Dolphin EnCOuntours Interaction and Research Center – Ponta do Ouro

At around 3 am on Saturday the 19th June 2010 an all encompassing fire ranged through the dolphin and scuba diving concessions within the Ponta do Ouro campsite in southern Mozambique. The shouting and screaming of our marine biologist Daina Rocha woke up the rest of the dolphin crew who ran into a blazing inferno. On stepping out of the staff lodging all that could be seen was huge flames coming from the entrance to the camp; climbing the towering casuarina trees.

The realization soon dawned that the camp could not be saved when Mitchel ran for the tap and hosepipe only to see that it too was steaming – we were embarking on a loosing battle.

Angie Gullan ran back into the house and grabbed the company laptops while Diana grabbed the underwater video camera, Mitchel, Garrick and Hannes ran the camp screaming and shouting to ensure everyone got out safely.

The first thought was to get onto the beach – however when there we kept on running as the sky rained burning embers as the wind fueled the flames. Angie recalls looking in and seeing the education and briefing center being engulfed – with the fibreglass dolphin moulds falling to the ground as the heat ranged through. Arm in arm we stood, watching, crying and then freezing in the 11 degree winter chill.

Dolphin EnCOuntours, The Whaler and ¾ of Simply Scuba burned to the ground. No human lives were lost, however cats are still missing and people living on-site lost absolutely everything.

Rumours abound as to how the fire started – we simply just don’t know how it started and are just thankful that everyone is safe and unharmed. The support that has been received from both our immediate community, together with the support from friends, guests and the public has been absolutely astounding. It has given us hope in humanity and renewed our strength. So many, many people have been in contact wanting to help and we would like to give our heart felt thanks to all.

At this stage the area is being cleared for staff lodging and a briefing area, we will resume building of the base camp once we have security from the campsite and government. The past 10 years has seen no legal contracts from the campsite, this is now not going to work as we will have to re-invest a substantial amount of money into rebuilding. Coupled with this we will not be building out of reed and wood for obvious reasons.

Dolphin launches will resume on Saturday. Current and future bookings will be accommodated at O’Lar do Ouro until further notice. Tour prices remain the same – however bed and brunch costing will change. All staff are on hand and have not been given notice. It is our sincere hope that we will be able to get back on our feet soon so as to ensure salaries etc are met.

For those guest that paid deposits for launches on the Saturday and Sunday, we will accommodate you for your dolphin experience when you next visit Ponta. If in the event this is unacceptable to you, please contact us so we can arrange your refund in due course.

The coming months are no doubt going to be very difficult for everyone involved and the road to recovery will be long. We will be needing financial assistance to get back to where we were – from the purchasing of research equipment to the rebuilding of both the base camps and our lives. For those that are in a position to assist please do so through the below bank account or have a look at our wish list.

Account holder: Dolphin EnCOuntours
Bank: Nedbank
Branch: Sandton
Account number: 1970645857
Branch code: 197/005
Swift Bank Code: NEDSZAJJ

jojo water tanks 5000 lt	1		EOS 7D	2		deposits for launches	8000
osmosis machine	1		Ikelite 6871.07 eTTL Housing f/ Canon EOS 7D with orings	1		Diana's envelope	3500
geysers 15lt gas/solar 200lt	2		135mm lens	2		campsite	12 000
water pressure pump	1		canon 200mm lens	1		shop	2000
toilets	5		canon 400 mm lens	1		cash needed for salaries for three months
basins and taps	5		canon 104mm extension lens	1		R20 000 p/m	60000
shower heads and taps	5		camera cleaning kit	1
hosepipes and fittings	3		binoculars with recitals	1		washing machine
spades	2		projector + cables for macbook pro + macbook	1		tumble dryer
			hydrophone cetacean research	1		laptop pc	1
bow saw and blades	2		micro track	1		printer	1
gedore toolbox (spanners/screwdrivers etc)	1		terabytes external hardrives	2		till	1
rakes metal	3		flash drives 4gb	2		invoice books	2
rakes plastic	3		tripod	1		paper stack trays	2
shade cloth high density	170m		usb cables	5
outside taps	3		scanner and printer combo	1
electrical cable	300m		laminator & sheets	1
solar panels 75watt	5		applemac battery chargers	2
200 AH barratries, regulators etc	5		tables and chairs (plastic sets 6 seat white)	3
			tables - office	2
wind generator	1		typist chairs	2
1,5 x 2+ e surfix cable	200m		whiteboard and markers 3x2mt	1
2,5 x 2 + e surfix cable	200m		whiteboard 2x1mt	1
No 0 surfix cable gland	50		extension cords	4
No 1 surfix cable gland	50		adaptors and multiplugs	4
well fittings (jam jar)	24		70cm flat screen tv	1
60w BC energy save lamps	24		dvd player	1
single plug 4x4 (all pvc eg clipsal)	20		camera charger for sony hdr1080i/mini dv/handycam hvr/fx7	1
double plug 4x4 (all pvc eg clipsal)	10		mini dv cassette tapes	10
4x4 extension boxes pvc (surface)	30		ilink firewire sony hdr1080i	1
2x4 extension boxes pvc (surface)	10		iphones	2
1 lever light switch pvc	10		signs and banners
60 amp 1 phase earth leakage din mount	2		fiberglass bottlenose dolphin
4ft fluorescent light fitting and lamps	3		fiberglass humpback dolphin
10mm x 4 swa cable	35m		fiberglass loggerhead turtle
10mm green/yellow gp wire	35m		melon headed whale skeleton
3 x 20way surface pvc din distribution board			bottlenose dolphin skull
			amozon dolphin skull
STAFF LODGING			http://store.dinosaurcorporation.com/dolphins1.html
Double beds	4		shells for displays (please don’t purchase)
Single beds x 3	3		educational marine posters
mossie nets double x 4 (pref square)	4		laminated dolphin whale educational posters
mossie nets single x 3 (pref square)	3		the cove dvd	1
bedside lamps x 6	6		the end of the line dvd	1
sheets x 8 double	8		kettle	1
sheets x 6 single	6		coffee/tea canisters	4
pillows x 20	20		mugs	20
duvet inners and covers for the above			dolphin/whale books for the library
fans	4		fish id books (indian ocean)
kettle	1		shell book
toaster	1		marine mammal journals & papers
gas stove & oven combo	1		Bird book
cooler box	2		snake book
pots and pans			tree book
crockery and cutlery for 10			Large first aid kit
sharp knives
breadboard
glasses
mugs
dustbin kitchen
stainless steel tables	4
refuse bins	2
fridge/freezer combo
omer freediving mask	5
free diving fins cressi/omer (5,6,9,10.5)
snorkels J omer	5
rubber weight belts	3
spear fishing gun 1.3 rob allen	2
buoys	2
farmer john wetsuit	1
cell c suits	4
clothing cupboards	4
dressing table and mirror	2
tea and coffee containers
tupperware set
10 ft "couta" stick with 6"& 8" KP reels
polarized sunglasses boys	3
polarized sunglasses girls	2
stainless steel double sink	1
dishcloths	2 packs

For the Love of Dolphins
Angie Gullan
DolphinCare-Africa / EnCOuntours