IN DEPTH DIVE TRAVEL – GENERAL INFORMATION – MOZAMBIQUE AND SOUTH AFRICA

International tourism in Mozambique and South Africa is still relatively new. Prior to 1994, the Apartheid regime of South Africa had brutally repressed the vast majority of South Africans and the country was under stiff international sanctions. Mozambique had suffered through nearly 30 years of conflict, with a war for independence against the Portuguese and a “civil war” which followed almost immediately after independence. In 1994 in South Africa, Nelson Mandela took the last steps in his “long walk to freedom”. Mozambique, under UN supervision, held its first democratic elections which ushered in a new era of peace and stability. Today, Mozambique is quickly developing as a recognized international tourism destination, known for its spectacular coast line and beaches, its unique culture and history and its incredible diving opportunities. South Africa, which has firmly established itself for years with its world famous destinations such as Cape Town and the Kruger National Park, was in 2010 the host to a wonderfully successful FIFA World Cup. The World Cup, which drew more than 100,000 first time visitors to the country, was able to showcase to the world the natural beauty and cultural diversity of the region together with the warmth and friendliness of the people of southern Africa.

We know that potential first time visitors to southern Africa will have legitimate concerns and questions. We hope that this section will help to give you a relatively objective idea about and a feel for the reality of the region. We strongly believe that a major contributing factor that inhibits international tourism to southern Africa is the fact that there is a quite a bit of inaccurate and conflicting information on the region which leads to negative misperceptions and misconceptions. Please contact us directly if you would like any further information or if you have any specific questions that are not addressed here.

HEALTH, SAFETY AND SECURITY

Health – For travellers who are planning on visiting southern Africa, it is extremely prudent to consult your personal physician or a travel health and immunization center to be sure that all you have all appropriate up-to-date vaccinations and immunizations. For those planning on visiting Mozambique, we strongly recommend the use of preventive malaria prophylaxis; Mozambique is an endemic malarial area. In the last few years, the majority of visitors to Mozambique have chosen Malerone as their prophylaxis of choice due to its very limited side effects. For those who have never before travelled to a malarial area and who are concerned in regards to their personal short and long term health, please note that when malarial prophylaxis are taken as directed, it is virtually impossible to contract malaria.

 
In terms of primary and emergency medical care, South Africa has excellent medical facilities that are of an absolute first world standard. These facilities are private and it is strongly recommended that clients coming to southern Africa have all appropriate medical insurance coverage. For those clients who are travelling to Mozambique, please note that while there are medical facilities in Inhambane, these facilities are extremely basic and are nowhere close to a first world standard. In the event of a medical emergency in Mozambique, there is an excellent trauma center in Maputo and first world medical care is also available in Nelspruit, South Africa. Emergency medical evacuations take place from the airport in Inhambane and the time from incident to primary care is approximately 4 to 5 hours.

In cases involving dive related emergencies requiring recompression treatment, medical evacuations are to Durban, South Africa, which has an excellent dive medicine facility; although the nearest recompression chamber is in Johannesburg, South Africa, it is unusable in emergency situations due to altitude. For any dive related emergency in Inhambane, the time from incident to chamber is approximately 6 hours. In all dive related medical evacuations, we coordinate directly with Divers Alert Network Southern Africa (DAN-SA) and we do strongly recommend that all clients visiting Mozambique be sure that their medical insurance covers medical evacuations and treatment due to injury from dive related activities. If your current insurance does not meet this requirement or if you would like to learn more, contact the Divers Alert Network for more information; see DAN-North America – www.diversalertnetwork.org.

Safety and Security – Safety and security in southern Africa are legitimate concerns which need to be addressed directly. In regards to South Africa, the unfortunate truth is that South Africa has some of the highest rates of violent crime in the world. This is in no small part a remainder of the legacy of the Apartheid era and the “townships” that were created, combined with severe economic disparity and extremely high levels of unemployment. That said the vast majority of violent crime in South Africa is concentrated in urban areas and like in any major city anywhere in the world, common sense and knowing where to go, and more importantly where not to go, play vital roles in one’s personal safety. Violent attacks on international tourists in South Africa are very rare and the recent World Cup showed the world that South Africa is a safe place to visit. The three destinations which we offer in South Africa, Margate/Shelley Beach, Umkomas and Gansbaai are all relatively small towns which are extremely safe and very secure.

