The Immaculate Sunset

Down and delicious at Lagoa Poelela, southern Mozambique

Just what is it about an immaculate sunset? Is it the colour, the timing, the feeling it brings? Its meaning is quite different to a sunrise, which for me is the joyous outbreak of new possibility. A sunset is the slow farewell, the heart breaking goodbye, the last kiss before the lover gets on the train. It is pain and pleasure. It is the onset of darkness, the end of reason. It is Hesperian depression exquisitely personified.

I have spent a good part of my life as a travel writer chasing the immaculate sunset. And I’m pleased to say I found one a while back at Lagoa Poelela, near Inhambane, in southern Mozambique. We are 1hour 15 from Inharrime said their SMS with directions. Sunset at 5pm. It was all the bait we needed to put foot. From the main EN1, we turned off the road to Ponta Zavora, upcoming dive-n-surf spot, and barrelled down coconut lane (Inhambane province has over 3 million coconut trees) arriving within half an hour of the sun set.

Oh my.

High drama on the Indian Ocean 

To the distant thrum of the unseen sea behind enormous dunes, the orange sun and the copper waters of Lagoa Poelela performed an extraordinary, almost obscene, farewell dance. As the sun slipped sexily down the skies, there were pink and coral clouds, wild bronze and mackerel silver reflections. Flocks of birds shadowed the sky. The jetty poles stood in black silhouette. We stood in wonder.

Well just for a moment. Then we quickly got out cameras, being media types and all, graciously accepted G&Ts and got stuck into the perfect sunset. Chatting, snapping, sipping, more snapping. Once upon a donkey’s years ago I worked for a travel magazine whose delightful curmudgeon of an editor, if you’ll indulge the paradox, made his young underling photojournalists swear they would never, ever, on any account whatsoever submit a photograph of a sunset. He would have no truck with chocolate box rubbish he said, sunsets were simply natural occurrences that happened daily and did little to expand our understanding of humanity or travel. I spent many unhappy hours restraining myself (those were pre-digital days, we used film, expensive film) from taking sunset photographs, even in the Zambezi where they are famously wild and red.

“This one’s for you bru”, I said out loud, as I snapped my thousandth shot of the perfect Lagoa Poelela sunset.

The sunrises aren't too bad either 

Lagoa Poelela faces due west and is an eco-lodge with pleasant self-catering chalets overlooking the shores of Lagoa Poelela, a lake that never reaches the sea. It’s pretty surreal because you hear the sea but you can’t see it. It’s about 2km away over the dunes, and you can walk there or drive.  The lagoa (lake) covers around 76kms square and is surrounded by wetlands, estuaries and coconut groves. It’s fairly low in salinity (you could mix it with whisky at a push) and high in birdlife. Plenty, plenty birds.

The okes here quite rightly decided not to allow any motorised activities alongside the shores of this gentle lagoa, no quad bikes, no motor boats, no jet skis. So it’s very Zen hanging out here. I think the best thing to do is to slip off quietly on a kayak and go explore the mangroves and estuaries. It’s a gentle pursuit, and very good for the tits, girls. Move slowly and lightly, quietly, through the waters, exploring lagoa’s edge, listening to the birds, eyeing the silver horizon …. 

Loving the Afro-brolly on the beach at high tide 

For more information check out www.mozambiquehappenings.com 

or www.safarinow.com;