyday was cloudless and optimal weather for those sun hungry tanners.

Our second day was spent snorkeling with whale sharks amongst other things. By far snorkeling only centimeters away from the world’s biggest fish was a major highlight in Mozambique. At every opportunity when a dark shadow was seen in the water we would dive in and stalk the beautiful creature for as long as we could, fortunately whale sharks hover just under the surface of the water making it easy to get close to them. Dearest parents don’t worry they are perfectly harmless to humans their teeth are minuscule to even the human size tooth (so we were told anyway).

Also during our stay in Tofo, we kayaked to a nearby island which homes roughly 300 locals. Meeting some of the locals on the island we discovered that they are self sufficient, living off their own produce and what the ocean surrounding them has to offer. We were welcomed with a very large feast of seafood for most we felt like we were having Christmas lunch, for non-seafood eaters the potatoes chips was as exciting as it got.

Our week was filled with many other adventures, some diving at a nearby coral reef, others took a picturesque horse ride along the beach. For Joni and I battling the mosquitoes was as hard as is got on this holiday. We all truly relaxed here in Tofo. The beach was very enthralling at every opportunity we would lounge about reading, tanning or swimming along this amazing coastline.

Tofo was a perfect break but we were happy to get back to mosquito free, sand free beds in the beautiful Kingdom of Swaziland. We have two weeks left here in Swaziland, where we will continue to work in our Neighborhood Care Points, hospital and doing home visits. I can say for everyone that this trip so far has been an incredible experience and has really opened up our eyes to how others live. The satisfaction of teaching these kids is amazing especially when you’ve made progress and they can understand something they hadn’t before.

Many of us have used a bit of our fundraised money and bought toothbrushes and toothpaste for the child at our NCPs. Most of the children had never seen or used a toothbrush before, after a little bit of perseverance the children learnt to brush their teeth without eating the toothpaste off first. Even though we will be leaving Swaziland some of us will continue to be attached to the projects by choosing to sponsor a number of children to go to school other the next 7years. I guess every little bit counts.

Interested in volunteering in Southern Africa? What about teaching English overseas? Antipodeans Abroad specialises in volunteer travel and has plenty of gap year ideas. Find out more here.