My Blended Family (Part 1)

You might be wondering, how did this great trip to Mozambique and South Africa come about? Well, it comes down to my blended family. My sister Marie's husband Khiza is originally from Zimbabwe. A close family friend from Zim was getting married in Mozambique, so the Mazwi clan decided to make into a big, blended family trip! All families were invited (i.e. - sister of sister-in-law) relational distinctions are unimportant - we're all family! I have tried to illustrate it below.

Simon was so excited to see his Aunt Marie and Uncle Khiza - whom he hadn't seen in just over a year - since he was just an itty bitty guy. We all reunited in the Jo'berg airport and managed to get everyone and all our luggage checked through to Mozambique. Let the adventures begin!

We spent 5 days in Vilanculos at Archipelago Resort. It was winter there, so the days were short, and the weather was pleasant but not too warm. The Mazwi's reconnected with old friends from Zim, and the rest of us made new friends. The highlight was definitely the boat ride to some of the big, sandy islands in Bazaruto National Park. On board were 2 babies and no life jackets, but the waters inside the reef weren't too rough, and the rocking waters and humming motors lulled the little ones to sleep. Some opted for a snorkeling trip (including 5 month-old-Hanna), which turned out to be a bigger (and not so welcome) adventure. We headed out to large swells at 2 mile reef, and when the driver said "hop in," we did, but quickly realized this was not the safest situation. Marie and I agreed to just hold hands the whole time, if not we would lose each other within 10 seconds. We often couldn't find the boat among the large swells, and were relieved when they rounded us all up and headed back to the island.

So while the snorkel trip was a bit of a bust, the following picnic lunch was not. I would show you pics, but I lost my camera on the last day of the whole trip. :(

The day after the wedding (we were there for a wedding - Mazwi family friends) we headed back to the airport for a full day of travel to get to Port Elizabeth, where our South Africa adventures began. (See next post.)