Scott Dunn: ANYTHING ELSE IS JUST A HOLIDAY

Description

Simply grand or grandly simple - this lodge is not about the usual five star luxury and all mod cons, it is about the more rarefied pleasures of exclusive island life. Exclusivity is one of Vamizi Island's greatest assets and, as the only lodge on the island, it has the space to spread wide, so each villa amply commands its own part of the beach.

With just 16 secluded villas only a small handful of guests can step out of beautifully appointed beach houses into a world of powder white sands, virgin reefs and secret coves. Four of the beach villas have been designed as two-bedroom suites, to provide exclusive seclusion for families or friends. Rooms have king-size four poster beds with billowing muslin mosquito nets and Egyptian cotton sheets. Swahili day beds are perfect for an afternoon siesta on the private veranda.

Vamizi has just launched its two new private villas, which each have five en-suite bedrooms, a private deck and beach access. They sleep up to twelve people and are perfect for larger family groups, friends travelling together or for individuals wanting their own private hide-away.

The Maluane Project – Vamizi Island’s conservation arm - has sought involvement at community level from the beginning, as conservation and community are inextricably linked. A thousand people live in three villages on the eastern tip of the island. The Maluane Project aims to help these villages beat poverty and improve daily life, to develop decent medical and school facilities, create new options and conserve this island home and its bountiful ocean riches, for the good of the community, their children and their children's children.

For guests needing activities Vamizi Island Lodge offers excellent snorkelling, scuba diving, big game fishing, salt water fly-fishing, mountain bike trails, bird walks, dhow cruises and private picnics. The local guides will enjoy sharing their knowledge with those guests wanting to explore the island and look for monkeys or birds.

Vamizi Island Lodge is closed from 11th May to 23rd June 2013 for maintenance.

Accommodation

Sixteen villas - one- or two-bedroomed - are right on the shoreline, all with stunning views of the ocean. The villas have plenty of space with lots of room for sofas, a marble shower and vanity area and outside, a sun deck. Three villas have been specifically designed as family rooms, with large double (possible triple) bedrooms adjoining a central decked lounged area.

Vamizi has just launched its two new private villas. The villas have five en-suite bedrooms each with private deck and beach access and sleep up to twelve people.

Childcare

There are no specific child care facilities however young ones thrive in Vamizi. It is safe and private, and there is a gently shelving beach, perfect sand and plenty of sunshine which make Vamizi Island a haven for parents and children. The sea is rarely rough on the shore and the water is a perfect temperature, with no end of shallows to toddle about in and small wondrous things to see, hear and feel. There are plenty of toys for children and adults: kayaks, sailboats, snorkelling gear, windsurfers and fishing equipment. Three rooms have been specifically designed as family rooms, with large double (possible triple) bedrooms adjoining a central decked lounged area. All beds are mosquito netted, even though Vamizi is a low- risk malarial area and, for the night time, babysitters can be arranged.

Facilities

The lodge serves surf-fresh seafood and other tropical dishes, set off by the sea breaking on the shore just feet away. Alternatively, guests can take the total desert island approach - and dine alone with a shipwrecked picnic on some deserted beach. The lodge has its own dedicated water sports centre, yoga teacher and a range of beauty therapists.

Activities

Vamizi Island has some of the best diving in the Indian Ocean, the surrounding waters offer is an outstanding reefscape - mountains, valleys, plateaux and cliffs - teeming with a bewildering amount of sea life, from whales, dolphins, turtles and reef sharks to gregorian corals and giant clams. Vamizi Island lies right by the point where the south equatorial current splits. Vamizi Island is also a fish Eden. Over 50 mainstream game and reef species are present in the Vamizi seas - the majority all year round - including a huge variety of big game fish, such as sailfish, yellowfin tuna, greater trevally and marlin.

Other activities include kayaks, sailboats, snorkelling and windsurfing. There is also an Ashtanga yoga teacher on hand to practise daily yoga with guests and a range of deeply relaxing or re-juvinating treatments to aid the relaxation process.

When to travel

Location and directions

Quirimbas, Mozambique

A slender coral island just off Mozambique's remote northern coast, Vamizi Island is part of the Quirimbas Archipelago, sometimes called the new Maldives.

How to get there

Guests can connect from South Africa, Mozambique or Tanzania easily within a day, with direct international flights from Europe. Then a private Vamizi flight, which take you straight from Pemba (Mozambique) or Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) to the Vamizi Island airstrip. From there, we transfer you to the main lodge in our “Islandrover” – an open 4x4 landrover that tracks over the rough coral spine of the island and takes a bumpy, but steady forty five minutes to the lodge.