MOZAMBIQUE

Raging Storms and Eerie Quietness

I arrived back to South Africa following a few weeks break in Cornwall over Christmas and New Year. Whilst in the UK I picked up and tested my replacement navigational equipment, got a new passport, got the problematic 6 month Ethiopia visa from the embassy in London and found a replacement travelling companion as Sam had decided half of Africa was enough. My new travelling companion is John Higgins from Perranporth, Cornwall, and he is an experienced global traveller whom I have known for many years.

I arranged to stay for a few days in Nelspruit with my friends John and Karen Barker. I had a few things to get done on Proper Job before John’s arrival a few days later from the UK. When I got to Nelspruit we went to pick up Proper Job, only to find that the engine would not turn over. Not a good start and I had it towed to 4x4 MegaWorld where the guys detected a problem with the starter motor. A day later after a refurbish it started first time. Over the next couple of days I re-organised everything in Proper Job back to its original place and bought vehicle insurance for Mozambique and the COMESA for eastern Africa from the AA in Nelspruit. This insurance would cover me all the way to Egypt. During the next day or so I noticed that the auxiliary battery was not holding its charge so had it tested and then replaced. Nelspruit is a great place to prepare for overland travel as it is geared up for 4x4 vehicles and the outdoors.

John arrived on the Saturday and I decided that a couple of days in the Kruger Park to give him some practice driving and getting used to all the equipment on Proper Job. The Kruger Park was much hotter than in October and the rivers were swollen to levels not seen since 2000. We saw quite a bit of game around Pretoriuskop and Lower Sabie camps where we enjoyed Kudu fillets and tasty boerevors in the evenings. The temperature was very hot and humid and without the tent fan it would have been impossible to sleep. The last time I had needed the tent fan was in the jungle in Gabon. Whilst in the Kruger we noticed a problem with the refrigerator so decided to head back to Nelspruit to get it fixed before heading into Mozambique. As a general rule get everything that needs done in South Africa before heading into neighbourng countries.

Arriving in Nelspruit we drove to our friends at 4x4 MegaWorld, where we found a break in one of the cooling vents. It could be repaired but I didn’t want to take the risk of it failing later on so decided to put a new Engel fridge in. Later that afternoon we said our farewells to John and Karen, who have been most kind in putting me up for a few days. I really enjoyed my few days with them and hope we meet up again in the not too distant future.

We drove back towards the border and decided to stay the final night in South Africa at the Crocodile Bridge camp in the Kruger Park, which is fairly close to the Mozambique border. We entered at the Melane gate and drove along the river where we say lots of game and had some close encounters with some elephants. When we got back onto the tar road there were a pride of lions lazing on the road. We set up camp and enjoyed our final night in easy South Africa. I know I would miss the ease of travelling and camping in South Africa and knew what was lying ahead. However, it would be good to get on the road again and explore the east coast of Africa.

The following morning we drove the 20km to the border and crossed with ease. This border is hectic at certain times but we were lucky with our timing and there was hardly another vehicle in sight. We filled up with fuel on the South African side and swapped our remaining Rands for Meticals. We drove about 100km along the main route towards the capital city of Maputo and the highway was excellent. We took the ring road around Maputo as we were heading up the coast to Xai Xai, which lay about 200km north of Maputo. I had heard stories from other travellers of the hassles from the Mozambique police, but we did not encounter any. We drove through many police checks along the way and they showed no interest. Maybe they had been told to leave the tourist aloe as it brings a lot of money into the country. Actually, we were pulled over once when one noticed John was not wearing his seat belt. After a quick chat and a ‘small fine’ we were on our way. Further along the ring road we hit some bad traffic caused by construction road works, but eventually we hit the coastal road and reached our destination in good time. As we were driving along it hit me how quiet Mozambique is. By quiet I mean very few people, very few birds and very few animals. Most of the people live in the major cities of which there are two; Maputo and Beira.

We reached the Xai Xai Beach Camp and set up camp for the night. Later that afternoon we went for a swim in the warm Indian ocean. There is not a lot to do in Xai Xai but it is a good stopping point for the trip 300km further north to the charming town of Inhambane and the tourist village of Tofu. There are a lot of mosquitoes during the rainy season and that evening, after forgetting to properly close the tent flaps, I paid the price.

