Guludo Beach Lodge

Guludo Beach Lodge

Situated on the mainland in the Quirimbas National Park, Guludo Beach Lodge nestles amongst palm groves on a long and pristine, china-white beach. This 'eco' lodge comprises nine spacious luxury bandas (bungalows), all facing the sea with their own veranda - the perfect place to enjoy the complimentary dazzling crimson sunsets. Guludo is a wonderful romantic or honeymoon destination, and offers a wide range of activities to their clients.

The accommodation is unique! Bandas are built using only natural materials offering sublime views over unspoilt white beaches and the endless blue ocean beyond. Each comfortable banda features a mosquito-screened king size bed, en-suite bathroom, and cosy veranda furniture for relaxing on during the day and getting away from it all.

The central restaurant and bar area is built using local materials in a style that reflects the local architecture. Here, exotic fresh seafood is bought from the local fishermen in their dugout canoes - filled with kingfish, yellow-fin tuna, tiger prawns and lobster, and is prepared with flair. The service is charming and the sheer simplicity of life is evident. Enjoy a G&T after a sun-filled day, catch up on the NEMA project progress, or indulge in a romantic candlelit dinner with the waves as your background music.

Guludo boasts some of the finest coral reefs teeming with sea life, and is the ideal place to learn to scuba dive in the warm turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean. The easy snorkeling is equally beautiful for those who prefer to remain above water. Take the opportunity to visit fascinating and historic Ibo Island by boat or a trip to nearby Rolas Island, home of the legendary coconut crab. Away from the sea, you can bird-watch in the mangrove forests and grasslands or take guided bush walks through the coastal forests.

Alternatively, explore the surrounding wild African bush or participate in some of the community initiatives set up to relieve poverty and protect the environment. Guludo Beach Lodge is a true eco-resort, and a percentage of their income goes directly to their own charity, the NEMA Foundation, which was set up to improve the quality of life of the local population through education and project work.

Transfers: Access from Pemba is either a stunning 3.5 hour drive through the Park at $75 per person each way (based on two people travelling, or by air - a 25 minute flight in a small plane to the island of Matemo followed by a 40 minute boat transfer at $150 per person (based on two people travelling) each way plus a $10 per person domestic departure tax for the Pemba to Matemo leg. For the air transfers, guests are restricted to 15 kilograms of luggage per person including hand luggage, which needs to be packed in soft bags

Activities at
Guludo

Diving & Snorkelling

PADI dive courses

Visit to village of Guludo

Whale watching
(in season)

Canoeing through the mangroves

Excursion to Ibo island

Sunset dhow cruises

Sunset bush picnic

Village football

Rates 2010 from:

ADOBE BANDAS $265 per person sharing or

$312 per person sharing during the following periods:

Month of August & 16 Dec - 9 Jan 2011

TENTED BANDAS $230 per person sharing or

$265 per person sharing during the following periods:

Month of August & 16 Dec - 9 Jan 2011

Single supplements do apply. Rates include all meals and 5% donation to their associated charity, NEMA. Children are welcome. A Quirimba National Park fee of $8 will be charged extra.

Kaskazini offers regular specials to Mozambican residents and SADC members, contact us for more details.

Diving at Guludo

Whether you are learning to dive in sheltered coral gardens or testing your existing skills on enormous drop-offs with strong currents, you will be diving on spectacular reefs that very few people have seen, in a marine park that shelters humpback whales and other cetaceans, turtles, huge game fish, and countless reef fish.

Diving Rolas Island: Surrounding Rolas' southern sandy peninsular and westward rocky out crops are shallow coral gardens with beautiful sting rays, abundant reef fish and curious turtles. Rolas is perfect for beginners as well for photography and macro fauna.

Diving 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 countless schools of large game fish that hang out over the reef.

Diving Zala Atoll: Zala is an underwater island due west of Guludo. Zala has 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. In addition the coral is teaming with reef fish and home to several types of reef shark and turtle. (PADI Advanced divers only).

Nema Foundation & community projects

The NEMA foundation supports several projects and 5% of all accommodation revenue paid by clients goes into this worthwhile fund. This will finance various projects, including building a school for Guludo village, collecting data on biodiversity in the park, and providing clean water and sanitation for the local population. Other human-related issues tackled are HIV infection rates, infant mortality rates, and the inherent desire to reduce poverty levels and increase quality of life for the local people. Guests can participate in the implementation of any these projects during their stay for an extra feel-good factor.

Health projects include feed a child project, malaria project, water project, HIV/AIDS awareness project, and a sanitation project. Education projects include the school scholarships project, community centre project and the adult literacy project. Co-operative projects include the palm co-operative project, the beauty on the beach co-operative project, and the ceramics co-operative. Environmental projects include the coral reef monitoring project and the humpback whale project.