RouteBeira

Pungwe Delta: Flamingoes, Mangroves & Beira's Wild Estuary

The Pungwe River's broad delta north of Beira is a vast estuarine ecosystem — flamingoes, dugong, and coastal dolphins in a wilderness of tidal mangroves at the edge of the Indian Ocean

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1
Flamingo flats at low tide
At low tide, the mud bottom of the Pungwe estuary turns pink with thousands of greater and lesser flamingos feeding in the shallow saline waters – an extraordinary sight near a major city
2
Mangrove Pirogue Journey
A guided pirogue through the delta's mangrove canals — the tangled aerial root systems protect young fish, mudfish and the occasional saltwater crocodile
3
Dugong in Pungwe
The Pungwe Delta is one of the last habitats for the African dugong — these rare marine mammals feed on seagrass beds in the shallow estuarine waters, sometimes seen from boats
4
Coastal dolphins at dawn
Bottlenose and humpback dolphins enter the Pungwe estuary at dawn with the incoming tide — local fishermen share the channels with pods of dolphins that have used these waters for generations
5
Bird Calling Station
A bird ringing program at the Pungwe Delta studies the migrating waders that use this estuary as a stopover on the East African Flyway — thousands of birds banded and tracked
6
Tidal Creek Night Fishing
Traditional fishermen using kerosene lamps fish the tidal creeks at night for shrimp — a pre-dawn pirogue accompanies the fishing and returns with the sunrise catch