What with a global pandemic, and the South Africa variant, a politically correct Beta so as not to apportion blame, making us persona non grata north of the Sahara, what's a peripatetic hedonist to do?

One of the things we aimed to do when emigrating to SA was to discover Africa. Unlike Europe or S.E. Asia, for example, there are not any no frills carriers which means that destinations are expensive to reach, via convoluted means.

Mozambique is one such place, it's a hop, skip and and jump from CPT. The hop is two hours to JHB however, to avoid ridiculously early starts we stay over at the airport, considered transiting and meeting with regulations. Only problem is it is JHB airport, is there a worse traveller experience in the world?! Be it checking in, customs, security and baggage handlers, it's hard to escape with your sanity, let alone what you arrived with.

That negotiated, the skip is a short flight of 90 minutes to Vilanculos, where you apply for your visa upon entry, as the consulate in CPT takes three weeks due to some new software issue. The jump is a helicopter transfer as the island, one of five on an archipelago, which is ten minutes by chopper, or 40 minutes by boat, as we will return.

Our pilot is Ingrid, a young lady from Ceres, not far from CPT, who was frustrated in becoming a fighter pilot, and now makes do with us, instead!

As you'd expect, azure sea, reefs and general loveliness! We are two of three guests when we arrive. While it's quite a rustic resort, think driftwood, beads and shells, the reviews are unequivocally fantastic and with SADC rates, a little like Schengen in Europe, we get to enjoy staying here for 25% of the quoted rates!

It's a resort so don't expect much from me here. The weather is a consistent low 20C with the sun not causing too many issues, night temperatures drop just a little and the sun sets just after 6.00pm, not a dissimilar time from CPT, around 2000 kms south.

In the summer it becomes hot and humid with mid 30C while, at the end of summer, February time, there are cyclones which have caused havoc in previous years.

The island is 12kms long and 6kms wide, population of 2000. Tourism is everything. The pandemic is so cruel to the Third World. Happily minding their own business while the First World is responsible for the creation and spread of this fatal virus. By the time it reaches the Third World it's mutated all over the world, vaccines are for those that have, there are no tourists, no work and, because of a lack of resources, it will take them longer to get out of someone else's mess!

One of the appeals of coming here, apart from being a new African country with great rates, is that you don't have to wear a mask. It's so strange, after 18 months, not to have that daily impact. You have your negative PCR to get in the country and a mouth swab to allow you to stay at the resort!

So it is, the day becomes one of lots of sleep, eating well, and often, reading, relaxing, jogging and the occasional drink. I'm not sure what the resort is like when it's full but, the food is well presented, the cocktails alcohol forward and the service impeccable.

The day before we arrived, the hotel created a what's app group that delivered menus, weather reports, spa and activity prices to reduce on contact and documents; "Hi di hi", it is not. The only problem with this is that it introduces you to your phone and, with good WiFi, keeps you surgically attached while I'd prefer to put it in the safe!

It takes no time to settle in, a double upgrade no less, plunge pool looking towards the sunset and our own staff, Pedro and Linda, meandering down the beach with the cocktail of the day, Caipirinha, at 6.00, with fantastic raw cashews… we are good to go! My greatest worry is will I have enough books?

Our first full day involves finishing one book, "The Promise" by Damon Galgut, Cape Town's thrice nominated Booker Prize novelist, and starting "A mercy" by Toni Morrison, having had an English teacher, who is a neighbour, nominate it as her favourite novel! A few "fiendish" Sudoku and it's time for the cocktail stroll, Mojito today!

The second day involves an island tour, taking in scenery, flora and fauna, the highest point, a sand dune, the school and medical centre. As you meander in the jeep it's hard not to taken by the beautifully manicured homesteads, rectangular plots with trimmed hedges, ornamental shells marking out the path etc, these are house proud people. We've been encouraged to bring crayons, pencils and colouring books which over time are cumulated from guests so that each one of the 200 pupils gets something. Our hotel, Azura, is part of a group that has the Azura Rainbow Foundation, who have been responsible to finish off the medical centre and responsibly contribute to the island's populations well being. Natural weather phenomena are the issues here, a cyclone on 2007 levelled everything on the island, two wild bush fires have reduced the hotel to dust, it's brutal!

Four guests today, run for cover, before sneaking out at 6.00 for the cocktail delivery!! Pina Colada, if you were wondering! That night's dinner was "staged" for us in a private dining room, beautiful table laid out by Linda with ornate floral arrangements and candles everywhere, a great delight, she seemed suitably pleased with herself.

