Having one of the worst inland kiting seasons on record five of us decided on a stealth mission and headed off to Pemba, Mozambique for 10 days of kiting bliss, Glen's report follows after the jump.

After three years of Le Morne, 5 of us (Ryan, Luke, Jaco, Justin and myself) decided it was time for a new adventure. Our destination of choice was Pemba in Northern Mozambique. Northern Mozambique benefits from the SE trade winds from June to September and Northerlies in the summer months. We kited every day for 9 days. One of the main reasons for choosing Pemba was that the average wind speed is about 15 – 20 knots making it the ideal wind for progressing with tricks etc. The reef is about 2.5kms offshore which means you have a massive playground of flat waist high water to kite in. The best kiting was two hours before and after the low tide when the sandbanks would come into play. The waves on the reef, despite being rather small and washy were also great to kite in the downwinders. Sea life is also abundant, while we were there we saw whales and turtles.

We stayed at Pirate Kites which is a lodge run by Carlo and his wife, Suzana about 12kms south of Pemba. The beach itself in front of the lodge runs for about 20kms making downwinders an absolute pleasure. Carlo himself is an avid kiter and the whole place is focused on kiting. One of the best parts about staying at Pirate Kites are the kite helpers who do everything from carrying your kite to the beach, pumping it up, launching and catching it and packing it up. Never have I experienced something as cool as kiting for 3 hours non-stop with my mates, arriving back at the beach, landing the kite and leaving it to be packed up while I grab a 2M beer.

The lodge currently has three chalets allowing for six people. Carlo and his wife are Italian so expect to eat a lot of Pizzas and pasta from the Pizza oven. One thing worth cautioning about is that there is no hot water, so expect to take a cool shower after kiting. That said the sea water temperature was 26 degrees C and the air temp was about the same. For the softies out there, Carlo does expect to have hot water in the next 6 months anyway.

All in all we had an awesome time, significant progression was made by all and I’m sure we will be back for more in the future.

You can check out Pirate Kites on the web by going to www.murrebue.com.

You can check out some of the kiting trip photos at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=49520&l=46c91&id=674118693