Despite two consecutive years of floods, Mozambique's undefinable allure has managed to continue to draw the crowds. This Easter was no exception, with places such as Pomene, Ponta do Ouro, Morrungulo, Bilene and the Inhambane Peninsula packing, or should I say (in some cases), cramming them in.
I am one of those who first fell in love with Mozambique. This was when very few tourists had plucked up the courage to venture back to what was, after all, a war-ravaged country.
Wandering down deserted beaches during the South African school holidays (the only periods when, let's face it, most of us are able to get away) was, in the light of what goes on now, a privilege which I perhaps should have embraced with a greater fervour.
The management of some resorts seem to view "their" beaches, dunes and adjacent ocean as a space to exploit with scant regard to considerations of local sensibility, let alone the dictates of local legislation which strictly prohibits driving on beaches. When school's out some spots can become veritable theme parks catering to every whim of adults who want to play in the sand with their 4X4 "toys".
Am I anti 4X4?
Yes, if they are defiling the tranquillity of a delicate stretch of beach. But if they are being used for the purpose they were designed (ie to allow access to otherwise inaccessible places), then I must be one of the biggest fans of off-road vehicles.
Which is why the last holidays found my friends and I in a Landrover Defender 130 (that's the double-cab bakkie which I call 4x4's answer to the stretch-limo), visiting some of southern Mozambique's least-travelled places.
Now I know that, for someone who gets possessive when the beach has more than two gulls on it, Easter in Mozambique south of the Rio Save is a big no-no and so I decided to go to spots where I knew visitors would be far and few between.
Of course my wife would say: "So no one goes there, I wonder why?" and her answer would be "because it's a bandit- and fever-ridden reeking swamp of a hell-hole".
I know that the real reason is that most of us actually don't like being all by ourselves or that there will be no flush toilets and satellite TV when we get there.
Taking all of the above into consideration, I decided that our first night could only be at the Campismo Municipal (municipal campsite) on the beachfront in the heart of Maputo where not only were we the only tourists but had dozens of showers (hot and cold) and clean toilets right at our tent side and could walk safely to delightful pubs, clubs and restaurants.
We investigated Esplanada Tara which is a restaurant/disco up the Marginal towards Costa do Sol, Gaivotta at the Clube Maritimo and had excellent espresso at Mira Doce over the road from our campsite.
From here 99 percent of travellers would have headed north on a comfortably tarred and accurately mapped road called the EN 1 (Estrada Nacional), which leads to most known points, but we rumbled aboard the ferry across the bay to Catembe, and drove south to the Main Gate (Acampamento Principal, pay your R40 entrance and R40 per day camping fee here) of the Reserva Especial dos Elefantes do Maputo, more commonly called just Reserva.
In South Africa, if there was a pristine wilderness area 50km from Johannesburg what would you expect to find during Easter?
Yes, exactly, half the population, but although the Maputo Reserve is literally within walking distance of Mozambique's biggest city, we saw no one en-route and found just a dozen folk sitting around the fire when we arrived at Ponta Dobela's Azul do Mar diving camp.
We had seen two elephant browsing peacefully in the magnificent riverine forests, and the birdlife was spectacular, but I blushingly admit that we did have to drive on the beach for 7km (and cross a swiftly flowing rivermouth in the dark) from Ponta Milibangalala to Azul do Mar, as the rising water-table has cut off road access to Ponta Dobela.
Azul do Mar is invisible from the beach (much to our consternation as I did begin to think it was simply yet another of those likely stories). Tony and Bridgette, who hail from Empangeni, have converted the old CFM (Caminhos de Ferro de Mocambique - Mozambique Railways) houses into comfortable chalets and also have a tented camp in the dunes.
Bridgette keeps guests fat and happy (she is a former caterer) while Tony takes them under the waves to reefs never before dived. You could even name one after your favourite soap star. The setting is simply idyllic and even if you are not the diving type, bring your binoculars and camera (and mosquito repellent) and I'm sure that you will return with ticks in formerly blank places on your bird list.
Though I must admit low-range, diff-lock and the Landy's excellent clearance were comforting features in some places, driving out of the reserve we again wondered why the visitor's book at the gate revealed we were the only folk to pass that way for days.
Getting back through Maputo took longer than expected as a new feature, namely traffic jams, has crept in and we again arrived at our destination (Pensao Pachica in Inhambane) after dark. Supper at Jamu's place next to the caias (jetty) and a few beers revived our spirits and it was refreshing to wake up to fishermen rigging their dhows.
Pachica did have four other guests, two couples from England backpacking their way through Africa, and we found quite a few more international travellers chilling at Bamboozi Backpackers near Tofo, 35km from Inhambane. It must have one of the nicest pub/restaurants on the East African coast.
At Mapinhane, 195km north of Maxixe (a town on the main road across the bay from Inhambane), we turned west inland towards Mozambique's vast, uncharted interior and the remote Parque Nacional de Zinave where there are few drivable tracks, no fuel, phones, or any other facility whatsoever. So, if you decide to follow in our spoor, be sure your 4X4 is up to it and bring along everything.
Mapinhane to Mabote was fair but deeply rutted and slow going due to being used by heavy logging trucks. Then the road became a sandy track with the alarming habit of splitting.
We got lost, camped in the dark and found someone to ask the way the next morning. After being closed for 20 years, Zinave has only very recently been reopened to the public (no entrance or camping fee yet). This was evident by the blank responses we got from locals when we asked for the track to Zinave, a place none were familiar with and so we consulted the 1:250 000 map and asked for Mucuvane, the nearest town to the park.
