{"id":198,"date":"2020-11-23T15:16:02","date_gmt":"2020-11-23T15:16:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluedolphinresort.com\/BD\/?page_id=198"},"modified":"2021-10-09T09:26:50","modified_gmt":"2021-10-09T09:26:50","slug":"gaza-province","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bluedolphinresort.com\/BD\/gaza-province\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaza Provice – what to do"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n

About Gaza Province – and what to do
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About Gaza Province – and what to do<\/h1>\n\n\n\n\n

Info supplied by www.xaixai-mozambique.com<\/a><\/span><\/h3>


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Gaza Province has a fusion of modern \nand ancestral traditions turning it into a multi-cultural and \nmulti-lingual province expressed through food, cloth, music, dance and \nhandcrafts.<\/span><\/h3>

The province is famous for its cuisine of prawns, grilled chicken with\n munyassi (mafura oil), xiguinha de cacana (mandioca\/cassava dish), \ntihove (mealie dish), grilled fish and mussels.  Traditional beers are produced with cashews and amarula. <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n
COASTAL AREAS<\/span><\/div>
The\n coastal area is about 150km long, offering good conditions for \nrecreational fishing, swimming, windsurfing, jet skiing and scuba \ndiving.  The beautiful popular beaches of Bilene, Zongoene, Xai-Xai, \nChongoene, Chizavane, and Chidenguele have sunny white sandy beaches, \nidyllic sunrises and sunsets, shells, whales, dolphins and turtles. Most\n have boat launch sites and areas protected by reef. Chidenguele and \nBilene also have magnificent inland lakes. The area is also perfect for \nbeach weddings.<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

XAI-XAI & CHONGOENE<\/span><\/p>

\u2022 The City of Xai Xai, 250km north Maputo, is the capital of Gaza Province and is situated on the banks of the Limpopo river. It is a bustling town with markets, shops, restaurants, bars, petrol stations, banks and a post office.
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\u2022 Praia do Xai Xai (Xai-Xai Beach) is approximately 12km from the main town. It has long sweeping beaches with safe swimming. Xai Xai beach was a busy holiday destination in the 1960\/70’s but hotels were abandoned during the war days.
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\u2022 Xai Xai & Chongoene beach is coming back to life with accommodation from rustic to luxury, restaurants, bars and gorgeous beaches. Two reefs running parallel to the shore offers good snorkelling, swimming and rock & surf fishing. Fishing charters, whale watching and quad tours are the order of the day.<\/span><\/p>
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WHAT TO DO
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\u2022 <\/span>Perfect\n for a pub crawl with 8 bars\/restaurants along the beach road or find \nyour favourite and settle in for a  long lunch or festive night out.<\/span><\/p>

\u2022 <\/span>Deep sea fishing charters at Blue Dolphin Resort and Reef Resort.<\/span><\/p>

\u2022 <\/span>Explore the abandoned Chongoene Hotel. Enter at your own risk as the building is getting more dilapidated.<\/span><\/p>

\u2022 <\/span>Wenela\n Tidal Pool\/Blow hole\/Praia Velha – a quiet place to relax around a \nnatural tidal pool where a tunnel runs under the reef, with a hole in \nthe reef above that at certain times of the tide gives a blow hole \neffect.Main beach – A reef protects this beach which makes for safe swimming at low tide. 
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\u2022 <\/span>Chongoene Beach – Similar to the main beach with the protection of a reef, but more quiet and beautiful.<\/span><\/p>

\u2022 <\/span>Dune 6 – Take a drive into the dunes and have sun downers with a 3600 view.
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\u2022 <\/span>There are many beautiful churches in the area.  Nossa Senhora de \nLourdes is located in Chongoene village (turn off at the Chongoene \nintersection to Chibuto). Cathedral Chidenguele is located in the heart \nof Chidenguele. Xai Xai city also has a beautiful church located \nopposite Barclays.<\/span><\/p>
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ZONGOENE RIVER MOUTH<\/span><\/p>

\u2022 <\/span>North-side\n – follow the red sand road from the fish market in Xai-Xai town. It is a\n fun 4×4 adventure alongside the Limpopo River to the river mouth.<\/span><\/p>

\u2022 <\/span>South-side – follow the red road from Chicumbane – not as adventurous \nbut can enjoy the peaceful river mouth and Zongoene beach.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

CHIDENGUELE<\/span><\/p>

\u2022\n 70km north of Xai Xai, the EN1 winds to its closest with the Indian \nOcean, only 5km away. Here lies the tiny, sleepy village of Chidenguele \n(meaning \u201cThe Highest Point\u201d in the local, Chope language). It has its \nname is emblazoned proudly in white stone on the hill behind the sandy \nsoccer field.<\/span><\/p>

\u2022\n 5km from the main road and Chidenguele Village, is Lake Nhambavale. \nResorts situated around the lake offer numerous water sports.  Given its\n importance, the lake hosted the canoeing competitions of the 10th \nAfrican Games that took place in 2011. 
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\u2022\n 2km away is the Indian Ocean where visitors can enjoy beautiful \nbeaches, watch and take pictures of whales, turtles and other marine \nanimals. The local communities are well-known for their hospitality and \noffer varied services. A wide range of accommodation is available.
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CHIZAVANE<\/span><\/p>

\u2022\n Chizavane is a small village between Xai-Xai City and Chidenguele (40km\n north of Xai-Xai).  The road to the beach and resorts is a hard sand \nroad so access to resorts by 2×4 is possible.
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\u2022\n Praia de Chizavane offers a wide open swimming beach, that is peaceful \nand seldom filled with many people, providing privacy to all holiday \nmakers. Safe jogging or walking along the shore can be enjoyed for \nkilometres alongside the undisturbed nature and tranquillity of the \nocean. Enjoy fishing from the mussel invaded reef exposed during low \ntides and accessible by foot. An opening in the reef allows boats to be \ntaken out into the deep sea.<\/span><\/p>
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CHIDENGUELE – WHAT TO DO<\/span><\/p>

