Relieved and excited to have finally arrived in Vilanculos after our epic journey from the Malawi border, Lili and I decided we would discover the place in our own ways: Lili headed straight for the village to explore what fun it had to offer, while I stretched my legs along the beach and responsibly rehydrated on the way back by stopping off at a couple of beachside bars.

Returning to Baobab Beach backpackers, I struck up conversation with a few Portuguese people, a South African (Ron), and an Italian couple (Herman and Elisa) and had a couple of drinks with them. By now Lili had also returned from her adventures around the village, and after a failed hunt for somewhere to eat "in town" we had dinner at the backpackers. I had a few more with Ron and Herman as Lili disappeared, and when my bedtime came around I tried the dorm room only to find it was locked. Hearing chat, music and laughter from the camping area, I thought Lili might have made new friends, and I headed up to grab the keys off her. It turned out to be a friendly bunch - a Czech couple, an English couple, and Jaco and Jaco from SA/Namibia. Distracted from my original mission by the good chat and tunes, I joined them for a little while. What turned out to be hours later, I went back to the dorm to find it still locked, but this time I found a hole in the reed wall to stick my hand through and open the door. It turned out Lili had been tucked up in bed all along!

In the days that followed, the few of us staying at Baobab became a bit of a (slightly dysfunctional) family. I took a boat ride out to the Bazaruto Archipelago with Herman and Elisa one afternoon, including a stop on Bazaruto island for some dune-climbing, snorkelling, and lunch. One night Lili, the Jaco's and I had a fish braai and were joined by Ron and a couple of American guys. Another night we all had a typical South African dish called a potjie (basically a stew but don't tell a South African that!) which led to a tense moment when Ron decided to stir it while Cameron - the American chef - repeatedly told him to stop. That was the night a bunch of Canadians arrived and Jaco and Jaco played a gig for them in the bar - yours truly being designated drink-filler-upper and gangsta's paradise rapper (no joke). Another night some Afrikaans fishermen arrived and we all had another braai - Herman and Elisa, Ron, the Jacos, the Americans, and me. (At this point Lili had headed onwards to the next beach.) It was a sad day when the time came to say our goodbyes, but with everyone going their separate ways I was lucky to be able to grab a lift from Herman and Elisa to the next stop: Tofo beach.

Stopping for lunch on the way, we took in the charming yet ghostly-quiet town (maybe because it was a Sunday) of Inhambane. We spotted Lili as we arrived to Tofo, and I got myself checked in to the place she was staying at. Herman and Elisa decided to stay somewhere else on the other side of the little bay, close enough to bump into them on the beach a few times in the following days. The beach in Tofo is beautiful, and I met a bunch of guys who worked at a nearby dive centre - Tofo beach is famous for it's scuba diving - who convinced me to go on an "ocean safari". I was so happy they did as we managed to see giant manta rays and a whale shark on our snorkelling trip which was more than they had seen in weeks! I also made friends with some guys there - out-going American Beau, soft-spoken English Luke, and part-Danish (!!) Sten - who told me about a music festival in Swaziland called Bushfire. After that, it seemed like everyone was talking about it, and I struggled to decide whether or not we should go. After much deliberating (and facebook help - thanks folks!) I decided it would be silly not to, and let the boys know to count me in on tent-space. Before I knew it, I was on a 3am bus to Maputo with a bunch of new friends - and Lili who was by now an "old" one! Mozambique had turned out to be a bit of a whirlwind tour, but with new friends and the promise of a once-in-a-lifetime music experience that was likely to be epic, I felt I'd made the right decision. Besides, I would see plenty of beaches in SA and Aus, right? As I snoozed on the bus to the capital, I looked forward to the next exciting adventure that lay ahead!