The beaches at Vilankulos were fairly disappointing as they were littered with mountains of discarded sand oyster shells, the decaying remains of which left a very distinct and unpleasant odour in the air. Over the years these huge mounds of sand oyster shells have been ground up and walked into the sand, making it extremely granular and coarse to walk on.

That said, it’s not really the beaches that one comes to Vilankulos for, it’s the islands which more then make up for it.

The next day after a leisurely stroll on the beach, we headed into town in search of the market for some fresh bread and veggies. Unlike many other markets in Mozambique, the market in Vilankulos is seriously well organised. Held in a massive warehouse structure, the market is hive of activity, with enterprising young lads who will take care of your entire shopping list for you; they will find the best quality fruit and veggies and bargain on your behalf with the stall minders, for a small fee of course.

Stocked up with wonderful fresh fruit and salads, we set off for a well deserved cold one back at the Blue Water Bar where we were looked after by Brian’s lovely daughter, Nicky. The bar has a great relaxed vibe and fabulous bar snacks, making it very easy to while away an hour or two, and definitely made up for the swarms of mosquitoes that congregated in the bathrooms.

Being a fairly popular campsite in Vilankulos we had the opportunity to meet up with a number of very interesting fellow travellers. Our first set of neighbours, Derek and Meryl, were an absolute fountain of knowledge, having travelled extensively in Africa for many years and still loving it. They had oodles of useful advice for us on where to go, where to stay and what to do and we were quite sad to see them leave. We also shared a braai late into the night with a young couple, Craig and Michele, who were gearing up for their next Iron Man competition in Australia and Pieter and Ida from the Netherlands were wonderful. We spent a great evening with them, swapping African adventure stories and getting loads of useful tips on where to go in Malawi and Zimbabwe. And last but not least, Simon, an oceanographer and his lovely wife Pamela from Cape Town, who had spent the last six months working up in Northern Mozambique, were a just ray of friendly sunshine.

After many years of practice and careful planning in their Amsterdam apartment, Pieter and Ida’s vehicle was the most organised we’d come across, right down to the custom made leveling wedges for setting up camp on uneven ground. What a simple but absolutely essential piece of equipment for anybody who’s going to be sleeping on a rooftop tent.