The following morning we packed up and headed northwards towards Inhambane and the tourist village of Tofu, where we planned to stay a couple of days and gather some info from other travellers about northern Mozambique. The drive took us through a sparsely populated green bushy landscape and the coastline and azure and turquoise ocean is quite stunning. I can understand why this country is so popular with South Africans. It won’t be long until the European tourist market catches on to this beautiful country of friendly people and hard-to-beat sea food, scuba diving and fishing. When we arrived at the much written about Tofu we were immediately disappointed. The camp site was poor and so we decided to drive to Barra which lies a few kilometres away. There also didn’t appear to be much going on in Barra, but we met a Kiwi driving along who told us he had got a very good deal at the South African run Palm Grove Resort. We checked it out and decided to stay for a night as it was quite late and R100 (£10) per person seemed very reasonable for a self contained chalet on the beach front. That evening we ate in the restaurant and I had the seafood platter (prawns, calamari and fish) whilst John had the chicken. Later that morning I felt pretty rotten and awoke the following day feeling quite unwell and unable to eat breakfast at the restaurant. Later that day John also went down with what we now suspected was food poisoning. The nights were unbearably hot and sticky and even with the roof fan full on it must have been in the high 30’s at 2am. It was way too hot to sleep. Besides this there were large numbers of mosquitoes which had an uncanny knack of finding their way through the mosquito nets. The following afternoon we drove the 10km into the neat town of Inhambane and surprisingly found that the Millenium BIM bank ATM accepted most cards, including Mastercard and Maestro. I purchased a Vodacom SIM card for my dongle and after some time setting it up with the helpful assistant I got hooked up to the internet within Mozambique. We later drove out to Coconut Bay which lay 25km along dirt roads to check out the much recommended campsite. Indeed it is a very nice place, isolated and set next to a stunning beach. Two weeks previously there were 300 campers here, but now in the off season there were only two. We later returned to Barra and went for a swim in the warm sea. The beach is extremely attractive and we were told they had 3,000 people (mainly South Africans) partying on the beach at New Years. We had an early night and, whilst I had a relatively good rest, even though been bitten again by a swarm of mossies, John did not fare so well. Luckily he has a great sense of humour so made the most of it. The following day we decided recovering in the heat and humidity of Barra was not working so we decided to move northwards. Our intended destination was the popular destination of Vilankulo which lay about 300km northwards. The drive was pleasant and the road again, was almost deserted of traffic.

We reached the laid back Vilankulo by 3pm intending to check out a few places to stay. We firstly went to the Baobab Beach Camp and immediately liked this funky place set right on the ocean. The camp reminded me of the Zebrabar in Senegal, the Green Turtle and Maranatha camps in Ghana, the Ngepi camp in the Caprivi, Namibia, and Bucaneers Backpackers in South Africa. We opted for a sea front cabin which cost less than £15 each per night. There was a healthy sea breeze blowing and we were confident that we would get the sleep we needed to recover from the food poisoning and heat of Barra. Later that evening we headed to the bar area and met a few travellers, including a Brit called Eddie who had travelled from North Africa on a motor bike. Eddie gave us some good info on the roads and places to stay and I was delighted to hear that the rumours of a ferry boat to Europe from Alexandria in Egypt were actually true. Even better, the ferry docks at Venice, and we may be there at the same time as the Perranporth Surf Club boat team.

That evening I enjoyed more delicious sea food, although John was still too sick to eat. We still had a fun evening with a cooling sea breeze and no mossie bites. Baobab Beach Camp is a great place to meet travellers and even though the rest of Vilanculo seemed devoid of travellers, there were a steady stream coming through the camp. The camp also arranges boat trips and diving, although the diving conditions when we were there had only 2 to 3 metres of visibility on the reefs. That afternoon we took a drive through the town and picked up some delicious mangos and pineapple. We had our first taste of petty crime when a young boy deftly took our maps from the passenger’s door pocket as John was getting back into Proper Job. A few minutes later as we were driving back along the same road they ran out holding the maps. We had not realised they had been taken at that point. Anyway, they made some claims that we had dropped them so we paid a few coins and got them back. Later that day we went for a swim and we both agreed that we had never been in such warm seas anywhere in the world. I can see why Vilanculo is so popular and we enjoyed the laid back atmosphere and cooling sea breeze. We were told that a large oil discovery had been made off the coast of Vilanculo so I guess that this place will undergo a major change in the coming years. Hopefully it won’t lose its charm. Reluctantly it was again time to move on to our next destination, the Gorongoza National Park which lies 400 km north.
The drive to Gorongoza was along a mainly deserted highway through a luxuriant landscape. We drove through a couple of heavy storms which disappeared as quickly as they came. Nearing Gorongoza the landscape changed to a hilly vista, some looking remarkably volcanic in shape. The drive took us longer than expected and when we arrived at the Gorongoza turn off the sign said the park road was closed. The storm clouds were gathering again and I was keen to get the camp set up before the down pour. Lightning and thunder were rumbling over the national park and we drove the last 30km along a dirt road that led to the park entrance. Upon arrival we were met by a couple of guys who informed us the park was closed, and was open again in April. We were a bit miffed by this as we had not seen any reference to this in our guide books. However, upon later inspection, in a non obvious bracket the Lonely Planet showed a clock sign with May to December. They should have spelt it out clearly in the text.

