MAR Expeditions - Conserving and protecting Africa's wild places

About MAR

MAR Expeditions provides an opportunity for aspiring scientists, passionate conservationists, and engaged naturalists to gain scientific scuba diving & freediving experience, support research, and learn first hand from experts in a variety of different environments. During an expedition, you can expect to have experiences with manta rays, sharks, humpback whales, nudibranchs, seahorses, and much more. The east coast of southern Africa has an incredible amount of biodiversity and offers the opportunity to experience these unique and charismatic species in some of the most beautiful and wild places along the coastline. Our mission is to help to conserve the marine biodiversity of southern Africa through educational expeditions, sustainable diving, and ocean advocacy.

Manta Rays

Manta research aims to generate knowledge of the region’s manta ray populations and assist with their conservation in southern Mozambique.

Nudibranchs

Závora Marine Lab is conducting the first assessment of nudipleura in Mozambique: solving a complex of species problems and describing new species.

whales

Humpback whales come to Zvora each year to reproduce and give birth. Land-based surveys and fluke ID help provide estimates of humpback populations travelling through the region.

Artificial Reefs

Of the 2 wrecks in Zvora, the newly sunken Rio Sainas [2013] provided an excellent opportunity to monitor the colonization of an artificial reef right from ground zero.

Seahorses

Together with iSeahorse, MAR aims to assess and monitor seahorse populations, trends, and threats in the Inhambane region.

Sharks

Visual surveys and baited remote underwater videos (BRUVs) are helping to collect baseline data on the elasmobranch species in the region.

Turtles

Five of the seven sea turtle species can be found in Mozambique. In Závora, we commonly see 4 of these on our reefs, two of which are known to nest on our beaches.

Begin your adventure to the wild and remote coast of southern Africa

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About our expeditions

-24.513552, 35.193464 | Praia de Zavora | Mozambique

Authentic Expeditions That Support Real World Science.

All of our expeditions support our partner organizations in each of their respective regions. By joining an expedition not only are you supporting their projects, but you are getting to join and learn from leading experts in their fields. In addition to this, you will get to participate in community outreach projects, underwater & beach clean ups, and a variety of workshops. Our goal is to spread love and conservation support throughout southern Africa (and beyond), while providing you with incredible experiences along the way! Our mission and vision are rooted in an innate respect and appreciation for the natural world and the desire to see oceans prosper under global understanding and stewardship.

Dive with purpose
Explore some of the most wild and untouched places of southern Africa while learning from our experts and supporting a variety of different projects.
Mentorship
Limited group size allows for quality one-on-one guidance with a trained marine biologist during your trip.
Marine Life
Mozambique and South Africa have some of the best diving in the world. Expect to see manta rays, sharks, stingrays, whales, dolphins, and an astonishing diversity of macrolife.
Community environment
During your expedition, you will live together, learn together and develop lasting friendships.

OUR PARTNERS

All of our research supports the Marine Megafauna Foundation and is used by scientists to help save ocean giants from extinction.

The MAR Team

Nakia Cullain

Marine Biologist & Conservationist, Founder of MAR Expeditions

Nakia is a PhD Candidate at Dalhousie University and a Research Scientist for the Marine Megafauna Foundation. She oversees all the projects in Závora and leads all internships and expeditions. She specializes in manta rays with a focus on their movement ecology for conservation and management.

Emily Eaton

Marine Biologist & Scuba Diving Instructor

Emily is NAUI diving instructor with a BSc in Marine Biology. Her passion of marine life led her to pursue a career researching and contributing to the conservation of sharks. After assisting MAR in 2021 and 2022, she fell in love with Závora and has now made it her permanent home.

Ed Bevan

Marine Biologist & Research Assistant

Ed is a NAUI Dive Master with a BSc in Biology. After falling in love with the Závora lifestyle in 2022, he moved here full time to further his career in marine science and assist with all the MAR projects.

Corey Nevels

Marine Biologist & Underwater Photographer

Corey has been a part of the MAR team since 2018. She holds a BSc and MSc in Marine Biology with a passion for manta ray conservation. She is an expedition leader for MAR and an epic underwater photographer.

What people say

“MAR was a great complement to my social science major. Fun atmosphere, diverse learning opportunities, combining the best of an organized internship and travel adventure.”

Rohan Shah

Harvard University, United States (2016)

“After a long journey, Zavora was a charming and peaceful home. The internship provided a spectacular chance to learn about and witness Indian ocean wildlife and has left me wishing I never left. Thank you, MAR. #NudiLife.”

Alex Megit

Dalhousie University, Canada (2016)

“MAR is the perfect learning experience for any up and coming ocean advocate. With a friendly atmosphere, a wide variety of experiences and skills, in the field, diving, and in theory, I highly recommend this internship. Thanks to Nakia and the team for an exciting, fulfilling and fun experience!”

Brinkley Davies

Founder Balu Blue Foundation (2017)

“Joining MAR was the perfect first post-undergrad experience. Besides becoming completely hooked on diving, I learned a lot about marine research in Africa. Everyone was extremely knowledgeable and it was a blast to work with and learn from them. I definitely would recommend this to anyone interested in diving or conservation!”

Mackenzie Stoeltje

University of California, Davis (2019)

“Going to Mozambique to intern with MAR has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life. For a month I was able to enjoy the vibrant culture of Mozambique while contributing to crucial research on marine megafauna and macrofauna. As a Marine Biologist in training, MAR provided me excellent scientific knowledge and allowed me to learn different fieldwork techniques and how to apply them. Mozambique is a magical, caring and friendly place that allowed me to learn, enjoy and create lifelong friendships. I will be back!”

Pily Del Riego

Seattle University (2017)

“I joined the MAR team for a three-month internship to become a better well-rounded biologist and therefore a better wildlife conservationist. With the majority of my work being terrestrial, I was excited to expand my knowledge and diving skills with the talented and enthusiastic team at MAR. The work we did and the new discoveries we made far exceeded my expectations. Learning first hand about all the marine life was like stepping into another world and helped me create a better understanding of how ecosystems function on this planet. Putting into practice different fieldwork techniques and interacting with wildlife in its natural habitat is what made my time at MAR so important and valuable to my conservation career.”

Grant Baker

Poway, California (2018)

“Spending two months in such a remote area of Africa has been one of the best experiences of my life so far. Being an intern at MAR hasn’t only shown me how an organization of this kind works, but also how important this work is in helping towards the establishment of marine protected areas or protection of certain species. In addition to that, Mozambique is such an amazing place; living with the minimum, which is more than enough, and getting know the daily life in Zavora by meeting the local people was such an incredible experience.”

Mikel Gutiérrez Muto

IMBRSea (2019)

“Being part of the MAR team during the summer of 2019 was the most exciting and rewarding 2 months I’ve had. Working with and learning from such knowledgeable and passionate marine biologists was inspiring and gave me a great understanding of the importance of local marine research and conservation. The regular dives and daily data entry tasks were brilliant, especially whilst working with the awesome team. Zavora is an incredible place to live and the internship has given me such amazing memories and experiences.”

Lara Hillyard

University of York (2019)

“I joined MAR to complete an undergraduate research project in Zavora, and enjoyed it so much I decided to come back for my graduate research project as well. Not only did I receive excellent scientific knowledge and support for my research, but also a caring and friendly atmosphere that made my time in this beautiful place even more special.”

Izzy Eady

Plymouth University (2016); University of York (2018)

Get in touch

Drop us a line to learn more about partnering with MAR, our expeditions, or just say 'hi!'