This week - a special treat: a visit to an other-worldly resort in Mozambique for a reminder of what holidays really OUGHT to be like.

  • Don’t forget my Jobs in Tourism Page - it’s become the most-visited section of This Tourism Week. If you’re a job-seeker, I’ll post your profile for free; and
  • Please watch a heart-warming video about Madala the Cheetah, who’s leg was broken in an altercation with an Eland at Garden Route Game Lodge  - and who’s now recovering thanks to a local orthopaedic surgeon and a titanium plate.

BD Lodge, Mozambique: Paradise, Only Slower

View My BD Lodge Album here

Um, let’s get this straight: you don’t travel all the way to BD Lodge to actually, you know, DO anything. You go to do nothing.

Which is more than enough reason to get there as often as you can. (Oh ja, and there’s the fishing, too. That’s the other reason - as if any of us needs one).

If you look at a map of the Mozambican coastline, you’ll see that, North of Maputo, it bulges eastwards towards Inhambane, and then kind of travels in a straghtish line northwards to Vilankulo, dips North-by-North-North-West behind the length of Bazaruto Island, and then passes Inhassoro (you pronounce the ‘h’ as a ‘y’ - In-ya-soh-roh).

And then suddenly there’s this long finger of land.

That’s BD Point (it stands for Bartholomew Dias), and at its northernmost tip - if they aren’t fishing, or taking a nap in the heat of the day, or out with their guests at Paradise Island, BD Island or points West, and if the wind’s just right, and if it’s not too stressful - you might be lucky enough to enjoy a few 2-Ms or a meal with the owners of the Lodge there: Andre and Corrie Nel.

The Nels bought BD Lodge in 2006, and, with a bit of expansion here and a bit of building there (nothing too radical, you understand), now offer self-catering accommodation for 50 people in luxury casas (cabins) that sleep between 2 and 6 guests - at very reasonable rates.

“BD Lodge is first and foremost a family lodge, and we’ve made sure that it’s affordable, without skimping on the essentials that make a family holiday a success,” said Andre.

“The world has become so fast, and so stressed, and our single aim is to slow you down and relax you - because we think that’s the thing that families need most of all today.”

Indeed, one thing that strikes you about BD is the natural, easy interaction between the kids - of all ages.

Oh, and then there are the dogs, of course. Andre and Corrie are mad about their pets.

“Ha, ha! Our dogs are important members of staff,” said Corrie, “although we haven’t quite worked out a job description for them yet. But one thing’s for sure, the kids all love them.” Boetie the beautiful (no really, he knows it: walks like a dressage pony, too), Stompie the little ou (kind of the instigator, of course), Luna of the pale blue eyes, Tsotsie the wagter, and gentle, loving Pippa the whippet are always ready to follow the guests out onto the beach to walk, and to explore, and play.

YES, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE FISH?
Early morning fishing, is, naturally, a ritual at BD Lodge, and dropshots and spoons at sunrise could reward you with a rockcod or two, and some kings. But the significant thing about the area is the presence of the Govuro River, which meets the sea right here at The Point (in fact, some of the casas at BD face this mangrove-filled Lagoon - and there are those who prefer them because of the spectacular sunsets they enjoy from their covered verandahs).

The word ‘mangrove’ is significant here, because these strange, and highly adapted trees grow only in healthy, pollution-free environments - and that means great fishing, of course.

Kingfish, queenfish, garfish, perch, king mackerel, ox-eye tarpon, river snapper and sand gurnard - and the occasional grunter, snapper, or stumpnose - could greet you if you decide to venture upstream, while game fishermen (who can also charter out of Inhassoro) can look forward to excellent marlin and sailfish. (Natural bait is easily obtained and, according to one resident, Craig Thomassen, writing in the November 2007 edition of ESA Magazine, the river mouth is virtually a raceway for species like carapou and estuarine roundherring - which, of course, are favourite prey for the game fish that really set the BD area apart as an angling destination).

Andre and Corrie have two boats available for their guests, and often arrange trips upriver or to BD Island, 11 km across the mouth, where it’s all about fishing, fishing, fishing - though hangers-on can hunt for the enormous pansy shells that characterise its shores.

AND THEN?
Look, let’s be adult about this, OK? You can’t just fish.

Sigh.

“Well, there’s not much of a selection of things to do, and that’s exactly what BD Lodge is all about,” said Andre.

