Author Topic: John F's trek to the far north of Moz (Read 26442 times)

John F · « **on:** October 22, 2012, 08:19:27 AM »

Once again, I've been contracted to conduct reef surveys and habitat sensitivity work in Palma - the northern most district of Mozambique; at the border with Tanzania.

I'll try to post some of the anecdotes and interesting aspects of the trip (non technical stuff of course as these fall under a confidentiality agreement!).

Unfortunately this will not be a fishing report, although I certainly hope to be able to do a bit of fishing.

We will be living and working off a 45 ft catamaran for about 10 days. There will be scuba diving and snorkeling on coral reefs and seagrass beds and also checking sandy beaches, rocky shores and mangroves.

21 Oct 2012, Day 1 - Pemba
The flight from Maputo was delayed, as usual. We (my long time partner in these adventures and fellow marine biologist - Eduardo and I) got to the airport early as there have been lot's of cases of people loosing flights due to over-booking. We had 9 kg extra and had to pay about 1,200.00 Mts. Oh well... Nothing we can do... We need the diving equipment, books, cameras, etc. to do the work.

Arrived in Pemba just after lunch time and went straight to the hotel by the beach. Had a nice grilled chicken and chips and a cold coke. Temp was about 28o C and it was humid. We saw the cat that will be our home in the next few days leaving to our rendezvous point: Palma. It will take them about 3 sailing days to get there - a trip of about 350 km (the boat has 2 inboards but usually sail to save fuel). We will fly there tomorrow and get everything ready before boarding on the 24th.

[smg id=915]

[smg id=920]

[smg id=921]

SAfish · « **Reply #1 on:** October 22, 2012, 08:30:22 AM »

Man, some guys have the most awesome and interesting jobs!!

Have a safe trip Marcos and please keep us updated.

WalkersKiller · « **Reply #2 on:** October 22, 2012, 08:44:05 AM »

Nice Marcos!

Kumz · « **Reply #3 on:** October 22, 2012, 08:47:49 AM »

Brilliant

PH · « **Reply #4 on:** October 22, 2012, 10:14:23 AM »

Great marcos.

One day when we grow up we would love to visit the Quirimba's (Pardon the spelling.)
Please keep us updated with pics as well. (My wife wants scratch your eyes out)

REEFMAN · « **Reply #5 on:** October 22, 2012, 10:22:29 AM »

Looking forward to the reports and pics Marcos!

Prego · « **Reply #6 on:** October 22, 2012, 12:27:01 PM »

Dude I hope you packed your popping stick and some of your DIY candy!

Enjoy

Half-Pint · « **Reply #7 on:** October 22, 2012, 01:20:16 PM »

Very jealous Marcos!

Werries · « **Reply #8 on:** October 22, 2012, 04:10:53 PM »

Marcos , I hope your trip is full of awesomeness!! Looking fwd to those pics...

John F · « **Reply #9 on:** October 22, 2012, 11:22:20 PM »

22 Oct 2012, Day 2 - Palma
We're in Palma! Got to the Pemba airport at 08:00 h and took a 12-seat, mono prop "paper plane" (Cessna 208B) to Mocimboa da Praia (50 min) where we had to stop for about 30 min. The plane was refuelled and we took off to Palma (25 min). I must confess: I HATE flying and these little planes really get into my nerves... I bare slept last night and today after a few hours on the terra firma I was still shaking. The landing strip in Palma is not tarred and it was a bit scary (at least for me!). The up side is that I took some nice aerial pics. The boat is making good progress and should be here tomorrow.

Here are some of the aerial pics I took...

A nice and vibrant estuarine mangrove, a few km north of Pemba bay. Note the small village in the lower right corner

[smg id=922]

Northern tip of Matemo Is with the landing strip and the reef around the northern tip

[smg id=923]

Rolas Is just north of Matemo. I visited the reef on the southern corner of the island (next to the sand spit) a month ago... what a beauty!

[smg id=924]

John F · « **Reply #10 on:** October 23, 2012, 08:47:31 AM »

Here are some more aerial pics....

A great estuarine system with healthy mangroves just before Mocimboa da Praia

[smg id=925]

Aerial view of Mocimboa da Praia...

[smg id=926]

Landing site of Mocimboa da Praia with lot's of dhows lined up. I've seen some large dhows (up to 10 m long) capable of long trips (Moz-Tanzania)

[smg id=927]

Prego · « **Reply #11 on:** October 23, 2012, 08:52:18 AM »

Awesome images John F.

Now one can see why there are no fish in shore anymore n the area every second person as a Dhow

WalkersKiller · « **Reply #12 on:** October 23, 2012, 08:53:05 AM »

John F · « **Reply #13 on:** October 23, 2012, 08:54:58 AM »

A nice little beach just out of Mocimboa da Praia

[smg id=916]

Small farms in the middle of the coastal forest. The area has lot's of small pans that form an important wetland system that area important for migratory birds
[smg id=917]

Palma town

[smg id=918]

And of course a novel way to fight malaria! Could not resist this one... you know what they say.... money talks and

walks...

[smg id=919]

SAfish · « **Reply #14 on:** October 23, 2012, 09:21:38 AM »

Awesome photos. I would love to fly low over such a beautiful area.

REEFMAN · « **Reply #15 on:** October 23, 2012, 09:55:00 AM »

Spectacular aerial shots! Wow...!

peterblace · « **Reply #16 on:** October 23, 2012, 11:44:40 AM »

that's a trip...I'm looking for some accomodation in Medjumbe for new years as Indigo Bay is fully booked...

John F · « **Reply #17 on:** October 23, 2012, 08:50:59 PM »

23 Oct 2012, Day 3 - Palma

Not much to report today. The boat (or better yet - yacht!) has arrived safely and is anchored in Palma bay. We met the skipper (Craig) and the dive master (Julie). Great guys - we connected immediately and actually know some people in common!

Great part of the day was spent discussing logistics, health and security issues and similar stuff... also, finalized some DIY modifications to the equipment we will be using (spacer bar for the underwater camera and a small board to carry the hand held GPS during our reef surveys, which will help georeference every pic we take underwater)...

Tomorrow is going to be a long day... we will finalize MEdEvac plans, communication schedules and so on...

Hopefully we will be sailing at first light on the 25th!

PH · « **Reply #18 on:** October 23, 2012, 08:57:05 PM »

Thanks for sharing Marcos.

John F · « **Reply #19 on:** October 25, 2012, 06:33:15 AM »

24 Oct 2012, Day 4 - Palma
Still in Palma! We spent the hole day trying to get the paperwork done. Let's see if it is approved by the client's HQ so we can do the work! We're are eager to get on the boat and do what we came here to do. Have not been out of the camp since we got here. Frustration is building up!