A trip to Mozambique to see Whale Sharks, Manta Rays, and Humpback Whales is something to get very excited about and this was certainly the case for two of our volunteers. Mikkel and Magnus made the five and a half thousand mile journey from Norway to Tofo to take part in the awe-inspiring Mozambique Marine Conservation Project, and I got in touch to see how their trip was going. The brothers have been out exploring the crystal clear waters for almost four weeks now and they were generous enough to tear themselves away from the wildlife to speak to us.
We began by asking how project had been so far and the answer was, as we expected, resoundingly positive.
"It has been very good! The accommodation and food have been good and the diving is an amazing experience!"
As they had mentioned diving, we were keen to know which animals the guys had seen during the length of their stay in Mozambique, and whether they had been lucky enough catch a glimpse of any of the remarkable marine wildlife Mozambique has to offer.
"We have seen loads of wildlife. We've seen turtles, whale sharks, manta rays, loads of fish and a humpback whale! We've tried to learn the names of some of the fish but there's just too may so we've given up!"
We can forgive them for this as the Indian Ocean is home to more than 5,000 different species of fish so it would take them a while to learn them all!
When people go to a new country they are always hoping for one big event that will stay with them for a long time after they return home and Magnus and Mikkel were no different. Fortunately for them, they were in one of the most spectacularly beautiful locations on earth so holiday highlights were not hard to come by, and the marine life did not disappoint.
"Today was an extreme, awesome experience. We went out on a dive and met five whale sharks, five manta rays and even had a humpback whale swim right over our heads!"
When we pressed the guys to pick one highlight out of the many they mentioned they both strongly insisted it was the feeding of the whale sharks. Whale sharks are the biggest fish on the face of the earth so we're sure you can imagine just how spectacular a sight this is!
The reason Mikkel and Magnus went on this trip was to learn more about the wildlife and aid the conservation programme. However, it wasn't all work and they had the chance to let their hair down with their new friends from the project and head out on the town.
" Everyone here was very sociable. In our spare time we went out to the nightclubs with the guys from the project. There were quite a few nightclubs out here when we arrived, and we were surprised as they seem to have more clubs than roads! We relaxed by going star and whale watching at night."
We didn't want to keep the brothers for too long as they were raring to get back to their work and helping the animals, but before they disappeared off we asked if they had any advice for people who may be looking to go on the trip in the future. For anyone considering joining this fantastic project, their top tips are:
" You should bring a laptop for the evenings you have off and an underwater camera. They have some at the project site but it's always good to be able to keep your own copy of the memories you make on the trip. The team here really look after you well, advise you on where to go and what to see so you don't miss out on anything. To come on this trip you need to be adventurous, want to learn how to dive and have an interest in marine biology. But mainly you just need to like water!"
As you can see, Mikkel and Magnus have really been enjoying their time at the Mozambique Marine Conservation Project, a project which gives you the chance to help conserve the raw underwater environment and abundance of marine megafauna that makes Tofo one of the most diverse and spectacular locations on earth.
