October 19 - October 26,  2004

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Country Facts: Mozambique

Latest Updates:     

Updated Information

Distance  Today:
126km

sauteed prawns

19 October, 2004

Zavora Lodge

24°30.905’S x 35°12.005’E

Sunny, 96(F)
degrees

After breakfast with Rupert and Sophia, we left Bamboozi at about 9am. We stopped to pick up Daniella, whom we were to give a lift to Maputo, but she apparently found another ride tomorrow. We stopped to buy a few souvenirs along with some fresh prawns, then headed for Inhambane. By the time we finished checking our email, buying gin and rum, and doing a little sightseeing, it was lunch time, so we went to a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet where we enjoyed an excellent coconut crab curry. We hit the road at about 130 and pulled into Zavora Lodge at about 330. It’s kind of a strange place, with old colonial buildings crumbling into the sea. We went for a walk on the beach and then sautéed some of the prawns we bought this morning and made a salad for dinner. We even tried to make carpedinas with Paradise rum, limes, and sugar, but we either didn’t have the right recipe, or you have to spend more than $2.50 on a bottle of rum.

Sophia, Rupert, Jen, and Witt

the "New Mosque" in Inhambane

Updated Information

Distance  Today:
95km

 sauteed prawns

20 October, 2004

Marracuene Lodge

 25°46.314’S x 32°41.123’E

Sunny, 95(F) Degrees

We left Zavora this morning at about 9am, stopping to visit a lighthouse on our way out. The lighthouse was built in 1907 and has been converted to an automatic radio beacon, but there is still a family living (or maybe just squatting) at the house. They were very friendly and showed us around. The lighthouse keeper’s residence is disused and locked, but we could see old furniture through the windows. The road south was fairly good, although interrupted at times by road construction. We tried to drive out to the beach for lunch, but the only access road we could find was through a lodge, and they wanted us to eat in their restaurant. After lunch I got my first speeding ticket of the trip. It was all legit; they even had a radar gun, and so I coughed up the $50 fine. The rest of the day was uneventful and we decided to stop at around 430 rather than arrive in Maputo after dark.

The lighthouse at Zavora

Updated Information

Distance  Today:
60km

Sauteed prawns, again

Maputo, Mozambique

21 October, 2004

Fatima's backpackers

 Not Recorded

Sunny, 93(F)
degrees

The drive into Maputo took only an hour this morning. The city is large, but with broad streets and cool colonial architecture in portugese style. I got pulled over by the police again, this time for an illegal right turn. The officer said I could pay the million Metacais fine and receive a receipt, or pay the “reduced fine” of 500,000 mets but no receipt. I paid the bribe and we were on our way. After checking out a couple of places to stay, we ended out at Fatima’s backpackers where they let us sleep in our tent in the car park. In the afternoon we took advantage of the free internet and air conditioning at the American Cultural Center. After cooking the last of our prawns, we went to Bar Afrika for some drinks and live music.

Decaying colonial building in Maputo

Updated Information

Distance  Today:
0km

 Restaurant Casa del Sol

22 October, 2004

Fatima's backpackers

 Not Recorded

Cloudy, 87(F) Degrees

We spent the morning on an enjoyable sightseeing tour on foot of downtown Maputo. Many of the streets in the city are named for famous communists (Vladimir Lenin, Kim Il Sung, Mao Tse Tung), a reflection of Mozambiques post-independence alliance with the Soviets. In the evening we had a truly multicultural experience watching a German film set in Holland subtitled in English at the French-Mozambiquan cultural center. After the movie we took a taxi to Casa del Sol, a long-standing (since 1938) Maputo tradition, where we enjoyed some excellent seafood.

Updated Information

Distance  Today:
140km

leftover prawn curry

23 October, 2004

Crocodile bridge camp

 25°21.464’S x 31°53.620’E

Cloudy, 84(F) Degrees

We left Maputo for South Africa at about noon, after walking downtown to peruse the Saturday morning art market. The toll road to the SA border was the best we’ve seen in Mozambique. We were able to cross into SA without using our carnet, which means we don’t have to worry about it’s December first expiration. After buying groceries in Komatispoort, we entered the park at Crocodile Bridge gate. We purchased a “wildcard” for $230 which gives us admission to all of SA’s national parks for a year. The card should pay for itself in about six days of use. We went for a short game drive in the evening and were rewarded with a leopard lounging in a tree.

Bush Big

Updated Information

Distance  Today:
105km

pasta with boerewors

24 October, 2004

Lower Sabie camp

 26°07.218’S x 31°54.976’E

Partly Cloudy, 85(F) Degrees

Kruger is very different from other parks we’ve visited in Botswana, Zambia, and Malawi. There are paved roads and people driving around in BMWs. The “camps” have rondavels, luxury tents, Laundromats, grocery stores, etc. There are lots of South African (and many other nationalities) tourists and it reminds me of Estes Park in the summer. We miss the bush! We don’t even have to boil our own water for tea in the morning, as there is a boiling water dispenser in the camp kitchen! We did a morning game drive on our way to our next campground, where we checked in and had a nap. On an evening drive, we saw two more leopard as well as a lion.

Updated Information

Distance  Today:
166km

braai'd t-bone with baked potatoes

25 October, 2004

Satara camp

 24°23.672’S x 31°46.573’E

Odometer: 40698km

Rain early, then sunny, 96(F) Degrees

It was raining when we left camp this morning, and we didn’t see much in the way of game. When we stopped for breakfast at a picnic area (complete with curio shop), we noticed a low tire and changed it. The second spare on the bonnet has mysteriously gone flat of it’s own accord, so we need to find a place to repair at least one of them. We took advantage of the cloud cover to get in a nap after lunch. The sun came out in the afternoon, and the air was hot. We saw a female hyena very close to the road with two small cubs.

Updated Information

Distance  Today:
138km

cafeteria curry

26 October, 2004

Letaba camp

 23°51.314’S x 31°34.698’E

Odometer: 40863km

Sunny & Hot    104(F) Degrees

The skies were clear this morning, and it quickly got very hot. Our morning drive wasn’t too productive, and we spent some time after lunch in the TV lounge at Olifant’s camp enjoying the air conditioning and writing post cards. We tried to book a mountain bike trip, but they are only offered at Olifants, and we can’t camp there, so no mountain biking for us. In the afternoon we headed for Letaba Camp where Witt was able to have a tire repaired and Jen did some laundry. We met an Australian couple with a short Land Rover series III who have been coming to Africa every year to drive it around for six years. Clouds built up in the afternoon and provided a welcome break from the heat. We had dinner at the camp restaurant and watched a spectacular lightning show from the verandah of the restaurant. We also went on a night drive, but apparently the rain and thunder had driven all the animals under cover, for we didn’t see much aside from a couple of turtles.

On to October 27