The forests and vleis of Zinave are beautiful and untouched, but the wildlife has been poached to the verge of extinction and we spotted only a handful of impala and many birds of prey. Last year's floods destroyed the original rest camp and the new HQ is basic without running water. We braved the Save's crocodiles and washed in the waters of the river.
It again struck us how friendly everybody was and even when we got the Landy well and truly stuck in the riverbed (at a precarious angle - a shorter vehicle may well have toppled), everyone found a spade or a machete and helped dig us out.
By now we were well deserved of a break from mud, tsetse flies, mozzies and dust, so pitched tents at Hotel Seta. Situated under spreading mahogany trees, right on the beach at Inhassoro, we enjoyed the showers and flush toilets and a delicious meal in the restaurant. Seta was populated mainly by Zimbabweans but, by now, Easter was over and the crowds had departed.
If you do visit Inhassoro, take a walk down the main road to the Pink Bar and enquire about three fellows called "Hungry", "Thirsty" and "Vomit".
With over a week left of our trip, Inhassoro was our last stop on the coast before motoring on the lonely pot-holed road north of the Save Bridge to Inchope on the Beira-Zimbabwe road. Here we crossed the Pungue river to Parque Nacional de Gorongosa, got told it was not yet open (it usually closes during the October 30 to May 1 rainy season), carried on to Gorongosa (the town, not the park). There we had a beer at the Pousada and discussed whether to try and make it to the Grinaker Site Camp. (Grinaker are building the new Gorongosa to Caia road 76km further on.
At the camp engineers explained that this was the third attempt in 40 years to build the road but assured us we could get through although rivers were still flowing strongly and one had been temporarily bridged by dumping a cargo container in the channel.
We made Caia quite early the following day, all thanks to the "new" road, due for completion early next year. While there there were many people in refugee camps, we certainly did not find the atmosphere of disaster and despair painted by the media during this year's Zambezi floods.
Caia will never be a tourist Mecca and owes its existence to its proximity to the strategic vehicle ferry which can ferry 50 tons across to Chimuara on the north bank. From there, overlanders can now carry on right up into Tanzania, courtesy of the new ferry at the mouth of the Rovuma river.
We took a boat up the mighty Zambezi to Mutarara to see what I think should rate as one of the Africa's most remarkable feats of engineering - the 3,7km long Dona Anna Rail bridge (now converted for cars) which links Sena to Mutarara.
We spent our final night in Mozambique at Casa Msika near Manica which is really looking quite stunning after all the summer rains. We filled up our tank, plus two jerry cans, at the border before crossing into Zimbabwe which has run out of fuel.
Judging by the boarded-up shops and sombre expressions on the faces of the locals, it is running pretty low on hope too. Just two years ago, crossing from Mozambique into Zimbabwe was like going from the Third to the First World, now suddenly it is the opposite.
Final note? Don't try this sort of trip unless very you're used to off-road driving and happy to get your paintwork scratched. If you can do it in a Landrover 130, you will find that the longer wheel-base really evens out those bumps, of which there are many.
CONTACTS:
Campismo de Maputo: tel. (011) 49 2706, fax (011) 30 5247, e-mail: [email protected]
Azul do Mar: tel. 082 777-0739 or (035) 772-7506, e-mail: [email protected]
Pensao Pachica: tel. (0923) 20565, or (011) 622-2242, e-mail: [email protected]
Bamboozi Backpackers: e-mail: [email protected]
Seta Camp, Inhassoro: tel. (0926) 34-88-4190, e-mail: [email protected]
Casa Msika: phone (09258) 5 12-2675, fax: (09528) 2-2701; or phone (09258) 332-2796, fax (09258) 32-4589.
VISAS:
Ever a bugbear when it comes to Mozambique, avoid the queues and mindless bureaucracy by contacting VIP Visas, phone (011) 786-9714, cell 082-973- 0454.
Take note. We reported a few weeks ago that not only could South Africans driving into Mozambique get their visas at the border (this situation has existed for a while), but they could also get their visas on arrival at Mavalane Airport in Maputo.
This information came to us in a notification from David Ankers, general manager of the Polana Hotel in Maputo, who said he had just received official notification from Mozambique's Ministry of Tourism.
According to Ankers, the ministry stated that visas for leisure travellers to Mozambique are now obtainable at border posts and at Mavalane Airport. The visas are valid for a single-entry, 30-day stay and can be extended to 60 days. They cost US$20 (about R160). At border posts where there are no Mozambican embassies or consulates, South Africans will pay a 25 percent surcharge.
However, although the ministry has sent this new ruling to hotels and tour operators in Mozambique, they have neglected to tell their own embassy and consulates about it.
If you fly with Lam (Mozambique's national airline), you will have no problems. They are aware of the new ruling that their passengers with foreign passports can purchase a visa on arrival at Mavalane. But, if you fly with SAA, they will not allow you onto the flight unless you have a visa in your passport.
Pedro Alves of SAA's Passenger Services International at Johannesburg International, said that this was not up to the airline, but up to the emigration officials at Johannesburg International.
He said as far as SAA was concerned, if South African passport-holders travelling to Mozambique were in possession of a letter saying they had business or were going on holiday in Mozambique, they would be allowed to board the plane and then purchase their visas on arrival at Mavalane. But they HAD to have a letter.
He said it was the South African emigration officials who demanded this letter. I pointed out to him that this sounded illogical as South African passport holders travelling to Mozambique with Lam did NOT have to have a letter.
Neither the consuls in Johannesburg nor Cape Town (Pascal Beula) had heard anything of the new ruling.
Augusto Pinto, attaché general at the embassy, said he knew nothing about this new visa development.
We recommend that if you are flying to Mozambique, at this stage, check carefully with the carrier.
Alternatively, to be safe, get your visa before you travel.