\u2022\n <\/span>Lake Nhambavale –  enjoy the numerous resorts around this large freshwater lake.Beach\n – a few resorts at various places along the beach to relax and a have \nlunch. 
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\u2022\n <\/span>The famous Kings Pools are situated here – for safe swimming and\n snorkeling and good rock and surf fishing.<\/span><\/p>

\u2022\n <\/span>The\n landmark Bao Paz Lighthouse is situated in Chidenguele. It can be \naccessed by vehicle or by foot. Take a 3km adventurous, scenic walk \nwhere you will pass 3 freshwater lakes en-route to the Bao Paz \nLighthouse, that is built on a massive sand dune where you can relax and\n enjoy a spectacular 360 degree view. 
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\u2022\n <\/span>Deep sea fishing charters at Sera Lodge. 
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\u2022\n <\/span>Horse riding and a couple of spas can be found at Chidenguele. Ask at your lodge.<\/span><\/p>
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CHIZAVANE – WHAT TO DO<\/span><\/p>

\u2022\n <\/span>A\n few resorts along the beach were you can enjoy the views and tempt your\n taste buds at friendly restaurants.<\/span><\/p>

\u2022\n <\/span>A reef protects the beach and makes \nfor safe swimming at low tide.
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\u2022\n <\/span>Deep sea fishing charters at East Africa \nSafaris<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

BILENE<\/span><\/p>

\u2022\n Bilene is situated about 180km from Maputo. Before independence the \nvillage was known as San Martinho.  This small town is situated along \nthe edge of the 27km long Uembje Lagoon.<\/span><\/p>

\u2022\n The Uembje lagoon is an ideal family spot with its pristine stretches \nof white sandy beaches and shallow calm water which allows for safe \nswimming and has a large selection of resorts along its shores offering a\n range of accommodation, restaurants and activities such as water sports, fishing charters, \nferries across the lagoon, canoeing on the lakes, bird watching, horse riding and \nsnorkeling and festive bars.<\/span><\/p>

\u2022\n Bilene is a popular water sports destination, including jet skiing, \nwaterskiing, parasailing, paddle ski\u2019ing, canoeing, windsurfing, \nfishing, kayaking, snorkelling  in the lagoon as well as whale watching \nand fishing in the ocean.<\/span><\/p>

\u2022 Large populations of flamingos and various \nother water birds frequent the area in the summer months searching the \nshallow fringes of the water for food.<\/span><\/p>

\u2022 <\/span>The\n beautiful ocean beach can be reached by 4×4 and Turtle Rock is a treasure to \nvisit. 
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\u2022 <\/span>Deep Sea fishing is available at a number of places.<\/span><\/p>

\u2022 <\/span>There is \nalso a large market in Bilene where you can buy fresh fruit & veg, \ncurios and tropical clothing.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

CONSERVATION AREAS<\/span><\/p>

\u2022 <\/span><\/span>Limpopo National Park  (transfronteir park). Located\n in the Districts of Massingir and Mabalane Chicualacuala it has \nuntouched forest formations with the Big Five (lion, elephant, rhino, \nleopard, buffalo).
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\u2022 <\/span><\/span>The Massingir Dam, the second largest in Moz, is on the Rio dos Elefantes on the southern border of the Limpopo National Park. An area of stunning vistas, birdwatching and fishing and is famous for fishing tigerfish and boat safaris. Also an ideal stop-over destination.<\/span><\/p>

\u2022 <\/span><\/span>Banhine\n National Park Located in the District of Chigubo and focused on \ntourism, it has several species of birds and has beautiful open savannas\n with ostrich, buck, bush pig, impala, leopard and many others.<\/span><\/p>

\u2022 <\/span><\/span>If you would like to add a few days of \nbush to your beach holiday, then these lush areas are a good place to \nvisit.
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\u2022 <\/span><\/span>Tiger fishing and boat tours on the Massingir dam
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\u2022 A<\/span><\/span> wide range of animals can be found in private reserves and the \nnational parks.
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\u2022 <\/span><\/span>There are a few resorts in these areas that will look \nafter you well.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

CHILEMBENE\/MANJACAZE<\/span><\/p>

For the historians among you, these areas  have interesting monuments relating to Samora Machel, Eduado Mondlane, and battle sites from the Moz\/Port war.<\/span><\/p>
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MARKETS<\/span><\/p>

There are a multitude of markets and roadside stalls selling a wide variety of items such as fresh fruit and veg, fish, prawns, crabs, capulanas, clothing, electrical and electronics, plumbing. etc. The main Xai-Xai Market is behind Saverite, turn at the traffic lights at Saverite. Browse through the colourful capulanas and have a shirt or dress made for you by one of the industrious seamstresses at the market. There is a huge second hand section where you can find some really good deals and a lot still have their original price tags on them. The main fish market is on the road  that goes to the Limpopo south-side river mouth and here you can get the wholesale price on all the delicious sea food.<\/span><\/p>
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TOURS<\/span><\/p>

If you would like tours to any of these places, or would like a sober designated driver, contact Nelio from Gaza Tours on +258 84 235 9157.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-198","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluedolphinresort.com\/BD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluedolphinresort.com\/BD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluedolphinresort.com\/BD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluedolphinresort.com\/BD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluedolphinresort.com\/BD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/bluedolphinresort.com\/BD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":452,"href":"https:\/\/bluedolphinresort.com\/BD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/198\/revisions\/452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluedolphinresort.com\/BD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}