Diving in Mozambique

[jalber]

Hi there,

I'm planning a trip to Mozambique on the look out for whale sharks and mantas. I have 60 dives, including drift diving in Indonesia and tough conditions in the Galapagos.
However, all the info I can find suggests that diving out of Tofo you have to have Advanced level to dive the sites where mantas are found.
Does anyone know whether this condition is enforced? If so, are there any shallower sites (either out of Tofu or elsewhere in Mozambique) where you have a good chance to see both mantas and whalesharks?
As ever, any advice gratefully received!

Many thanks,
James

 

[Deefstes]

No matter where you end up diving in Moz, you'll love it, trust me.

I have not personally dived the the Inhambane area (where Tofo is) yet so take my advice for what it's worth. I have been lead to believe that the Inhambane area do turn up Mantas more often than most other spots but I'm not sure how true that is and why it would be. I don't understand why Mantas would hang around the reefs of Inhambane only when there are perfect reefs for them up and down the coast as well.

To the best of my knowledge, the depth of the famous Manta Reef at Inhambane ranges between OW depths and AOW depths so I would think you should be able to dive it even if you're not AOW certified, you might just be restricted to certain parts of the reef.

Whether or not the condition is enforced by the operators I don't know but the question doesn't really make sense to me as I should think the condition is enforced by yourself?

Another part of the Moz coast that I could highly recommend is Pomene which is about another 100km north of Inhambane and has some unforgettable diving to offer. There's the river estuary which offers the most amazing diving experience with the most bizarre creatures and there's Zambia shoal, considered by some to be the best reef on the east coast of Africa.

If you're interested you can see some pics that I took at Pomene here. Enjoy your trip, you'll love it.

 

[AndyT]

Just checked my dive log - Manta reef is at around 25m, putting it at Advanced level. The others where you may find Mantas are Office,Amazon and Giants Castle - all at between 26 and 32m.
The operator I used certainly wanted to see your C- card.

Whalesharks are usually seen on the surface, so no SCUBA qualification needed for that bit.

Deefstes - don't you get mantas down at Ponto? Just asking, not too sure on depth and frequency of sightings though.

 

[Deefstes]

Deefstes - don't you get mantas down at Ponto? Just asking, not too sure on depth and frequency of sightings though.

Do I get them? No. Do others? Yes.

They are seen in southern Mozambique and Sodwana but I have yet to see one. I've had a few sightings of Whalesharks at Ponta Malongane, Ponta do Ouro and Sodwana but, frustratingly, no Mantas yet.

 

[gubbins]

Yep, mantas are down deeper but you can just grab a deep specialty course when you're there in order to see them. I was diving with Liquid Adventures, who had some great people working for them - hugely experienced, relaxed and very competent (if you can believe a guy on his first post ), but all the dive shops in Tofo seemed pretty good. Whale sharks are seen by snorkeling though so no problems there.

All in, one of the best general travel experiences I've ever had. Heartily recommend Vilanculos as well if you get the chance. There's a bus up there from Inhambane which has an airport should you be running out of time. If you want any more info then PM me.

Owen

 

[jalber]

Thanks for the advice folks. Deefstes, your photos are amazing. Love the sea moth - saw one in Indonesia and the guy I was diving with had more than 2000 dives and saw it for the first time - he was over the moon, I just thought it was one of the strangest things I'd ever seen!

 

[Christopher_B]

Not only are whale sharks and mantas at Tofo year-round, both species of manta (reef and giant) are seen there. They appear to like the plentiful cleaning stations and the plankton-rich waters, just like the whale sharks. It is believed that reef mantas have a home range and tend to stick around one area. Reseachers in Tofo are looking in to this. You can find more info on Tofo and a link to an article i wrote for X-Ray here Mozambique and Kruger | Indigo Safaris. I have a similar one that i wrote for Diver (North American edition) and others about the manta research going on there. If you send me an e-mail i'll send them to you. Just go to the contact page on the site in the link.

 

[dave martin]

Hi,
I went to Tofo at the end of last year and had an enjoyable time. I did a trip report on the BSAC website it their travel club section if you are interested. As other have said, the Whalkesharks are mostl;y seen on the surface so no scuba qual needed but whilst we were there mantas were on the deeper reefs at about 25-30m. Not sure about elsewhere in Moz but Tofo was a great little place. Dived with Diversity Scuba who were faultless. I have posted some pics on Webshots (put 'albums', 'davewmartin' and 'outdoors' on the search and it should throw up my stuff). Happy to answer any other specifics if I can.
Dave

 

[jolo]

Have a look at my web page some good info on Mozambique

 

[LiquidAdventures]

Gubbins- we're glad you enjoyed your time here! Thanks for the kind words.

James- The mantas (both species, Manta alfredi and Manta birostris) are on deeper reefs here. Manta Reef, Giants' Castle, Office and Amazon are all deep sites and really do warrant training in deep diving. Like most shops here, we offer a Deep Specialty dive which can be applied to your Advanced Open Water certification with PADI. This is one of the five dives required for the AOW course.

As others have already said, whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are typically found on snorkeling trips and not usually seen on SCUBA. You're much more mobile in snorkeling gear and it's much easier to keep up with them. Like other shops in Tofo, we run daily ocean safaris. They're here year round and we see them along with dolphins and sometimes mantas all the time.

Look us up when you're here. We're a relaxed, quiet shop and we try to give friendly, personalized service to all of our customers.

See you in Tofo soon!

- The Team at Liquid Adventures