Our website has been updated!!

check it out!!!!!

What’s new at a glance…..

We have updated our Home page to include our Pomene Dive Centre in Mozambique
About Us section has some news for those that would like to get to know us a little more
Our Mozambique diving page is now complete with loads of information and images

And of course our Sardine Run expedition has been extended into the first week of August 2026 for those that have not seen this snippet of news!!

https://offshoreportstjohns.com/

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Pomene Bay, while famed for its pristine waters and vibrant coral reefs, has a deep, rich history beyond its stunning marine life.

Check out the magnificent Old Pomene Hotel – this iconic ruin is more than just a landmark – it’s a silent witness to a bygone era.

In 1954 a man with the name Vic Preen and his son Brian decided that Southern Mozambique was getting too busy for them, so they decided to explore more further North looking for untouched fishing grounds away from the maddening crowds. This led them to Pomene, where they had to cut a path through the dense forest to the West shore of the estuary where they could cross by boat and set up camp on Pomene Point. For many, many years, they were the only people living in this pristine paradise aside from a few local fishermen.

About six years after their arrival a ship called the Berea, carrying a cargo of sugar, was shipwrecked on the South Beach of Pomene Point and Pomene was suddenly discovered when a road was built to try and recover the valuable cargo.

This in turn led to the development of the Old Pomene Hotel, but as luck would have it, this grand old lady, which was once known as the holiday home of Samora Machel, was abandoned in 1974 after only six years of operation because of the war and the Portuguese people being forced out of Mozambique.

Walking through these ruined old walls you can almost feel the charm and grandeur of yesterday and imagine just how impressive this hotel would have been in the 1970’s. Even today Pomene is really off the grid, cellular network comes and goes, there is only internet if you supply it and barely electricity. Some accommodation facilities have solar whilst others have generators that run for a few hours in the morning and a few hours in the evening.

Now for someone like us in the tourism industry, we can just imagine back then what an enormous challenge it would have been to run this hotel at the standard of entertaining heads of state, royalty etc.

After the evacuation the Pomene area largely became a strong hold for Renamo during the 20 year civil war. And from the day of Mozambique’s independence, only a hand full of very small lodges have made their way into or back to the Pomene area, leaving you wondering why someone hasn’t scooped up this precious gem and restored it to its former glory.

Word has it that a large hotel consortium has purchased the property and paid all the locals their dues, so who knows maybe next time we visit Pomene we will stay in the “New Grand Old Hotel”.

Let’s hope that if they do develop this area, they keep it authentic and full of its rich history.

Source: Some of this content has been changed to reflect the now “up to date” scenario and some older excerpts (including feature image) remain and are taken from: https://codiveblog.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-old-pomene-hotel.html

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is out on YouTube and on their social media platform.

Offshore Africa is proud to be associated with Behind the Mask and as a sponsor of 1 of BTM dive experiences as part of their signature trips for 2025.

We have already allocated the dates for the lucky winner of the Sardine run 2025 expedition and look forward to meeting him or her very soon.

https://offshoreportstjohns.com/sardine-run/

Be sure to watch the ALIVE video followed by the video below to stand a chance of winning and joining us next season.

https://behind-the-mask.com/

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is no stranger to all South Africans and in particular, to those of us that spend so much time in and under our oceans.

Zandi joined us on her very first Sardine Run experience a few seasons back and keeps coming back for more as that is what the sardine run does……it draws you back time and time again, it is an addictive time of the year, filled with such special ocean encounters and the wonder of what Mother Nature will show us each hour within a day and within each season. As Rob once said “I am too scared to miss out on something that I may never see again in my lifetime, it keeps me coming back and back again”

https://offshoreportstjohns.com/sardine-run/

Zandi is the most amazing person and a pure delight to spend time with on the boat.  Her sheer love of being in the ocean and on the ocean is so infectious. In fact we all joked that she should join the team as an in-water guide each sardine run expedition season. Well we were not really joking but the problem now is that Zandi is all over the world, promoting ocean conservation and her love of the ocean to children across the globe. All of us at Offshore Africa are so deeply proud of Zandi The Black Mermaid and all her achievements to date in promoting our oceans far and wide and in more focus, to children in our communities, of course with children being the future of our world.

With the seasons that Zandi has spent with us, https://www.waterbear.com/ decided to make a short documentary about the life and ocean love of The Black Mermaid aka Zandi Ndhlovu https://www.waterbear.com/watch/the-black-mermaid

Zandi released a Children’s book aptly named “Zandi’s song” which just recently won the 2024 SA Book Awards in the Childrens’ category. This is a must in all school libraries and we urge everyone to get their copy.

This write up is a tribute to our dear friend Zandi Ndhlovu and we urge everyone to take a look at https://www.blackmermaid.co.za/home-1 and the work that is being done here by Zandi.

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We are so proud to be a part of Behind the Mask ALIVE – a journey to rediscover yourself

We so look forward to hosting the lucky winner of the Sardine Run giveaway trip in our 2025 expedition season https://offshoreportstjohns.com/sardine-run/

No further words are needed – just watch, immerse yourself in the story and remember TO BE ALIVE and rediscover yourself!!!!!

https://www.facebook.com/behindthemask.divestories

#adventuretravel

#behind-the-mask #sardinerunportstjohns#sardinerun#portstjohns#bucketlisttrip#easterncapetourism#adventurediving

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Check out the new book release  thimios.com/books by Australian author, diver and photographer Todd Thimios.

As you all know, our annual sardine run season is our absolute favourite time of the year with so much life about in our oceans, whether topside or underwater. Every day is exciting not knowing what is going to show up and when……

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Sardine run with Offshore Africa

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Blacktip Swim School Port St Johns

We have been super busy recently with a lengthy visit to KwaZulu-Natal, which was exciting, inspiring and exhausting all at the same time. But its been amazing working together!!!!!!

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We do realize that there is so much to do and see when visiting Africa. It’s time to maximize your trip time here and enjoy the many worlds and faces that Africa has to offer.

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