Click on the image below to read the article from the Winter 2010 special issue of InStyle Weddings.InStyle Weddings

Travel Scope Travels with ROAR AFRICA to Mozambique:

This is Part II of the trip we hosted the TravelScope documentary team on. (Read Part I here.)

We left Kruger National Park, in particular Camp Jabulani and Lion Sands Private Reserve and escorted Joseph and Julie Rosendo of Travel Scope to a very different eco system – namely the Bazaruto Archipelago off the east coast of Mozambique.

The archipelago is made up of five islands –

Magaruque Island which unfortunately was not visited.
Paradise Island (Santa Carolina) which is now a deserted military base. Not that long ago it was considered to be a gem of a holiday resort, now unfortunately the buildings are deserted. The snorkeling off the coral reefs is still outstanding.. (Read our more detailed post on Santa Carolina here.)

Bazaruto Island which is the largest boasts Indigo Bay, a resort of 100 beds. The highlight of our stay at Indigo Bay was being able to ride a horse up the 300 ft dunes – not for the faint hearted! This heart stopping feat was followed by swimming with the horses in the ocean. If this is not for you relaxing on extensive white beaches, fishing and snorkeling are also available. To finish a perfect day we recommend a sunset cruise in an original hand made Dhow.
Benguera Island is situated just south of Bazaruto and we were fortunate to stay at the ultra luxury Azura Lodge which is made up of 30 chalets – each leading directly onto the beach. As expected each chalet has all the quality amenities plus each boasts its own infinity pool. Between the pool and the waves is a relaxing palm frond thatched boma where it is heaven to relax on the reclining sofa.
Pansy Island is a tidal island so access is limited to low tide. Pansy Island offers the best snorkeling - guides lead swimmers on specific routes so that no damage is done to the coral reefs. We do not guarantee sightings but you have the chance of seeing turtles dolphins and dugongs. A Dugong is a large marine mammal which, together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order Sirenia.

Bazaruto and Benguera Islands have populations of less than 2000 each. They have managed to retain their various indigenous languages, but the Portuguese way of life has been imprinted on them. They speak mostly Portuguese, cook and eat Portuguese style of food and follow Roman Catholicism. Schools and odd small ‘tuck shops’ exist on each island but lively hood is gained from employment at the tourist resorts or by fishing. The main shopping area is situated on the main land at the small town of Vilancoulos - about 45 min away by boat.

Apart form the day to day battle just to survive and feed their family the islanders have a word ‘kutakalia’ which means ‘lay back and relax’. This is there watch word for day to day living and this is how they exist successfully on these little isolated islands.

Anyone one wishing for a relaxing topical beach holiday far away from the madding crowds Mozambique is the definitely the place to go.

Clint Eastwood's latest movie, Invictus, about South Africa's World Cup rugby win in 1995 opens nationwide in the USA this Friday, December 11th. I have not seen a screening but I am already prepared to say that you must see it, especially if you have any plans to visit South Africa. It is about so much more than rugby-this was the tournament that changed our nation. Francois Pienaar, who is played by Matt Damon in the movie and who was the captain of the South African team said "Hollywood could not write a better story." So they just had to tell this one.

Every South African old enough to remember knows where they were on June 24th, 1995. I happened to be in Austin, Texas in body, but we were all in Ellis Park stadium in spirit, watching and feeling our nation defy the odds and come together miraculously as "One Team, One Country". In short, rugby was a sport that symbolized the old South Africa. It was played predominantly by whites, especially Afrikaners, who were extremely proud of their sport and after years of international isolation were desperate to prove themselves to the world.

Understandably, many black South African's wanted nothing to do with it. In fact many were hostile to the game, the players ("The Boks"), the emblem (the Springbok), and even to the green and gold uniform itself. Nelson Mandela, played by Morgan Freeman in the movie, was the visionary who realized that rugby could unite the nation. He and the captain Francois Pienaar then lead the team and the country to victory and to a united new South Africa. On that day Mandela, affectionately known as Madiba, was wearing that number six green and gold jersey of the captain, Francois Pienaar.

Now a new generation of South Africans can be reminded of the spirit their nation was built in. Despite not yet seeing the movie I am prepared to stick my neck out and say this should be required viewing for all South Africans. I got goose bumps reading excerpts from 'Playing the Enemy' last night. No, I am shrouding my emotions here like a good South African male - I have goosebumps right now, but last night my eyes were welling-up. Tough, grown men of all ages, colors and creeds were crying tears of joy, relief and hope in Ellis Park stadium on June 24th, 1995. That is still with us 14 years later and we will feel it again this Friday.

