Small group of us are considering Mozambique this xmas as a kitesurf destination. We fly into Johannesburg on xmas day, and from there it's a toss up between heading south to Capetown or north to explore the coastline of Mozambique.
Capetown during xmas is a deffinate for wind, that much we know. But we figured it would be cool to explore somewhere new and off the beat and track...hence Mozambique...only problem being that information on wind stats...location and general kitesurf talk is very limited...
So was hoping some of you may be able to help...if you have been to Mozambique on a kitesurf trip before and can offer any info on wind, locations...kite sizes...etc...etc...we would much appreciate it.
cheers.
Mozambique kitesurfing
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Capi
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Re: Mozambique kitesurfing
Buntt wrote: So was hoping some of you may be able to help...if you have been to Mozambique on a kitesurf trip before and can offer any info on wind, locations...kite sizes...etc...etc...we would much appreciate it.
cheers.
I also would like to know about that...
Re: Mozambique kitesurfing
I have kited both mozambique and capetown, along with almost every good spot on the east coast.
You will find mozam to have pretty light winds, you are likely to have 3-4 days in a row with no wind, or longer. Yes there are some good spots but its not somewhere I would fly across the world for. If you are desperate to go to Mozam, then I recommend you spend some time at a place just south of the boarder called Sodwana bay. It blows like crazy there.
There is nothing worse then being at a new beach or spot....and there is no wind.
Capetown doesnt have this problem. You dont have to just kite blouberg or big bay like the 100s of others. Drive around and explore.
You will find mozam to have pretty light winds, you are likely to have 3-4 days in a row with no wind, or longer. Yes there are some good spots but its not somewhere I would fly across the world for. If you are desperate to go to Mozam, then I recommend you spend some time at a place just south of the boarder called Sodwana bay. It blows like crazy there.
There is nothing worse then being at a new beach or spot....and there is no wind.
Capetown doesnt have this problem. You dont have to just kite blouberg or big bay like the 100s of others. Drive around and explore.
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JT_KITE
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Re: Mozambique kitesurfing
Hello,
Mozambique is quite nice during this period of the year (high wind season), you can find wind almost everyday and warm water.
http://www.buoyweather.com/wxnav6.jsp?r ... =2&units=e
You can kite around Maputo (Costa do Sol), Xefina, Inhaca and Ilha dos portugueses (islands) but you will find a 5 stars sport in Ponta do Ouro (north wind) or Ponta Malongane (south wind). There are several other spots among 2500Km of cost line. Pemba is another 5 stars beach with very constant wind all year and you can fly directly from Jbourg. Murrebue (10 Km from Pemba) is one of the best kite spots in the country.
http://www.murrebue.com/picturegallery.html
Cheers,
Mozambique is quite nice during this period of the year (high wind season), you can find wind almost everyday and warm water.
http://www.buoyweather.com/wxnav6.jsp?r ... =2&units=e
You can kite around Maputo (Costa do Sol), Xefina, Inhaca and Ilha dos portugueses (islands) but you will find a 5 stars sport in Ponta do Ouro (north wind) or Ponta Malongane (south wind). There are several other spots among 2500Km of cost line. Pemba is another 5 stars beach with very constant wind all year and you can fly directly from Jbourg. Murrebue (10 Km from Pemba) is one of the best kite spots in the country.
http://www.murrebue.com/picturegallery.html
Cheers,
Re: Mozambique kitesurfing
I spent two years on contract at a place called Vilanculos which is 1000km north of Maputo. I was windsurfing at that stage and just learning to kite and I didn’t manage to get in the water a lot due to no wind, but when the wind did blow it was great. Every time I went through a place called Inhambane, which was 3 hours south, it had wind. Mozambique is a huge country, so there might be a better prognosis at other places than Vilanculos.
If you want wind, Cape Town and up the Cape West Coast is probably a much better bet and will probably be cheaper, although December is high season and every jaapie from inland comes to the coast for holidays.
On the plus side, the Mozambique coastline is absolutely beautiful and you can have miles of beach to yourself, cheap and plentiful fish and prawns (if you buy these from the beach and not restaurants and bargain your heart out). A 4x4 is good to have as you need one to get to a lot of the beach spots and it is pretty wild and distances are far, but you can travel fast.
I left there 5 years ago, but I do not think much has changed. A very poor country, but proper accommodation is expensive (US-dollar prices), corruption is high, the cops are corrupt and theft is even higher - the locals even stole the battens from my wind-surfer while I was de-rigging!! Everyone is so poor that it is open season on anyone with money and they will steal anything not bolted down and then that as well. At that time of the year it is hot and humid and the Mozambican malaria is frightening.
Stick to the road laws especially through the villages (40km/hr and this is where the speed traps are) as you pay spot fines whether or not you have done something wrong and carry two red triangles and your insurance as that is a favourite spot fine offence as most cars are supplied with only one. I used to do the long journeys at night to miss the cops. Most of the animals – even seabirds, were eaten during the war, so you haven’t got the wild animal , cattle and sheep in the road danger you have in other African states.
