Tofo & Tofinho (1)

Tofo and its little cousin Tofinho are remote, charming and wild spots.
Some 25 km from Inhambane, there is a string of resorts along Tofo and Tofinho, and you can take your pick from humble self-catering cottages to stylish beach retreats.



This is great romance territory.
Think private beach dinners, sunset dhow cruises, holding hands as you walk along the 
beach .....

Tofinho Beach is the quieter of the two Tofo beaches and is the perfect place to spend your days relaxing on the water's edge, watching the whales jumping and the dolphins playing in the surf or a lazy whale shark cruising by.



It's also just a short distance to Tofo Beach where there are plenty of activities such as world-class scuba diving.
Tofo offers lively street cafes, rich Mozambique culture and vivid markets.
Local dhows sell catches of fresh seafood up and down the shore.

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Barra

Barra is a venerable and much-loved beach resort area some 30 km away from Inhambane on a coastal track that leads over dunes and through coconut plantations, past barracas and villages.



There is no real centre to Barra; it's a siring of resorts, self-catering spots and camping.
There are no shop or restaurants here; you can buy local.
The famous Bar Babalaza is here.

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Dhow !

Every year in November there is a dhow race sponsored by the governor of Inhambane Bay, a delightful spectacle that draws great crowds and support.

Dhows have long been part of Inhambane's economy and identify.



The seamanship and boatbuilding skills of the marinheiros (sailors) and the pescadores (fishermen) of Inhambane are an ancient part of its culture.

Inhambane still has the biggest fleet of working dhows on the East African coast, and there is traffic between Inhambane, Vilanculos and Beira.

Dhows were a vital form of transport during the civil war when the roads were unsafe and impassable.



Originally used by Arabs, early dhows had a lateen sail - a triangular sail on a short wooden most using a long yard arm rigged at a 45° angle, not a very efficient method.
They couldn't sail close to the wind and relied on the prevailing trade and anti-trade winds.

During the height of the slave trade, some dhows were enormous - up to 200 tons in ocean-going fleets that were the backbone of the slave trade.

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Inhambane, Out & About (2)

Enjoy some rural retail therapy

Browse through the local mercado which sells a colourful array of spices prawns, fish, vegetable and cashew nuts.
Buy local fabric or curios and crafts, coconut bags, fabric, wooden bowls.



Take a dhow to Maxixe and back

A dhow ride is a must when you're here.
Maxixe is the most southerly anchorage for dhows, known as barcos as velas or ingalaoa.
When there are enough people to fill it, off she goes, tacking across the Indian Ocean.

 

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Inhambane, Out & About (1)

Check out the charms of Inhambane town

Take in the old governor's house on the waterfront and the fascinating railway station (it has a workshop filled with old steam trains and memorabilia and men clanking away an old machinery).



In the old quarter of town is the 170-year-old Cathedral of our Lady of Conception where a rusted (a somewhat perilous) ladder leads to the top of the spire, offering grand views of town and harbour.

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Inhambane (4)

Although large ships seldom call here any longer, it still has the largest fleet of working dhows in the country, and is the third - biggest port in Mozambique.



The town itself has a population of about 50.000 people and straddles the Tropic of Capricorn.

Mercifully, pretty Inhambane lies just outside the cyclone belt, although it gets more rain than Maputo, mainly in January.
It's humid, and you'll be grateful for the Ocean Breeze.

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Inhambane (3)

Inhambane was an important cotton and ivory trading post, then later slavery became the town's economic mainstay.
Thousands of slaves passed through the port of Inhambane each year.

It was attacked by Gaza Chief Soshangane in the early 1800s but recovered.

With the abolition of slavery Inhambane changed forever.



Until independence, Inhambane was a busy harbour capable of handling coasters of up to 10.000 tons.
Cashew nuts, copra, cotton, oil seed, peanuts and sugar were loaded at Inhambane harbour.
More than a million migrant workers bound for work on the gold mines of the Witwatersrand set off regularly from Inhambane, by boat for Lourenco Marques and then by rail to Johannesburg.

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