 Thirteen
villas - one or two bedroomed - are right on the shoreline, all
with to-die-for views of the ocean.
Both airy and generous - with over 170 square metres of timbered
floor to pad about on, they have plenty of space for spreading beds,
sofas, a marble shower and vanity area and outside, a sun deck.
Vamizi Island is not about the ordinary five star stuff, so don't
expect TVs or air conditioning - it's all about barefoot relaxation
and rooms as open as they can be, to catch the natural breezes.
That said, if you can't drag yourself away from your villa, there's
a mini-bar and the means for a deluxe cup of tea or coffee –
as well as private dinners in the room on request.
Beyond that, we just leave you alone, in the peace of your own private
paradise.
Dining
Decking a distinctively island table, we serve surf-fresh seafood
and other tropical dishes, set off by the sea breaking on the shore
just feet away.
During the day, there’s the relative formality of our thatched
open dining room in the main lodge, or choose to retreat to Muntu
Nkulu, our new castaway restaurant open during the winter season
on the south side of the island, for a buffet and total relaxation.
You can also take the total desert island approach - alone with
a shipwrecked picnic on some deserted beach.
Evenings are a more glamorous affair, with a castaway twist, fuelled
by grills on the beach, or more elaborate dishes under lantern light
in the dining room.
With cocktails and fine wines at the bar - and acres of cushions
and sofas for sitting very soft at any point - you might just feel
that heaven can wait.
Getting activie
For all those who love to flop, there's another bunch who
need to flip. On the surface, Vamizi Island is utterly mellow. Go
a few feet below and everything changes, as the Vamizi seas - which
lodge residents share with no other tourists at all - are bristling
with big ocean action.
Some of the dives here are said to be the best in the world and
the deep sea fishing better than the whole East African coast. Fortunately,
we have PADI dive instructors, professional fisherfolk, and all
the toys and kit you’d want to make the most of this extraordinary
marine world.
For the less committed thrill seekers, there are snorkeling trips,
castaway picnics, whale watching expeditions and lots of messing
about in boats, from kayaks to traditional dhows. Landlubbers may
of course prefer to wander the miles of sugar sand untouched beaches,
or delve into the bush for a spot of monkey - or bird-watching.
Diving in the big blue
'These are the kind of conditions that divers mostly dream about.
One particular Vamizi site has been named as one of the top ten
scuba sites on the planet.'
A combination of wild underwater landscapes, the bounty of tropical
ocean currents and an abundance of marine life, makes Vamizi diving
beyond world class.
In this incredible ocean environment, Vamizi Island’s fanatical
dive team - which includes qualified PADI divemasters and instructors
- take the tropical scuba experience to new depths.
Chilled by water from over a kilometre below, corals on Vamizi's
dramatic drop- offs (unlike most of the world tropical reefs) have
not been bleached by the global rise in sea temperatures and make
up among the healthiest and most pristine reef-systems you can see
anywhere.
There is also a huge variety of marine life here: great shoals
of tuna, barracuda, grey reef sharks, turtles and giant groupers,
amongst many others.
These are the kind of conditions that divers mostly dream about.
One particular Vamizi site, Neptune’s Arm - where coral gardens
tumble down the edge of a thousand metre cliff so crowded with fish
you can hardly see the view - has been named as one of the top ten
scuba sites on the planet.
That said, there are also plenty of easy dives, shallow sites and
snorkelling spots for the casual or beginner diver – still
stunning, full of life and very close to the island.
Altogether, this makes Vamizi Island more than a great place to
dive, it is an oceanic Nirvana.
Fishing
Vamizi Island is a fish Eden with over fifty mainstream fish species.
Present in the Vamizi seas - the majority all year round - are a
huge variety of big game fish, such as wahoo, yellowfin tuna, greater
trevally,sailfish and marlin.
With a kilometre deep drop-off just off the coast, the Vamizi fishing
grounds lie as little as ten to thirty minutes from the lodge, making
even half a day’s fishing highly productive.
For those who prefer to stay on land, it is also easy to catch
a number of fish species straight off the beach, either on a fly
or using live bait.
Our professional fishermen are masters of their trade who know the
Vamizi seas intimately. They understand each fish species’
habits and movements and how weather, seasons, water temperatures
and tides will affect the day’s outcome.
They also have all the skills: from jigging and popping to live-bait
fishing and, for the more discerning, deep-sea fly fishing.
Backed up by an almost obsessive team, who literally sing the fish
in from the decks of a 28ft Magnum, as well as top-of-the-line equipment,
the Vamizi fisherfolk are confident enough to guarantee their clients
fantastic game fishing, sometimes even record breaking catches,
More than deep satisfaction for the serious fisherman, Vamizi fishing
is also great fun for first-timers. The seas are fabulous - you're
more than likely to see dolphins or whales on the way - and (no
pressure) you're pretty well expected to bring back supper, or at
the very least, tuna sashimi, for everyone.
The land
Arching out of the Vamizi seas - twelve kilometres long
and a kilometre wide - this whale-shaped curve of beach and bush
is drenched in sunshine and breezes.
The miles of unpadded white sand and wild bushy interior are also
a sanctuary for samango monkeys, coconut crabs and the 112 species
of tropical birds that live here, as well as being a haven for the
more land-based creatures amongst us.
Like the 100 turtles that nest on Vamizi's empty shores and are
irresistibly drawn to its peace, solitude and perfect harmony year
after year, intrepid travellers and rarified pleasure seekers find
it’s just the place to rest their weary fins.
Vamizi Island’s beaches have some of the best sand in the
world: so fine it squeaks like icing sugar as you walk on it, so
pale and clean that kicking off your shoes is second nature. It’s
as if we sift the beach every morning - the only litter you’re
likely to see is shells and coral.
What makes it all the more amazing is that you hardly share the
shores with anyone (a few other lodge guests and some turtles, perhaps).
You can beach-comb for untouched miles or lounge about in total
privacy.
Furthermore, the tropical sea that gently laps the shores is as
beautiful as you've ever seen it. Finally, the island is a nature
reserve, so take nothing but photographs and leave nothing but your
incredibly spoilt, sandy footprints.
Vamizi Island is a whale- shaped sliver of coral, fringed with
perfect white sand, grown over with wild, indigenous tropical bush
and preserved and protected by the Vamizi Island project.
This craggy coral wilderness - with practically no rainfall - benefits
from minimal human impact and is a unique and precious island habitat.
It is home to an exceptional number of land-based coastal species
of flora and fauna.
Out in the bush are some of the island’s greatest treasures:
the giant coconut crabs - vegetarian scavengers with a magpie-like
attraction to anything from mobile phones to sandals - who crush
coconuts in impressively strong claws; the samango monkeys –
close relatives of the blue monkey - and, incredibly for such a
small island, 112 recorded species of birdlife.
With numerous butterflies and an exotic selection of tropical trees,
bushes and flowers, our nature guides have no shortage of inner
island life to show you; they will be genuinely thrilled if you
take an interest and follow them through the tangled interior.
Email for Reservations: book@go.mozbookings.com
|
The Vamizi seas from above the water are so pretty that they literally
take your breath away. To describe them only as blue or gold or
turquoise is unfair - this ocean is cerulean, viridian, ultramarine,
cobalt and so much more: in the different moods of day and night,
they shimmer through every shade of an artist’s palette.