Crossing the border into Mozambique, we had steeled ourselves for the long drive through Maputo. Our last trip through Mozambique’s capital had been enough for us to know we wanted to push through. As it turned out, we had no problems and made it across the Limpopo river in good time. We made it to Sunset Beach Lodge, one of the highlights of our previous trip through Mozambique, in time to set up in the daylight and enjoy a sundowner on their deck. Set on top of the dunes, which are covered in shrubbery that reminds us of the Oregon coast, the sheltered camp is low on mosquitos. We planned on staying a few days to just enjoy the beach. It was nice to kick back and enjoy the sun, the pool, and the tropical atmosphere. On our last day, as we sat on the deck, someone stole our bag of charcoal, firewood, kindling splitter, and saw. They didn’t get anything valuable, but it was annoying to have lost all our fire making supplies.
On our way north, we heard from Roger and Jenni, whose house we had stayed at in Johannesburg. They were on their way south and wanted to know if we might meet them in Ilha de Moçambique. We were planning on heading that way, and this helped us set a timeline. We wanted a few days at our favorite camp in Mozambique, then a few days to get through the bad roads in the north of Mozambique and Ilha de Moçambique. Our timeline worked for them, so we set off for Inhassoro. Here, the camp at Goody Villas is paradise. Flat green grass studded with palms and trees, we camped right on the beach. As we pulled into camp, only one other vehicle was in camp, right where we had parked last time. We set up close to the beach, and close, but not too close, to them. Our neighbors were a couple from Holland in their big Mercedes Benz truck-turned motor home. I had to get a closer look when he opened a door at the back of the truck and I saw a motorcycle inside! He said they keep it for emergencies when the truck gets stuck, and for running to town or the market. He was getting it out to run it and repair some damage to it‘s tie downs. He had a system to get it out involving a hand winch and making a ramp of sand ladders. It took about an hour to get out the motorcycle and have it ready to ride. He made a couple of trips to town on it over the next couple of days. We enjoyed meeting them, and spending some time visiting with them, though it shames us that we cannot remember their names.
While in Inhassoro, we were able to make use of a truck shop to change the oil on the Jeep. They had two sets of concrete ramps we could use as a pit, and were able to order in an oil filter for us. The ramps made quick work of the oil change, but were an adventure to drive up, and back down! With our chores done, it was time to head towards Ilha De Moçambique and our friends. We had been warned about the road north of Inhassoro, and had driven some of it. The first 45 miles, to the Save River, was terrible, the worst road we have ever driven. Since our last trip through, they must have repaired some of it, as it was nowhere near as bad as we remembered it. The next 150 miles were pretty good, with only the occasional pothole to dodge. Once we crossed the N6 though, the collection of craters called the N1 was even worse that the section to the south. For 200 miles to the Zambezi river, the road, if you can call it that, was a collection of potholes unlike any we’ve yet seen. Some were so big that the Jeep AND trailer together fit entirely inside the pothole. Others are so deep they still had water from the last rain in their bottoms.
The first night, we made it from Inhassoro to a camp just outside Gorongose Park. The park, closed now for the rainy season, has been the home to political rebels. The situation had been so bad that up until 8 or 10 months ago, travel through the very road we were on required a military convoy. Now though, everyone we met was friendly and glad to see foreign travelers. However, just outside the park is a camp that was still open. It seemed like a perfect stopover, and we pulled into camp just before dark. Everything seemed nice, the camp attendant set to work sweeping out the kitchen area for us as we looked for a place to camp. Jen was outside the Jeep, guiding me into a spot, and I noticed her jumping and dancing around. “Ants,” she said! “and they bite!” We looked over the whole campsite and they were everywhere. Insects seem to love Jen, and this was no exception. Whether she was walking or standing still, they were after her and biting! After having a bit of a come apart, and bringing herself back together, Jen was able to find a place across the campground that was level-ish and ant free-ish. The next day, we made it 180 miles to the Zambezi river. That took 10 hours of dodging the worst of the potholes. In all fairness, we did spend an hour and a half on a shortcut that didn’t work out due to high water at a river crossing and another half hour on a flat tire. After crossing the Zambezi at dusk, we set up camp and had crocodile for dinner before falling asleep early.