Safety and security in Mozambique require a bit of an explanation. For Americans who are considering travel to Mozambique, the US State Department lists the safety and security risk in Mozambique as “critical”, which is their highest warning. It is not just the US Government that does this, but virtually every European country as well. For those of us who live or have lived in Mozambique, this has always been seen as unfounded; these same governments, including the US Government through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), spend quite literally millions upon millions of dollars annually to develop and promote tourism in Mozambique, and then turn around and tell people it’s not safe to go.

The truth is this; the threat assessment issued in regards to Mozambique is directly related to an upsurge in the last two years of criminal acts which have targeted the resident ex-pat community in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. These attacks have ranged from car-jackings to home invasions and brazen restaurant hold-ups. The vast majority of these attacks have been attributed to organized criminal elements operating in Maputo and South Africa. These attacks are by no means common and Maputo itself is quite actually quite safe.

In Depth Dive Travel clients who dive with us in Mozambique will be spending their time in the province of Inhambane. Inhambane City, the provincial capital, is located about 325 miles north of Maputo and is a quaint, quiet and beautiful little bayside town with a population of nearly 100,000 people. I have personally lived in Inhambane, Tofo and Zavora for almost all of the last ten years and I can unequivocally state that the Inhambane area of Mozambique is without a doubt one of the safest places that I have ever been in the world. For all practical purposes the violent crime rate in Inhambane is close to zero and violent attacks on international tourists are virtually unheard of.  

The only security concerns in South Africa and Mozambique are most often related to “crimes of opportunity leading directly to spontaneous redistribution of wealth” and are certainly not unique to Africa. While South Africa and Mozambique are countries where you can enjoy your holiday safely and securely, there is serious poverty; while clients and their possessions are extremely secure while in their lodges or at the dive centers, while in public places do not leave valuables left out unattended, do not accept “help” from strangers at cash machines, do not leave valuables in sight in vehicles left unattended, etc.

TRAVEL TIME AND COST –

Travel Time and Connections - For North American clients, the travel time involved in a trip to southern Africa is a concern in terms of potential diving days lost to travel. Unfortunately, there is no way to get around it; southern Africa is on the other side of the world and it is about 20 hours in the air no matter how you do it. The gateway to southern Africa is OR Thambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa. From the States, there are two ways to reach Johannesburg; directly or connecting through a major European city. From the States there are only two carriers who currently provide direct service to Johannesburg daily – South African Airlines who offer direct flights from New York and Delta Airlines who offer direct and non-stop service from Atlanta. These flights arrive in the late afternoon local time of the following day; clients who are beginning their trip in Mozambique may then overnight in Johannesburg and make their connecting flight to Inhambane in the morning of the next day. For clients who are beginning their dive trip in South Africa, there is adequate time to make their domestic connections on the same day to either Cape Town or Durban. Return flights depart in the evenings from Johannesburg and arrive in the States in the morning of the following day.

Clients also have the option of booking with any major carrier and partner airline through any major European hub. The vast majority of the outbound European flights from the States arrive in the morning of the following day and nearly all of the connecting flights to Johannesburg depart in the evening, necessitating a layover of up to 12 hours on outbound travel; connections on the return are relatively short, with overnight flights from Johannesburg departing in the evening and arriving in Europe in the morning of the following day; return flights connecting to the States arrive in the afternoon or evening of the same day. Clients arriving in Johannesburg through European connections before 1000am will have time to make any onward connections the same day.

Cost – Given the cost of international return flights to South Africa, which range from 1500USD and up, combined with flights to Mozambique, around 500USD, and/or domestic flights within South Africa, the cost of getting there alone is comparable to an entire dive holiday closer to home. And with the accommodation costs, costs of transportation, diving, guides and Park fees, for many the cost of a dive holiday to southern Africa may seem prohibitively expensive, with two week diving and safari packages starting at close to 5000USD.

