Anantara Bazaruto Island Resort: the epitome of island life

My family was the first one to come and live on the island many many years ago. Bazaruto Island is the largest island on the archipelago and Anantara Bazaruto is the only hotel here with 44 amazing villas. The views are very beautiful – that’s what makes it special. When you arrive by speedboat, everyone is like wow. The sand dunes, the colours, everything is perfect. When it’s low tide you can see the sand banks and the amazing blue and white water.

The weather is always good so you can see many interesting things. For example, the freshwater lakes, the crocodiles and the birdlife. You can see fish eagle, yellow-billed stork, grey heron, blue-cheeked bee-eater – so many birds. There’s also a beautiful place called Dom Carlos, the northern tip of the Bazaruto, where you can often see flamingos there in large groups.

We have a dive master and an instructor who take guests diving. The visibility is great – you can see a lot of underwater creatures including turtles, dugongs and many different types of fish – there are so many species among the islands. My favourite thing to do is to take people to see island life. Guests love meeting people, listening to local stories and seeing the prominence of the fishing industry – 70% of the locals fish. I can also show you how we make palm wine which is a tasty drink.

When you come to the Bazaruto I’ll take you sand boarding. My best memories are when I was a young boy sliding down the dunes using palm leaves. The smallest sand dune is around three to four-metres tall. The biggest one is 100 to 150 metres. Sometimes people have to climb up the dunes using their hands like monkeys. But it doesn’t hurt when you fall. The sand is very soft.