Day 3 is Angelka's birthday. Apart from Harry having asked me to carry a card, we also have a What's App video call with him! All of the staff know, which is nice as we meander for breakfast and elsewhere. They have a beach club here which has only reopened today, the Peri-Peri Club, it's a kilometre walk up the beach, and is very cool, a tunnelled entrance, small pool, central bar, bbq tables, elevated mattresses, a really nice vibe enhanced by music, just no one here but us. I think they use the opportunity to shift the guests there so they can do noisy work in the central area. It's open to other island guests but it's just us, and our honeymooning American co-guests who are here via NYC, Cape Town and Kruger Park at the recommendation of their travel agent!

We also get to have a sunset cruise in a dhow which is a delightful meander around the bay under wind power. It's very tidal so we walk 100m through the waves to get to the dhow but, the water doesn't cover our knees. Back for a mojito, don't mind if I do, a hot shower as it's chilly on the dhow, and dinner.

They have some very cool rules here; no drones, jet skis or water skiing, believe me it's very quiet as well as responsible. The locals walk along the beach, fish at low time, go to and from school, it's a nice vibe punctuated by "hola", the only Portuguese word I have a confident grasp of! Their mask protocol is 100% adherence, I'm not sure what they make of us not having to?

Day 4 is a voyage of discovery for me as I've decided on a scuba reintroduction lesson, as well as going out straight away for a dive. It's 15 years since I last did it but there's a worldwide organisation, PADI, that holds all records and I'm ok to go. The hotel is switching over from grid to solar electricity with a break in power for 5 hours. As a result, two other staff members come with us, in total, three dive masters, I'm in good hands! It's a wonderful world under the waves, fish of all sizes, colours, shoal sizes as well as brilliant coral and habitat. We met a Honeycomb Manta Eel, around two metres of friendly weirdness, a giant turtle hovered above us as we were befriended by a couple of fish who pop up next to you, look you in the eye and let you reach out your hand towards them. It took a little while to get back on the bike but I didn't feel I let anyone down and loved every second.

Headed back to enjoying the sun's rays, reading and… pina colada before dinner, chatting to our American honeymooners and committing to a picnic the next day!

When it comes to activities, this delightful hotel is not cheap, however, it becomes relative. For instance, the picnic. One motor launch goes out ahead of us to set up the picnic area on a deserted sandbar before we take a separate boat to the site with food and drink. We stayed on this deserted beach for four hours, with four discreet staff and a Dugong, an exquisite, rare sea mammal that defies description. We walked for an hour along the sand bar to where it joins the Indian Ocean, beautiful azure sea, deep blue sky, the water is not too cold… a spectacular event before heading back to reading…. Pimms No 1 this time!! The sun goes down on another idyllic day.

Our last full day starts with the good news of a negative PCR test which means we, regretfully, have no alternative but to leave. Our American neighbours leave for their epic journey home, to just outside Philadelphia. The beach club reopens with the hotel staff warning that there will be public!! 22 people from the island are booked in, you could become claustrophobic, couldn't you, so, engaging our inner Germanic characteristics, we head off early to put our towel in position A! Indeed, children screaming, adults smoking and drinkers… drinking, had us scurrying back down the beach to our acoustic heaven, Sex on the Beach, the cocktail, not the activity was today's libation! I've now started another Booker Prize nominee,Kakuo Ishiguro's "Klara and the sun", an altogether futuristic light hearted tome, so far. Angelka's holiday has involved nearly 1000 pages of "Vanity Fare", she enthusiastically divulges she's, finally, found the plot, on page 550! I do enjoy holiday reading, three completely different novels, taking up time that I have and all, equally, rewarding!

They set up our dinner table on the beach directly outside our villa and another perfectday, diluted by a couple of excellent margueritas, comes to an end with a chat to the four new Americans who arrived during the day. Ironically, they, too, are from Philadelphia! Perhaps, the migration this year is people, not wildebeest, from Pennsylvania! They have arrived via Kenya, for the migration, Victoria Falls, Cape Town and Kruger, 17 days in total. You realise how much sub-Saharan Africa needs their dollars and good for them, that they've made the effort to come all this way.

Our day of departure is a lazy breakfast, equally lazy pack, given we have unstructured bags, walking on the beach, cramming in some last days of sun and a 1km walk across the low tide mud flats to our boat, accompanied by up to 6 of the senior staff and our waiter, Pedro, with trainee, Boalinda. Lovely people, adding to the sadness in leaving. Just the quintessential, on point, beach resort holiday, we could have hoped for nothing more… other than a direct flight home, steeling ourselves for Jo'burg airport!! Happy days, indeed!