In August 2008, the Mozambican government submitted the Marine Reserve to UNESCO for inclusion in its tentative list of properties to be considered for World Heritage Site nomination during the ensuing years. 

On 14 July 2009, the government declared a 678 km² marine protected area, stretching from Ponta do Ouro in the south to the Maputo River Mouth in Maputo Bay in the north. 

The Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve stretches three nautical miles into the Indian Ocean and includes Inhaca Island and Portuguese Island.

The Marine Reserve has a rich diversity of marine life and is the most important leatherback and loggerhead turtle nesting ground along the Mozambican coast. Leatherbacks  In Ponta do Ouro you will be sure to find beautiful white beaches, dense dune forests, amazing diving and an ever-stretching azure sea. 

A very traditional open air market, several "cantinas" (little shops) and eager curio sellers will quench your thirst for shopping before you make your way to one of the rustic restaurants in town. fether up the coast is Ponta Molangane boasting an amazing beach, enchanting beauty, and wondrous reefs which renders it the place where your thirst for freedom and excitement will be quenched.