Living La Vilanculos
It’s rather chilly and still dark in Cape Town as I head to the airport. The cold makes it difficult to imagine that, in just a matter of hours, I’ll be whipping out my SPF50 and swapping my jeans for shorts at Azura Benguerra Island in Mozambique, where the Marie Claire team will be producing three fashion editorials over three days.
The sun is up by the time we’ve changed planes in Johannesburg and Nelspruit, and soon we’re presented with the most incredible view of the unspoiled white sand and clear, blue waters of the Mozambique coast.
An Azura representative drives us from the airport through the coastal town of Vilanculos to the beach. Most of us are in long pants from the flight, but are more than happy to get them wet as we wade through knee-deep water and clamber into the boat that will take us to our final destination.
Benguerra is the second-largest island in the Bazaruto Archipelago. It’s 25 minutes off the coast of Vilanculos (provided you don’t stop for dolphin spotting), so the WhatsApp group we’ve been using to co-ordinate details for the shoot is aptly named ‘Living la Vilanculos’.
I’m in complete awe as we arrive – the pictures I’ve seen don’t do this island justice. We hop off the boat and receive palm-leaf leis and a warm welcome from the staff, including Faizel, who seems to know all of our names even before we introduce ourselves. We’re led out of the scorching sun and into a bar cooled by the ocean breeze. While sipping on Azura’s signature iced tea we are introduced to Raul and Pedro, our designated hosts.
Since we have only three days to complete three shoots, we get right down to it. Faizel talks us through a list of possible locations then, while the rest of the crew settles in, a few of us go on a recce before sunset.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
These Women Are Not Real
These women have millions of Instagram followers, front-row seats at fashion week and the latest designer clothes … but they’re not real. This new social-media trend is the most futuristic yet: computer-generated avatars that look, talk and behave like real people. But, asks HANNAH-ROSE YEE, is this really the future of the influencer industry?
One Moment In Time
In February this year, para-athlete and journalist Palesa ‘Deejay’ Manaleng won gold in the women’s H3 hand-cycle event at the 2018 SA National Road and Para-Cycling Championships in Outdshoorn, Western Cape. Four years earlier, she had lost the use of her legs in a terrible cycling accident. Here, she shares that terrifying experience and her personal story of recovery
Never Had Sex But Trying For A Baby
For this 40-something-year-old, becoming a mother is high up on her priority list. And the fact that she’s a virgin, is not going to stop her from reaching her goal
Living In A Man's World
What really happens in the secret world of men? We asked four men who were born female to share their unique perspective on what it’s like to be parachuted into the opposite gender
Get In The Mood
You’re ready to ring in 2019, but that dreaded dress code has you in a panic. There’s no need to stress. Tarryn Oppel thinks you may already have a winning piece in your wardrobe. You just don’t know it yet...
A Charmed Life
Jewellery designer Ambra Gambale ’s handcrafted work has a curious undercurrent of magic realism, with a strong emphasis on bespoke pieces
Chelsea Lately
Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton talks privilege, female leadership, dealing with critics – and how Trump ‘degrades what it means to be an American’
Delivering Excellence
NOMZAMO MBATHA chats to Afika Jadezweni about her red-carpet style, why women need to support one another, and how she’ll never forget where she comes from
Soul To Soul
If There Were Ever a Visual Representation of the Expression ‘wearing Your Heart on Your Sleeve’, Lukhanyo Mdingi’s ‘soulful Ii’ Collection Would Be It, as Afika Jadezweni Finds Out
It's Kim's World
…We Just Live In It. How An Underestimated La Socialite Became One Of The Most Powerful Women Of The 21st Century