When first you arrive, still running at big city speed, you’re bound to experience a bit of a culture shock. But don’t panic - it passes. You may need to spend most of the first day or two - or three! - asleep, but you’ll acclimatise in your own good time, and then you might want to take a ride to Inhassoro to visit the market, or to meet up with Senhor Orlando, who takes groups of up to 16 to Paradise Island for snorkeling (you travel on a traditional Arab dhow of the kind that’s been sailing the east coast of Africa for centuries - although Orlando’s has been modernised with the addition of a Lister engine. It’s diesel driven, so here’s a word to the wise: if you’re inclined to seasickness, sit well for’ard).

Then there’s beach walking, reading (the Lodge has a library of Andre and Corrie’s favourite thrillers), socializing, sleeping, dreaming, napping (mid-morning, mid-afternoon and even mid-evening naps are all quite acceptable, and to be welcomed)… and eating.

Don’t expect to be shown politely to your table at BD Lodge’s Lucky Lips Restaurant & Bar: things are far more relaxed and sociable here. Rather, you’re likely to find the tables have been pushed together, with one family sharing its catch - and its laughter - with another (and another, and another…).

Corrie, who has classical Hotel School training, is an accomplished chef, and, because of the presence of the estuary, this area of Mozambique is one of the best places in Africa for both the quality and variety of its seafood. Calamari, prawns, fish, crays - everything comes in its season, and Corrie and her staff of locals do them justice: as will you when you taste how real food really ought to taste.

In the end, BD Lodge is all about casual, unpretentious simplicity - and a return to the thing that many of us older ous remember from our earliest childhood holidays: those lazy days of doing absolutely nothing there by the sea.

Which, I’ll repeat, is EXACTLY why it’s important to go there.

BD LODGE FACTS

ACCOMMODATION

  • Three, 3-bedroom casas (each with 2 day beds in their lounges);
  • Three luxury 2-sleeper casas (each with 1 day bed in its lounge);
  • Nine 2-sleeper casas.

KITCHENS

  • The 3-Bedroom casas and the 2-sleeper luxury casas are all equipped with their own kitchens;
  • The 2-sleeper casas share two communal kitchens (each with its own kleinhuisie, of course. But it’s just an added er, convenience - all the casas are fully equipped with bathrooms with gas geysers. But remember that the groundwater here is brackish, so you’ll need to buy bottled water for drinking, for coffee and tea, and for brushing your pearly whites).

CATERING

  • Lucky Lips Restaurant & Bar is open from mid-morning until the generator shuts down - normally at about 10:30 in the evening.
  • “We don’t serve breakfast,” said owner Andre Nel, “Because I’m the chef and I don’t wake up that early.” So take your own rusks, coffee, cereal, and long-life milk. For fresh fruit, check out what’s on offer on the side of the road - it’s the preferred method of shopping in the area - or at the market in Inhassoro.
  • Lucky Lips Restaurant caters for about 60 - but larger groups are welcome by prior arrangement.

GETTING TO BD LODGE - S21O 15’ 34.06” E350 06’ 50.45”

  • BY AIR: LAM (Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique - Air Mozambique) offers a superb service on modern aircraft between Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International, and Mozambique’s Inhambane and Vilancoulo - the closest commercial airport. The Lodge can arrange to collect you, and it’ll take two to three hours driving from there (depending on what’s being sold on the side of the road).
  • BY ROAD: Enter Mozambique at Komatiepoort, and follow the EN-1 via Maputo, Xai-Xai, Massinga and Pambara; 100 km after Pambara, turn right to Inhassoro where, about 100 metres before the entrance to the Seta Hotel, you’ll find a dirt road; turn left here, and take the third entrance to the beach (there’s a sign here for BD Lodge, which is now just 27 km away). Check the tides: the Lodge becomes inaccessible at high tide, so you may just have to park off at Johnson’s Beach Bar, pop a few 2-Ms (say ‘Doish-Emm’) and enjoy a half chicken and chips while you wait for nature to take its course. (Allow ten hours driving time from Komatiepoort - but that’s no hardship because most of the roads are fine and the countryside is really very lovely. But remember that you need to drive safely - and take special caution when you see groups of children by the side of the road. They can be just as unpredictable as any children anywhere in Africa).

CONTACT BD LODGE

… Now have a GREAT Tourism Week!