As long as the bad stretch of road had been, we had twice as far to go. Thankfully, once we crossed the Zambezi, the road improved dramatically. We were able to cover the 425 miles to Nampula in just over 9 hours. The next day was a short 3 hours to Ilha de Moçambique. On the island itself, no camping is allowed, but Roger and Jenni had rented a house with parking enough to fit the Jeep and trailer. Access to the island is a two mile long, single lane causeway. The guard at the bridge was concerned that we wouldn’t fit into the pull-outs to allow traffic past. He thought a cool drink of water may help him see that we could. I gave him a 5 liter bottle, the only one we could spare, then he asked for me to buy food for all the guards. I said I couldn’t do that, and he allowed us across anyway. It was interesting, to say the least, to pull across the narrow bridge, then through the narrow streets of the island. We arrived at the house, and hoped we wouldn’t have to pull down the narrow alley to get parking. Luckily, Roger heard the Jeep and came out to guide us around the other end of the block where we could park easily.
No one knew how old the house was, it was built into every other house on the block, in the Arab style. Arabic traders have been up and down the east coast of Africa for centuries and imported a lot of their culture. This was evident on Ilha, with mosques, Arabic architecture, and the little sailboats called dhows. We got settled in and took a short tour of Stone Town, on the north end of the island, that ended with an early dinner at a beachside restaurant. Roger and Jenni organized a day trip out to some nearby islands on one of the dhows. It was fun to see the small boat with a simple sail setup effortlessly cruise out to the islands. We enjoyed lunch on a spit of beach then headed back towards town. A small storm came through, forcing us to take shelter in a resort closed for the season on our way into town. It was fun to get out and see the world from a boat, even if I did get a little seasick.
Our time on Ilha de Mozambique came to and end and it was time to head south with Roger and Jenni. They were headed home to Johannesburg, and we would get to a camp on the coast at Quelimane before parting ways and heading to Malawi. We were able to spend a night in a catholic mission along the way, getting out of a crazy strong rainstorm. The mission is used to hosting travelers, and even served dinner and breakfast. After another couple of nights in Quelimane, we said our goodbyes to Roger and Jenni as they braved the potholes gauntlet on their way home. We got up early and headed to Malawi.
Mozambique is definitely different than the other countries we’ve visited. Part of that is that everyone speaks Portuguese. No local languages are spoken, or spoken often, in Mozambique. I was able to get by with the Spanish I know, but only barely. From what we saw of the interior, it doesn’t hold much interest for travelers. At many police stops, we were asked for aomething to drink, or money to buy something to drink. We never had anything, except for the bridge keeper at Ilha de Moçambique though. What few national parks they have are sparsely populated by animals, at best. However, everywhere we went, people smiled and waved. Nearly everyone was quick to wish us “Bom Dia!” (“Good Day” in Portuguese) and smiles at our attempts to answer in Portuguese. Mozambique is the first country we saw young couple holding hands as they walked down the road, obviously courting. It is also the first place we have seen fathers with a baby strapped to their back and full families walking along the roads. It was fun to see dads push their kids on a bike full of bags and packages. They also did the funniest dances as they tried to sell things along the road. The peanut salesmen were the funniest, and most scary, dancing in the road and only jumping onto the shoulder at the last minute. That said, the mountains of Malawi were a welcome sight, and the prominent use of English was a blessing to our ears. Mozambique was nice enough, but our time was through and we are glad to move on to Malawai, the next country on our way north.
Mozambique by the Numbers (for both trips through)
Miles Driven: 3750
Days in Mozambique : 40
Nights spent not in trailer: 6
Flat Tires: 1
Dollars lost to shady money changers: $20
