In June this year, a seal was spotted on Benguerra Island, which was very exciting for all of us, as never before has anyone spotted a seal in the Archipelago.
We were all curious as to where the seal might have come from and contacted the conservation program 50/50 for some advice. They in turn put us in touch with Greg Hofmeyer a Marine Mammal Biologist from Bayworld in Port Elizabeth.
Now the story gets even more exciting! Greg confirmed that our seal was in fact not a Cape Fur seal as we originally thought, but a Subantartic fur seal, which makes it even more special, as they are protected seals in South Africa. These seals are identified by their unique colouring (pale chest and face with a dark back), from the picture he was also able to establish that it was an adult female in very good condition.
Subantartic fur seals come from several islands in the Southern Oceans and the most likely home island for our seal is the Price Edward Group of Islands, which includes Marion Island. This is about 2400km away.
Of all the seal species, the Subantartic fur seals are the most likely to wander far afield, and some have been spotted as far north as Zanzibar. There has been very few reported sightings in Mozambique, but our sighting is the second one this year.
Even more amazing is the fact that our seal is an adult female, as it is usually the immature animals or the young males who wander far off.
The seal was only on Benguerra Island for one day. We feel privileged that she chose our island for a stop over. We wish her well on her endurance swim, who knows, she might have reached Zanzibar by now.
In June this year, a seal was spotted on Benguerra Island, which was very exciting for all of us, as never before has anyone spotted a seal in the Archipelago. 
Guests Alfredo and Ornella, both keen divers who visited us last week, received the adventure treat of a lifetime, when after a spectacular dive, just as they were getting back into the diving boat, they noticed a Humpback whale and her calf swimming in the water underneath them. Luckily Ornella had her camera ready to capture this once in a lifetime moment and share it with us. 
In Lucy Campbell Jones, our resident riding guide's own words: "We had an incredible day targeting Yellow Fin Tuna that were feeding on the surface. Towards the end of the morning whilst Graham was fighting yet another tuna I got the command to 'Wind, wind, wind!'. For a moment I was frozen watching the sailfish jump next to the boat in an incredible flash of silver. Then Graham's instructions snapped me back to reality and after a decent tussle I got my third sailie." 
Despite some windy days in August, the whales have arrived in their numbers in the Bazaruto Archipelago and on recent trips guests have been treated to some very special sightings of a whale and her calf. They were also treated to pods of dolphins playfully swimming along with the boats. Meg, our dive instructor, had her camera ready to snap this amazing picture of a dolphin jumping the surf. 
Meg McDonald joined us this month as the new PADI dive instructor at Benguerra Lodge. Meg has been scuba diving for 13 years and loves sharing her passion for diving, the ocean and its surroundings with guests. It was thus not too difficult a decision for her to permanently exchange her city shoes for flippers and flip flops. 