By now it was approaching 5.30pm and there was no way we could retrace our steps to find other location. I chatted amiably with the park workers for a while explaining our predicament. Although they could not speak English they clearly got the gist of our problem and agreed that we could camp just inside the park gates for a small fee of course. We found a sheltered spot beneath some trees and went into overdrive to set the camp up and get dinner cooked and devoured. The lightening was so bright in the night sky that it temporary blinded you if you looked directly into it. There was steady downpour of rain and the constant rumble of thunder during the night. I guess sometime in the early morning the storm moved on and we awoke to a bright day in a multitude of bird song. We planned to move on around 10am so had a leisurely couple of hours having breakfast and chatting with the friendly park rangers that stopped by. We were told that the park was rich with wild life and that the park was closed during the rainy season because it gets flooded.

We drove back to the main road and headed in a clockwise loop around the outskirts of the park and towards the mighty Zambezi river where we planned to visit the grave of famous explorer David Livingstone’s wife, Mary Moffet Livingstone. When we arrived at the Zambezi we took a dirt track for about 60km through a landscape that had recently been in flood. The waters had now subsided and we managed to drive through the remaining sections of flooded road without any problems. It was a good opportunity for John to practice some narrow road off road bush driving.

When we arrived at the small deserted village of Chipungo we parked and walked to the grave yard. We didn’t see any people and it was a bit eerie. We also realised how much time we had taken coming down the dirt road so we had a quick cup of coffee and a sandwich on the banks of the Zambezi and then drove back to the main road and crossed the Zambezi river. At this rate we estimated we would arrive in Quelimane at around 5.30pm which is not an ideal time to arrive at your destination, especially a city destination. Once across the impressive Zambezi we noticed a sign for a camp site on the river bank which, in hindsight, we should have pulled into. However, with this type of travel you get into a mind-set and ours was to get to Quelimane. At 4pm the sky blackened as another storm raged and it was so dark it appeared it was evening. We drove out of the storm into bright sunlight and looking behind us witnessed an impressive contrast between black and blue.

After a further 150km or so we drove into Quelimane through a scenic paddy-field landscape. There are a large number of bicycles in Quelimane so the rule is drive slowly and don’t be afraid to use your horn....reminded me of Nigeria. When we arrived at our intended accommodation we were told it was full. After a further three hotels said they were full I started to get concerned as it was now approaching 6pm. One of my golden rules is don’t drive at night in Africa, especially where there are people. We finally found a place that had availability called Residencial Palmeiras and it also had a secure courtyard for vehicles. We were pleased to find the manager was very helpful and had a very good command of English. In addition he knew much about northern Mozambique and the border crossings into Malawi.

That evening we went to a local restaurant next to Hotel Chado which was recommended by the manager and we found it to be good quality and value for money. It rained non-stop during the night and I was relieved we had found accommodation before the onslaught began. We heard on the news that there was some serious flooding in southern and central Mozambique so we are keeping a close eye on the situation. It was only eleven years ago that Mozambique had a serious flood that left many people dead and became a national disaster which was reported around the globe. However, we were told that the north does not tend to suffer from flooding and our next destination is around 700km north, the Ilha Mozambique.

The following day the rain had disappeared and was replaced by hot humid conditions. We drove into the compact sleepy centre of town, had lunch and got some photocopying done for John. We filled Proper Job up with diesel and generally prepared for our 750km drive to Ilha Mozambique. We would need to leave early in the morning and the kind manager arranged an early breakfast for us so we could get away by 7am. Along the way we would keep an eye open for accommodation for the return journey as well as stop at Mocuba to make inquiries with lorry or bus drivers about the state of the 200km dirt road to the Masinga border crossing. If we could not use the Masinga crossing then we would have to drive for an extra 1200km to the major crossing via Tete on the western side of Malawi.

The road to Ilha Mozambique was very good except for a 40 km section just north of Mocuba. At around 4pm we arrived at the very narrow 3km bridge that leads over to the island. There is quite a lot of work being done on the bridge and we patiently made our way across. When we got to the island we headed for the Eldorohdinho Hotel as there is no camping on the island, We drove along narrow streets through a run down but charming town that is steeped in history. Vasco Da Gama landed here in 1497 And this was the capital of Portuguese East Africa before it was moved to the present day Maputo. The rates at the hotel were quite reasonable and it was just a few minutes walk from the historical Stone Town and the San Sebastian fort. John’s foot was playing up again so we had a quiet evening.

