We were very excited to get to Mozambique - we expected endless beaches, sun, fun and nothing much to do. After exploring the eastern part of South Africa and the two small kingdoms of Lesotho and Eswatini, we were ready to slow our travels down again and just relax at a nice spot. We therefore didn’t make too many plans for Mozambique, we wanted to pick a few campsites where we could chill for some days, without packing up and driving further every other day. We were still traveling together with Barbara and Urs for the first bit, before they would continue further north, heading towards Malawi, while Tom and I wanted to exit again to Zimbabwe eventually, the last country in Southern Africa we hadn’t visited yet.
The border crossing took time but was relatively easy. We had a booking confirmation and invitation letter from a lodge in Mozambique ready and printed out. The immigration officer called us to his office one by one and we received our visa against a payment of 50 USD per person. There was another Swiss couple (what are the odds?) crossing the border at the same time than us, who went through the full process of applaying for an e-visa beforehand - it turned out that this wasn’t any faster at all and even more expensive, the online fees for the visa were 100 USD per person, so we were glad, we went for the visa on arrival :)
We drove to the Gala Gala Eco Resort in Ponta do Ouro just after the border, our planned first stop, since it was the owners who had sent us the invitation letter and booking confirmation to get the visa. Unfortunately, when we arrived, they apparently had forgotten that we were about to arrvie and there was only one small campsite available, which wasn’t too nice. We therefore decided to continue without feeling bad for not staying. We quickly stopped in town to get sim cards and a snack, before we continued on the sandy road along the beach to Malongane Beach Resort. This was a great decision, the campsite was sheltered beneath some nice trees and just a stone throw away from the beach. Also the small village was cute and offered two simple but great restaurants, where we enjoyed dinner and tried the first local beer as well as an “R&R”, a local cocktail with local rum and a strawberry-flavored add-on; it’s a terribly sweet drink we definitely won’t order it again, lol. The local beer on the other hand, was amazing, very light and refreshing! Our neighbors at the campsite were the other two Swiss who we met at the border, so we had a small Swiss gathering at the Mozambiquean beach :)
After two nights, we continued through the Maputo National Park to Santa Maria. We weren’t quite sure if we wanted to drive up all the way or stay in one of the campsites within the national park but it turned out that this decision was unnecessary. Only a few kilometers into the national park, we came to a river crossing, where another car was terribly stuck in the mud. A second car was also there, already trying to pull him out, but without a chance. Of course, we stopped to help; we first lent them one of our ropes to attach to the car, after their rope was torn apart in the first tries, but the car did not have enough power to pull the other one out. We, therefore quickly decided to try it with our winch - and were more successful! We got the car out of the mud and the drivers were beyond happy and thankful. They told us that they were on their way to Bemugis’ Lodge in Santa Maria (one of the places we had in mind as well) and told us we had to come with them and that they would invite us for dinner. We agreed and followed them all the way up, which easily was another 3 hours drive on very sandy roads, until we reached our destination. But the very long drive payed off! Bemugis was a little jewel! Luxurious campsites with private ablutions, a nice swimmingpool and chill out area, a lekker restaurant and bar and even an additional special sunset bar at the beach. To our suprise, it turned out that Bertus (the guy who got stuck in the mud) was the brother of the owner of Bemugi’s. So we were not only invited to a small little braai on a campsite but to a huge braai at the restaurant of the Lodge, we were definitely spoiled and in food heaven!
We spent a lovely time at the beach and pool and also joined Bertus and his people on a boat trip to Inhaca Island, where we got to snorkle and stand-up paddle and enjoy the beautiful turquoise ocean.
After three nights, Barbara, Urs, Tom and I left this little paradise and drove all the way back to the Futi exit gate. From there, we drove north again on the main road into Maputo. Usually, we make a big circle around capitals in Africa, they’re usually not very nice and also not very safe, but especially Urs and I were curious about Maputo, after hearing and reading a few interesting facts about it, so we decided to make a stop and spend one night in the city. I checked for a basic hotel, where we could park our cars safely and found “Angel guesthouse”, where I bargained two rooms for 2200 MZN each (about 35 USD). It would have not won a beauty contest, but it was safe and clean and even had an A/C, enough for one night.