If you are visiting to get a taste of Africa, to me South Africa isn’t Africa, Mozambique is.
If you want wind, Cape Town and up the Cape West Coast is probably a much better bet and will probably be cheaper, although December is high season and every jaapie from inland comes to the coast for holidays.
On the plus side, the Mozambique coastline is absolutely beautiful and you can have miles of beach to yourself, cheap and plentiful fish and prawns (if you buy these from the beach and not restaurants and bargain your heart out). A 4x4 is good to have as you need one to get to a lot of the beach spots and it is pretty wild and distances are far, but you can travel fast.
I left there 5 years ago, but I do not think much has changed. A very poor country, but proper accommodation is expensive (US-dollar prices), corruption is high, the cops are corrupt and theft is even higher - the locals even stole the battens from my wind-surfer while I was de-rigging!! Everyone is so poor that it is open season on anyone with money and they will steal anything not bolted down and then that as well. At that time of the year it is hot and humid and the Mozambican malaria is frightening.
Stick to the road laws especially through the villages (40km/hr and this is where the speed traps are) as you pay spot fines whether or not you have done something wrong and carry two red triangles and your insurance as that is a favourite spot fine offence as most cars are supplied with only one. I used to do the long journeys at night to miss the cops. Most of the animals – even seabirds, were eaten during the war, so you haven’t got the wild animal , cattle and sheep in the road danger you have in other African states.
If you are visiting to get a taste of Africa, to me South Africa isn’t Africa, Mozambique is.
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Buntt
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Re: Mozambique kitesurfing
Guys...thanks very much for your replies. Already there is quite a bit of information to digest here.
It's a tough call, ideally we would like to do both Capetown and Mozam...but we are only away for 3 weeks...so making it difficult to travel to both places during our stay. As much as we want to see Mozam and it's natural beauty...we also need some decent wind.
What size kites were you guys using in Mozam?...pressumably it's nowhere near as strong as Capetown where i'm told a 7m and 10m kites are all you need...
cheers guys...and please keep more suggestions coming...
It's a tough call, ideally we would like to do both Capetown and Mozam...but we are only away for 3 weeks...so making it difficult to travel to both places during our stay. As much as we want to see Mozam and it's natural beauty...we also need some decent wind.
What size kites were you guys using in Mozam?...pressumably it's nowhere near as strong as Capetown where i'm told a 7m and 10m kites are all you need...
cheers guys...and please keep more suggestions coming...
Re: Mozambique kitesurfing
Mozambique – a 12 and the biggest kite you have for average days.
In Cape Town the wind pumps in summer and if you go a little north (langebaan etc) it gets even stronger and more consistent. If you have 3 kites, a 12, a 9 and a 7 would work and some days you will even get blown away on a 7.
If you can only take 2, the guy who said take a 10 and a 7 sounds on the spot.
The water on the west coast is ice cream head cold in summer, so you will need a good steamer. There is also semi-onshore kiting on the east coast of Cape Town, where the water is warmer but the sharks are sharkier if you worry about that type of thing.
If you travel further up the east coast past the Hottentots Holland mountains, the wind reduces the further up you travel, although you do get weakish south easters (onshores) most afternoons, but I wouldn’t go eastwards beyond the mountains if you want regular kiteable wind.
Cape Town is a stunning place and there is heaps to do and see if there is no wind. If you are going to shag a local, think twice or condomise as AIDS is rife.
In Cape Town the wind pumps in summer and if you go a little north (langebaan etc) it gets even stronger and more consistent. If you have 3 kites, a 12, a 9 and a 7 would work and some days you will even get blown away on a 7.
If you can only take 2, the guy who said take a 10 and a 7 sounds on the spot.
The water on the west coast is ice cream head cold in summer, so you will need a good steamer. There is also semi-onshore kiting on the east coast of Cape Town, where the water is warmer but the sharks are sharkier if you worry about that type of thing.
If you travel further up the east coast past the Hottentots Holland mountains, the wind reduces the further up you travel, although you do get weakish south easters (onshores) most afternoons, but I wouldn’t go eastwards beyond the mountains if you want regular kiteable wind.
Cape Town is a stunning place and there is heaps to do and see if there is no wind. If you are going to shag a local, think twice or condomise as AIDS is rife.
Re: Mozambique kitesurfing
My choice would be, and I have done this a few times.
fly to Port Elizabeth, rent camper van, spend 1/2 trip driving/kiting down along the east coast towards capetown, spend other 1/2 in capetown. fly out from capetown back home.
You get a chance to explore new places, wind is fairly good along the way and then you have CT as a backup if you luck out wind wise.
There are alot of top class spots along the way. One flat water spot that is featured in alot of hadlows videos.
fly to Port Elizabeth, rent camper van, spend 1/2 trip driving/kiting down along the east coast towards capetown, spend other 1/2 in capetown. fly out from capetown back home.
You get a chance to explore new places, wind is fairly good along the way and then you have CT as a backup if you luck out wind wise.
There are alot of top class spots along the way. One flat water spot that is featured in alot of hadlows videos.