Guludo
Quirimbas National Park Mozamabique
Email us: bookmozambique@madbookings.com
Guludo is perfectly positioned to dive some of the best, and most pristine,
coral reefs in the world, whether an experienced diver or absolute beginner.
Be among the first to discover these pristine reefs...
Opposite Guludo's calm bay is the Quirimbas Archipelago's fringing reef
with breath-taking coral diversity as well as copious schools of game
fish, turtles, sharks and at the right time of year, humpback whales.
With vast diving diversity Guludo offers a range of diving from sheltered
tranquil coral gardens to drop-offs with strong currents.
Learn to Dive at Guludo
Guludo Beach Lodge is a fully accredited PADI Dive Resort with a resident
dive instructor. We offer a range of courses including a half day Discover
Scuba Course, full PADI Open Water Course (qualifying you to dive anywhere
in the world) and PADI Advanced Open Water which enables existing divers
to develop their skills further.
Currently we dive in four distinct regions:
1. Rolas Island
Surrounding Rolas’ southern sandy peninsular and westward rocky
outcrops are shallow coral gardens with beautiful sting rays, abundant
reef fish and curious turtles. Rolas is perfect for beginners, underwater
photographers and divers interested in macro fauna. Beds of staghorn hide
lion fish, moray eels and elusive pipe fish; large coral bommies host
an amazing variety of reef fish and nudibranches; camouflaged amongst
patch reef and sandy bottoms crocodile fish and kuhls stingray abound;
and green & hawksbill turtles are commonly sighted coming up for air.
2. Matemo Channel
The diving around Matemo has gentle slopes and small ridges and is also
home to the famous dive site ‘Rush Hour’, so named for schools
of large game fish that hang out over the reef. Game fish, including Yellowtail
barracuda, jacks, king fish and Spanish mackerel are commonly sighted
schooling above large sand patches; themselves home to ‘fields’
of garden eels, whilst white tip sharks, tuna, napoleon wrasse and schooling
triggerfish frequent the abundantly covered coral slopes.
3. Zala Bank
Zala is a vast underwater sand bank, due east of Guludo, home to dramatic
topography with sheer drop offs disappearing into oblivion. Every inch
of Zala is covered in pristine coral, hard and soft, rivalling anywhere
in the world. Huge gorgonian corals fan out from the wall at 30m whilst
white tip and grey reef sharks are amongst the visitors from the deep
blue beyond. The shallower coral is teaming with reef fish and also home
to several types of turtle, the majestic Spanish dancer and yet more reef
sharks.
4. Ibo Island
Ibo Island, 25km south of Guludo, hosts a spectacular dive site large
enough for several dives. The site boasts an incredible abundance and
diversity of reef fish and large schools of batfish, big eye trevally,
fusiliers, snappers, surgeon fish and Spanish mackerel are often seen.
A small wall from 5 to 18 meters is littered with overhangs and home to
macro fauna while beneath, the sloping sandy bottom is frequented by reef
sharks and rays.
Rush Hour is one of our most popular dive sites
with schooling pelagics, garden eels, titan trigger fish and stunning
reef ranging from 20m to 14m depth. The diving over the last few weeks
has been spectacular and last week when Rhys took Thierry diving at Rush
Hour they had an unexpected visitor...
"On reaching the garden eels we were amazed by the number of large
schooling fish, mostly kingfish and silver sweet lips, above us. Whilst
watching intently a very large potato grouper swam towards us from out
of the blue slowly circling. Then, becoming more inquisitive and courageous,
he came in for a closer look. Getting very excited I could hardly set
the white balance on my camera but managed to get a few shots off. This
got his attention and noticing his reflection on the camera port he became
quite aggressive and started nudging at the camera. Unable to restrain
myself I flicked the flash on, which really upset him; witness the snarling
teeth..."
There are 4 types of turtles that are seen when
diving around Guludo;
Hawksbill Turtles These are the turtles we see most often
with a couple of resident hawksbill at Lion's Den dive site just off Rolas
Island. Often snorkellers are fortunate enough to see them.
Green Turtles These are larger than the hawksbill and
seen most often around Matemo and Zala and less frequently at Rolas.
Olive Ridley's Turtles The Olive Ridley's turtles are
only seen when diving every few months or so and are normally seen around
Rolas.
Leatherback Turtles Enormous, pre-historic-looking leatherbacks
have been seen a few times while diving around Matemo and Ibo.
PADI Dive Courses
Guludo is a registered "PADI Resort" with an excellent
dive centre running a full range of PADI dive courses for complete beginners
to experienced divers.
PADI Discover Scuba Diving (half day)
The Discover Scuba Diving course provides an introduction to SCUBA diving
that includes shallow water training plus a dive to 12 meters on the stunning
reefs off Rolas Island. An opportunity to try scuba diving in a tropical
environment with no commitment.
PADI Open Water Diver (3 to 4 days)
The PADI Open Water Diver course will certify you as a PADI diver, enabling
you to dive anywhere in the world to 18 meters. During the course you
will spend a day enjoying the shallow waters and corals close to Rolas
mastering key skills, which you will then use during four progressively
deeper divers over the following days on some of the most diverse, untouched
and unexplored coral reefs in the world. Each evening a short informative
presentation covers the academic aspects of the course further developing
your knowledge and understanding.
PADI Scuba Diver (2 days)
The PADI Scuba diver course is designed for those with insufficient time
to complete the full Open Water course. The qualification, which can be
upgraded at any time, allows you to dive anywhere in the world to 12 meters
under the supervision of a PADI professional.
PADI Advanced Open Water Diver (2 to 3 days)
This course is designed to improve dive skills making divers feel more
comfortable and knowledgeable in the water whilst experiencing a new range
of environments and increasing your depth limit to 30 meters. The course
consists of five open water adventure dives from a list of over 20, including
a Deep Dive, Digital Photography, Drift Dive, Computer Dive, Project AWARE
Fish ID Dive and many more.
Refresher (half day)
This is a course for qualified divers who haven’t dived for a while
and need to refresh their dive skills. Included is a full theory session
including tables a shallow water dive to refresh all skills and a dive
to one of sites at Matemo or Rolas.
Activity Rates - subject to change
Complimentary Activities:
- Guludo village tour
- Sunset dhow cruise
- Beauty on the beach
- Traditional style fishing
- Beach archery
- Pot making
- Village football
Additional cost:
$ 85 Rolas Island**
$ 40 Bush lookout
$ 50 Snorkelling**
$150 Historic Ibo Island**
$100 Humpback Whale Watching**
$ 90 Pangane beach picnic
$ 80 Single tank dive trip**
$120 Double tank dive trip**
$150 Refresher Dive**
6 & 10 Dive packages are available in the lodge
(**Min. 2 people, 25% single supplement)
PADI Dive Courses:
$ 150 PADI Discover Scuba Diving
$ 600 PADI Open Water Diver Course
$ 450 PADI Advanced Open Water Diver
Email us: bookmozambique@madbookings.com
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