Paul Serin heads to Mozambique, one of kitesurfing's lesser-known destinations, although after reading this you might be wanting to book some tickets, it's littered with amazing spots that are just waiting for you!

Paul Serin and some friends head to the wilder side of the African continent in search of wind, waves and sunshine. As ever with a kite trip the weather didn’t play ball, but between the sharks, grey skies and issues with crossing borders they scored it pretty good in the end!

Mozambique, not the first place you think of when planning a kiteboarding trip, but it was exactly what we wanted. We wanted a place far away from the main kite scene, somewhere fresh and full of adventure. Let me start by introducing the team! Victor, a French rider who has been on the scene for over 15 years, Nino, a young freestyle shredder and filmmaker, Hugo, the photographer and myself. I decide to take a break from competing this year and mainly focus on kiteboarding adventures instead.

To keep things interesting, we decided to fly to Johannesburg and drive up to Mozambique; quite the mission but we thought it would be worth it! Word of advice though, if you do ever decide to make this trip, do make sure you rent a car with its clearance paperwork intact to be able to cross the borders. The first car we rented wasn't authorised to cross the border, and so we had to drive back to Johannesburg, change cars and redo the trip all over again! We were still able to keep our spirits positive, laugh it off and enjoy the ride and we even got to listen to our playlists twice!

We finally crossed the border, with less drama than what we expected, and we were finally ready for Mozambique and hungry for action.

Mozambique was a Portuguese colony and gained its independence in 1975, so everyone speaks Portuguese there. It almost felt like we were back in Brazil for a second, but no, this felt completely new.

The first few days we were there, it rained, and the wind was light, and the locals all seemed surprised. They told us that it was extremely uncommon weather conditions for this time of the year. If you've ever been on a kiteboarding trip, you’ll know that the locals always say that, but we all know the truth, it's just our luck!

We were still able to go for a few sessions; the rain wasn't going to stop us! After a quick stop and light freestyle session in Bilene, we decided to head North in search of some wind, waves and sunshine. The amount of cashew nuts we ate on the road is unreal, they are delicious and a must-try if you are in Mozambique.

We arrived in Tofo, which is famous for surfing and has few 'secret' kiteboarding spots too. The sky stayed grey for days, but we were still able to surf right in front of the house every morning and waited for the wind patiently.

One morning, Hugo decided to go surfing instead of taking pictures, and while he was out there, his leash snapped. The current was so strong that he ended up on the rocks, in an absolute state of panic. I was able to get to him on my board, and we waited for the opportunity to swim back together. The community is so small and close in the area that within 10 minutes, everyone was at the beach, aware of the incident and offering to help. Hugo was a little stressed by what had just happened, but he was ok and later on, we all had a glass of wine to celebrate the fact that he was alive!

At last, one morning, we woke up to sunshine and the trade winds were back in full swing; we were ready for some freestyle action! We kiteboarded all day at a spot called White Sand, which was perfectly flat regardless of the tides. To make matters even better, Chris and Sachia, our local friends, brought a BBQ and cooked fresh lobster and fish at sunset; what an unforgettable day. We decided to prolong our stay in Tofo for one more day because the surf was so good and the conditions looked ideal for paragliding (we had our kit with us, like real adventurers!). The following day, a light thermal wind blew in the right direction for the dune in Playa de Los Rochas, so we spent the afternoon in the air, soaring with a breathtaking view of Tofo; that image with remain in my memory forever.

Tofo delivered, but it was time for the next spot, and so, we got back into the car and off we went! We were on route to the south of Bilene, which is where our base camp was, but we decided to stop at Limpopo, which is known as a pretty epic freestyle spot. Fun fact about this river mouth is that it's one of the places where you can find the biggest concentration of bull sharks (which are also known, if you know your sharks, as Limpopo sharks!)

The kite lagoon was to the side of the river and so Guillaume, a local kiteboarder, said we shouldn't worry! We all rode cautiously, and none of us crashed a single trick, but after a while, we forgot about the sharks and just started sending it. We spent the whole day there, with the entire spot to ourselves.

On our way back, we stopped at the lighthouse to enjoy the sunset from above. This place is wild and raw, and I feel like we honestly need to take more care of our planet and keep places like this pristine.

Over the following days, we drove around in search of more dunes to paraglide off, or waves to surf. Some days we found gold and some days nothing, and that's just how it goes! The purpose of a trip like was to experience something different, other than a training trip to Brazil! We were there to find beauty and to share something unique, and I feel like we achieved that.

On the road back to Johannesburg, we decided to drive through Kruger Park, which is after the border of Mozambique. For years, people haven't been able to spot much wildlife, but for us, within 5 minutes of being in the park, we saw lions, elephants, giraffes and with 10 minutes, hippos, impalas, rhinos... it was insane! The highlight of this trip, for me, was the kindness and happiness the locals emit. We loved everything about Africa, and it just goes to show that being rich doesn't mean having a lot of money, it's what's around you.

By Paul Serin

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