Mozambique is one of the most convenient options to add a stunning tropical island holiday to your time in Kruger National Park and most significantly, it has a lot less mass tourism, unlike the large resorts on islands such as Mauritius, Seychelles or the Caribbean.
Boutique style beach lodges can be found with a handful of suites on a tiny island, forming part of a larger archipelago of islands.
With daily flights from Johannesburg, or regular flights from Nelspruit, it is possible to be on a private island holiday within a matter of a few hours of the safari!
Mozambique boasts the longest coastline on the African continent, over 2500 km (1500 miles) along the Indian Ocean. Starting with the capital city in the south, Maputo, to the very northern point of the country, the Quirimbas Archipelago.
A typical stay involves a flight to a town on the mainland, and then a small aircraft charter, or helicopter flip to travel to the islands. Snorkelling, scuba, sunset cruises, marlin fishing and fresh line-fish are the order of the day.
The most popular islands are Benguerra island, part of the Bazaruto Archipelago which is a short hop from the mainland airport of Vilanculos. This, is the favoured destination because of its access on certain days of the week, straight from Kruger National Park.
Down south is the capital city of Maputo, and thanks to a wonderful highway, is reachable from Kruger in 2 to 3 hours (crossing at the Komatipoort border post). Often, a stay in Maputo for a night is considered, before taking an easy boat transfer to island resorts across the bay.
Our Kosher footprint on these islands is growing steadily. The Jewish population in Mozambique is very small. The main food type is marvelous fresh fish caught daily, from the fishing charter boats that go out from the harbour areas. They are only permitted to catch with single rods, and not larger trawling nets, or even from the bow of a traditional dhow sailing boat.
Parev is the most common form of Kosher catering, and occassionally a few Kosher steaks might be imported directly by the owners or private chefs of the island resorts. Milchik is fairly easily available with advanced notice, but Chalav Yisrael involves importation and early notice.