The following morning, after a leisurely breakfast, we walked through the narrow streets of the island and observed the fishermen bringing in their catch, repairing nets and the laid back life style that the inhabitants appear to have. The architecture is very nice and we both felt that, being a UNESCO Heritage site that it would not be very long until things changed here. Already there are cruise ships that stop by and I wonder what this place would be like in 10 years time. The people are very friendly, although the guys selling trips to the outer islands were pushier than we had previously encountered in other coastal places in Mozambique. That evening we ate at a nearby roof top restaurant and got chatting to a group of Portuguese girls that were teaching local girls in a Catholic Church school that needs extra lessons. Life on the island is very relaxing and it has a real charm to it. Unfortunately, one suspects that with development this will slowly disappear.

The following morning we drove to the bridge that leads back to the mainland. At the entrance to the bridge we were stopped by an official who issued us a bridge toll for 10,000 Meticals. That is equivalent to £200 and we suspected something was amiss. A good trick when translation is a problem is get out the calculator, which we did and the official promptly plugged in 10. I guess his toll tickets must have been the old ones before a major devaluation. We drove back along the road to the turn off to Pemba which is our next destination. We had made a few enquiries about the road to Pemba but had normally been met with “never been that far north”. Once we turned off the main road from that leads to Ilha Mozambique the road became narrower but was in pretty good condition and we met only the odd pothole. We passed through a landscape of many granite Inselbergs and people became scarcer and scarcer. This part of Mozambique is remote and parts of it are renowned for being bandit country. Surprisingly the good road remained the same all the way to Pemba and a few hours later we arrived at the Pemba Dive Camp which is located a few kilometres from town down a dirt track. The camp is owned by a South African family so is well laid out with good quality camp sites and facilities. In addition they have sea kayaks, mask & snorkels, archery and other things which are free of charge. The camp is right on a beach in a large bay which has some mangrove areas. Swimming was pleasant at high tide but at all other times at this time of the year was thick with jelly fish. There is a lot of bird life in the area and was the most I had seen on my travels through Mozambique.

We ate dinner at the camp outdoors restaurant and met up with a group of South Africans who have been working in Mozambique laying power lines for the past 10 years. During the evening as the stories went on, it became quite alarming listening to the number of staff they had lost from malaria in this part of Africa. One of their colleagues was currently in a local hospital in a critical state waiting for an aeroplane to come in and evacuate him to South Africa. A stark reminder to keep taking malaria tablets. That evening a terrific lightening storm hit and spectacularly lit up the whole bay area. The rain lasted for most of the night and the next morning the dirt road lading out of the camp was in quite a bad state. Luckily the soil around this area is quite sandy so by midday the road was in much better shape so we drove down to the peninsular and checked out Pemba. There is another good camping place in Pemba called Russels Place so we drove down and had a look. It is a chilled out place and we decided to stay here for a couple of nights here when we had finished at Pemba Dive Camp.

When we got back to camp we took the kayaks out for a paddle and with the storm still lingering the waters were quite choppy. We paddled through huge schools of jelly fish and stopped at a couple of deserted beaches along the way. During the evening we met up with the South Africans and had a fun night. They advised us of a better route to the Malawi border than we had planned so will take that one. It will mean less travel on the rough dirt roads to the eastern side of Malawi. The new route will take us through Nampula and then to Gurue, before heading along a 120km dirt road to the Masinga border crossing. The total distance is about 730km and will take us a couple of days to traverse.

The following morning I greased the prop shaft and the steering swivels and gave Proper Job a general check over. I called the Toyota garage in Lilongwe to arrange for a service and believe it has been pencilled in for 7.30am on the 8th February, which is the day that my sister Jane lands in Lilongwe. She will be with us for 6 weeks through Malawi and Tanzania and I am looking forward to some more fun times ahead. Around midday we packed up camp and drove to Russels Place where we found a perfect shady camping spot.

That afternoon we swam in the warm sea and realised the shelf was only about 200m from shore. The scuba diving here is highly rated but the waters again appeared to be quite churned up. This is probably due to the big storm we had the other night. The next couple of days we relaxed around camp. John’s foot is still causing some concerns and it has now been bad for a week. He has limited mobility and so I am hoping that the next couple of days here will allow it to improve before our long drive into Malawi.

We departed from Russels Place and drove southwards towards Nampula and then eastwards towards the Malawi border. We have around 500km to drive from Nampula to the border and the drive could take us a couple of days as we are not too sure of the conditions of the roads. Once again, we have found that in Africa one hears many conflicting opinions on the roads and best routes to take. We will see what occurs. We have had a nice time in Mozambique.

It has been a pleasant surprise to me with its lush bush, beautiful beaches, warm sea, brilliant sea food and super fruit. Above all the people are friendly and speak pretty good English.