Swinging a machete through the jungle, an eye peeled for cobras, an unsettling image of the late Princess of Wales sprang to mind. “What about land mines?” I called out to my guide. “We haven’t found any yet…” came Andrew’s laconic reply.

Until the 1970s, Mozambique was the haunt of the Hollywood jetset. That was before the civil war, which left 100,000 dead, many more maimed by land mines and an infrastructure in tatters.

We’re in a pristine wilderness of which 42,000 square kilometres has become the Niassa Reserve. With the signing of the Rome peace accord in 1992, the reserve was earmarked for “rehabilitation”, which included concessions – ironically – for hunting lodges. For those who prefer shooting with a camera, however, there is the Lugenda Wilderness Camp: eight luxury tents beneath sycamore figs on the banks of the Lugenda river.

So it was that I found myself following the song of the honeyguide bird. The theory is simple: locate honey-bearing tree with help of bird, chop it down, smoke bees into submission, then extract precious nectar. The reality turned out to be a hasty retreat pursued by a kamikaze swarm, and a very unimpressed honeyguide.

Niassa is billed as a wilderness experience, with drives through landscape punctuated by baobabs and granite outcrops showing the remains of prehistoric rock art; or past rivers with fishermen in dug-out canoes. There are dawn visits to pools where hippos wallow, but the animals reveal themselves on their terms – as with the impromptu midnight visit of an elephant, whose sighs reverberated against my tent.

Mozambique is once again luring upmarket travellers. Lugenda camp, in the Northern Provinces, is the latest project of Rani Resorts, which has invested $150m in Mozambique – including a flagship, 13-villa Medjumbe Island Resort, in the Quirimbas archipelago.

Pioneers of tourism in this area, John and Marjolaine Hewlett created Quilálea, an exclusive private island retreat in the heart of the Quirimbas National Park, in 2002. Quilálea offers everything from nature walks to kayaking through tranquil mangrove swamps, where fish eagles nest; from energetic deep-sea fishing to relaxing dhow cruises.

How to get there

Teresa Howard travelled with Pulse Africa (020 8995 5909; www.pulseafrica.com ). Five nights in Quiálea and three in Lugenda, from approx £3,500 per person, including international flights and transfers

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