If you were to design a place with maximum diversity… choose a location on the tropical east coast of Africa, add a peninsula, a large bay, tidal sand flats, an estuarine lagoon, sea grass beds, freshwater lakes, extensive mangrove swamps and reed swamps, throw in coral and rocky reefs, idyllic sandy beaches and forested dunes and then sprinkle it with over 400 species of fish, including the elusive sea horse, nesting turtles, enigmatic dugong, with giant manta rays, dolphins and whales offshore. Stir in 275 species of birds and several rare reptiles. Improve the mix by adding items of cultural diversity including traditional fisher-folk and life styles, Arabian dhows, an historic lighthouse, thatched camps under satin skies and the night-time sounds of Africa. This is the Vilanculos Coastal Wildlife Sanctuary. The lodge jetty is home to a variety of fish and dolphins can often be seen.

Dive Sites:

2 Mile Reef

Depth: surface to 20 metres

It is neither 2 miles long nor 2 miles from Vilanculos! 2 Mile is the most popular dive location: on the one side it drops to 20 metres, whilst the sheltered side reaches around 3 metres making it ideal for snorkelling. Due to its length there are numerous dive locations offering many different environments including swim-throughs and coral outcrops. There is a good chance of seeing a turtle along with a reef or nurse shark and an abundance of reef fish such as bannerfish, Surgeon fish, Moorish idols, Parrot-, Angel- and Butterfly fish, etc. Game fish and Devil rays are also regularly seen here.

The Aquarium

Depth: 1 to 9 metres

This site offers a complete cross section of reef life from fields of Staghorn coral in the shallows to curious Octopus deeper down. The name says it all: a plethora of reef fish make this site a real live 'aquarium'!

Marlin Pinnacles

Depth: to 35 metres

A pinnacle rise from the sea bed and attracts a wide variety of sea life including morays, large Ribbon-tail rays, game fish and more. Barracuda and Manta can be spotted.

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