Watch the Invictus trailer here:

A few interesting tidbits about the movie and background:

• The screenwriter is Anthony Peckham who grew up in Durban, South Africa.
• Morgan Freeman who had wanted to do film about Mandela for a decade, found the right project when he heard about a book being written: 'Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation' by John Carlin an ex South African.
• The name Invictus (Latin-invincible) is from a poem by William Ernest Henley that inspired Nelson Mandela during his years in prison. Read it below.
• Matt Damon trained intensely to get in shape for the role but couldn't grow into a 6ft 3inches and 235 pound Pienaar. He first met Francois Pienaar for dinner at Francois' house. Amusingly, when Francois answered the door Matt said, "I'm much bigger in movies."
• Matt Damon knew the basics of the game from friends of his who played at Harvard University.
• In true Clint Eastwood style he kept the movie as close to the original facts and event as possible.
• Action sequences include about 30minutes of game action and used mostly real rugby players from South Africa, New Zealand and Togo instead of actors.
• Movie viewers will learn the basics of the game through scenes at rugby coaching clinics.
• For most of his life Mandela rose at 4.30 am, made his bed and went for an hours' run. While in prison he simply jogged on the spot in his cell. Peckam says that on the day of the final he skipped his exercise routine and made more time to read the national papers.
• On June 24th, 1995 the headline of the Argus newspaper read "Viva the Boks!". Viva was a war cry of black protest that was now being used to rally behind the Springbok rugby team. Before the game had even started the country was on a new road.

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

In October ROAR AFRICA hosted the well known Travel Scope show hosts, Joseph and Julie Rosendo, on a trip to southern Africa to film a new TV documentary. Sustainable conservation was the theme of our visit starting at Camp Jabulani in the greater Kruger National Park and ending on the Indian ocean island of Bazaruto.

Joseph on safari

We rose early to catch the sunrise over Africa before a game drive. After breakfast we took a walk with and interacted with sixteen wild (but rescued and trained) elephants. Read more about Camp Jabulani in my September post. Filming and touching five ton bull elephants out in the bush is a privilege of a life time. The focus here and at the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre was wildlife conservation, but the important complement to this was what followed our animal adventure each day: visits to local Shangaan villages and schools to understand more about the native culture and discover how they coexist with and benefit from tourism.

Filming the documentary at Camp Jabulani

It is a challenge to educate all humans as to the value of wild life. It is the wild life that brings tourists so as to create employment and wealth. The goals are to conserve the ecology for mutual long term benefit of man, animals, birds, plants – each caring for the other – that is sustainable conservation. To do this effectively the private lodges and reserves we partner with are involved in community projects, for example, building schools. Lion Sands who hosted us in 6 star luxury, has helped build the Henna Pre-school. more about this and other projects on our website in the ROAR AFRICA Cares section- click here. Standards of living of staff working in hospitality are improving along with the education and futures of their children.

Field audio engineer David Stevens finds a ready assistant in the village.

From Lion Sands Private Reserve in South Africa we headed northeast to the Bazaruto archipelago in Mozambique. Here we were hosted by Indigo Bay Island Resort and Spa and Azura Resort. This is a true island paradise of sparkling turquoise waters and beautiful beaches. Most guests relax more than they ever thought possible here, but for us it was early starts and late finishes as we captured paradise on film. Horseriding, diving, sailing dhouws and sand-boarding down 300 foot high dunes amongst other activities . We'll have to go back for Kuta Katila which on Bazaruto means "roll your reed mat out on the sand, lay back and relax.”

More about the Mozambique portion of the trip in the next installment.

Stay tuned for the 2010 release of this series on television.

Joseph on a traditional dhouw in Mozambique.

More about the trip on the Travel Scope site here:

• TravelScope
• Joseph on safari
• Joseph on Bazaruto, Mozambique

In September we linked to Virtual Africa's "highest definition picture of Cape Town ever" in our blog, here. Well, they've done it again. This time from a different angle - a rooftop in the city looking up towards Table Mountain. The best part about the new picture is the viewer. You will not believe it. Go to full screen view and then start zooming.

Below you'll see a screenshots. The picture is already zoomed into a section of the photo. I created the inset from a zoom into some people 3,000 feet up on the top of Table Mountain.

The image was created by stitching 1850,fully zoomed (x 20 optical zoom), 10 MegaPixel images together over a 3 hour period. It's 205,000 pixels wide which would be a printout of about 90 m x 15 m!

Here is a canon on the ramparts of the Cape Town Castle:

Zoom away at Virtual Africa here....