THE DIVING:

The deciding factor for the majority of divers considering a dive holiday in southern Africa is; given the distance, the cost and the potential concerns about health and safety, is the diving worth it? The answer is yes; the dive opportunities that are found in this region are among the best in the world and the fact that dive holidays can be combined with wildlife safaris makes southern Africa an incredibly unique holiday destination. At In Depth Dive Travel, we understand that for many clients this kind of trip is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we strive to guarantee that our trips consistently offer the highest standards of quality and service.

 
However, please note that the diving in southern Africa is by no means for everyone. If what you enjoy most or what you are most accustomed to is calm surface conditions, clean water and great visibility, abundant and colorful corals and up to four or five dives per day, than southern Africa is potentially not for you. While the diving in the region is not difficult, conditions can sometimes make for dives that can be moderately challenging. While it is possible to get days with excellent visibility, the average visibility ranges from 30 to 60 feet. Boat launches and surface conditions and the fact that some dive sites are up to 8 miles off-shore can make for uncomfortable boat rides and once in the water, some of the deeper reefs are at a depth of 75 to 100 feet and there is almost always the potential for moderate to strong currents. Given all these factors, we do ask that all our clients have a reasonable degree of fitness and we do require that all of our dive clients have an absolute minimum of Advanced certification, 60 logged dives and dives logged within the last 12 months.

Due to the type of diving offered and the fact that some of the destinations that we offer are considered to be remote destinations, the dive operators with whom we work all put an extreme emphasis on safety. With the exception of the White Sharks cage diving trips, all of the diving in our destinations is done from semi-rigid inflatable boats, also known as “Zodiacs” or “Rubber Ducks”. In three of our destinations, Tofo, Aliwal and Protea, the boat launches are directly in to shore breaks and clients are almost always required to assist in getting boats in to the water and properly positioned for safe launches. Dive briefings cover launch safety procedures in depth. Once on the water and diving, dives are always conducted as group dives, and depending on the dive site there can be 2 or 3 dive staff members accompanying each group and all diving done within recreational no-decompression limits. For those who are Nitrox certified, all of our destinations do offer Nitrox for increased safety or extended bottom time; for those who are certified technical divers, the dive center in Zavora is equipped and staffed to provide for planned decompression and technical diving.

The most significant safety factor for clients diving in southern Africa, and in Mozambique in particular, is the potential of being separated from the group on an off-shore dive site. While South Africa does have excellent and immediate air and sea search and rescue capabilities, Mozambique does not enjoy this luxury. Separation details and safety and separation procedures are extensively covered in each and every dive briefing and all divers are required to carry emergency surface marker buoys on all dives on off-shore sites. With a combination of excellent safety and communication procedures and experienced and extremely well-trained staff, in Tofo and Zavora there has never been a single incident of a diver having been lost at sea.

Another factor that is worth noting is that diving and dive activities in southern Africa are extremely dependent on wind speeds and surface conditions which can affect the ability to reach certain dive sites or even cause for all dive activities to be cancelled. From my extensive experience in the region, there is no “season” for strong wind and rough surface conditions as very strong winds can kick up at literally any time of the year. In the event of diving which is cancelled due to inclement conditions, all dives not done as part of a package are fully refunded.

So, to sum it up; the diving can be moderately challenging, the visibility can be poor, the surface conditions and boat rides can be rough and for dive safety, you should really be comfortable and know what you doing in the water. If you can get past these things, than the rewards which are on offer are absolutely incredible. Mozambique; there is no other destination in the world which offers an excellent chance of seeing both Whale Sharks and Manta Rays at any time of the year; throw in a vast array and abundance of reef life big and small and even a seasonal Humpback Whale migration from July to October, and the diving in Mozambique can only be described as spectacular. For divers who love sharks, as many of us do, the chance to combine the opportunities provided in South Africa to be up close with White, Tiger and Bull Sharks is second to none in the world. And the ability to combine any or all of these amazing dive opportunities with the chance to see the best Africa’s terrestrial wildlife makes southern Africa a dive destination like no other.

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