Top 10 lists

Go fly-fishing off the island of Bazaruto
Saltwater fly-fishing is provided by several lodges on this island, including Sabal Lodge on the southern end. Join a party out on the sea looking for schools of feeding game fish and cast for them while standing in a rocking boat. More than 50 species of salt-water fish have been caught here on flies.

Lounge about at Benguela Island Lodge
Relax with a good book on the lodge's large balconies under indigenous trees and watch the sea change colour. When you're feeling peckish from all that mental activity, you can indulge in a huge seafood braai or a prawn picnic and loads of fresh fruit.

Explore the country on an overland safari
Put a map, GPS, Portuguese phrase book and all the necessary permits into your 4x4 and head off on the adventure of a lifetime up the country's tropical coastline. The southern third is best known; the middle third is partially explored, while the northern third is terra incognita.

Visit Inhaca Island
This island is just a short boat ride from Maputo. Its inhabitants mainly wrest a living from the sea. It also has lovely long beaches, great diving, fishing, snorkelling or spear-fishing, and the Biological Museum cluttered with pre-served marine life.

Take a trip on a dhow
Book a dhow trip to any of the islands. It is a real pleasure to watch the unhurried skill with which the pilots weave their dhows in and out of shallow, crowded anchorages. You won't even get your feet wet, because the crew carry passengers to and from the shore.

Visit Maputo's Natural History Museum
The ornate façade of the Natural History Museum hides one of the world's best collections of stuffed animals. The showpiece is a display of elephant foetuses, showing their development through all 22 months of gestation.

Dive with whale sharks
Whale sharks are found all year round at the popular diving resorts of Ponta Do Ouro or Ponta Malongane, but the greatest numbers occur in summer. Take your snorkel-ling kit, motor out till you see one and then dive in and follow the world's largest fish.

Enjoy high tea at the Polana Hotel
Even if you don't stay at Moçambique's finest hotel, do yourself a favour and drop in for tea. The elegant surroundings, fine teas and coffees, delectable pastries, delicate sandwiches and polished ser-vice hark back to a more genteel era.

Discover pansy shells on Magaruque
It will take you no more than about three hours to amble round the shore of this tiny island. While you do so, look out for round, sun-bleached shells with a pansy motif. These shells belong to a relative of the sea urchin, and are well worth a closer look or even a photograph.

Visit the Fortress of Saint Sebastian
Ilha de Moçambique is a World Heritage Site and Fortaleza Sho SebastAo is one of the highlights. When it was built during the 16th century it was the largest single structure in Central and Southern Africa and it is still in pretty good shape. Guided tours can be arranged, but they are given only in Portuguese.

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