To explore the city, we wanted to go on a guided city tour, but unfortunately I couldn’t get ahold of the guy offering tours. However, we found a list of the “must sees” and decided to walk around ourselves, after asking a few people if it would be safe. In deed, we felt very safe and enjoyed our stroll through the city. We visited the fortress, where we also learned a bit about Mozambique’s history: turning into a communist state after being a Portguguese colony and then suffering in a terrible civil war, which only ended 30 years ago. Unfortunately, Mozambique still is one of the poorest and underdeveloped countries in the world and HIV/Aids as well as Malaria are still big problems here… From the fortress, we went to see the train station, which is ranked the third most beautiful train station in the world! We also stopped at the central market and went to see the independence square and the cathedral. From there, we took a taxi to a restaurant at the waterfront, where we enjoyed an amazing Baracuda, sea food and Sangrias.
The next day we left Maputo again after stopping at a big mall to stock up on groceries and drinks. We wanted to continue to some loney beaches further up north along the coast. Our next destination therefore was Tofo, where Tom intended to go on some dives at a diving center a friend had recommended to us. We had to make a stop in between though, because the distances in Mozambique are quite far. Even though it looks like a short stretch on the map from Maputo to Tofo, it takes a lot of time to get from one point to another.
So we camped at Nhambavale Lodge for one night, which is located at a nice lagoon. We just arrived in time for sunset, and when we started to cook shortly after, we were disturbed by some weird spiders which were running around the floor. Apparently, they started hunting after dark. I do feel like I have lost many fears along this trip through Africa - a spider in the shower I can handle (as long as they stay in the web and don’t move too much), and even frogs (a huge fear of mine) do not have to listen to me screaming around anymore, but these spiders definitely were too much for me to handle after one ran straight over my bare foot. They were easily the size of my hand and they were very fast. When I tried to look at one more closely with my head torch on, the thing ran straight towards me (probably following the light) - however, I was out this time. I managed to sit and eat while keeping my feet off the ground (praying that these creatures do not know how to jump) and I went straight to bed after dinner, ready to leave this place the next day. Before we left, we went for a drive along the beach close to Nhambavale Lodge, where we first got stuck in the deep sand, but after deflating our tires, we got out easily and enjoyed the ride in the sand a lot.
Barbara and Urs wanted to check out a campsite on the northern beaches of Tofo, while Tom and I decided to stay at the Mozambeat backpackers. Eventhough this place is not located directly at the beach and therefore does not offer a beach campsite, they have a very nice pool area and bar/restaurant to chill. They also offer special deals together with the Peri Peri dive center, where Tom wanted to dive, so we decided to stay.
We were warmly welcomed by Ray, the owner of Mozambeat, when we arrived in Tofo. Tom went straight to the dive center to schedule some dives for the upcoming days. On the way back to the hostel, we bought some fresh fish from the local fishermen and made a little braai at the hostel. We enjoyed our time at Mozambeat a lot and ended up staying for 5 nights. Tom went on a few dives and got to see mantas and even whalesharks while I enjoyed some yoga classes at the place next door, strolls along the beach and reading some books. Furthermore, we enjoyed the company of the other guests a lot. It was quite a cool mix of people from all over the world staying at Mozambeat. We had a few spontaneous parties and after they saw Tom and me braaing the local fish on the first night, one after the other asked if they could join us for the next day. So by our last night, we were a group of ten people and bought a whole 7kg baracuda to cook on the braai; we had a blast.
Barbara and Urs enjoyed the more quiet time in the north of Tofo, and since we did not know, if we would meet them again before they would drive to Malawi and we would continue to Zimbabwe, we also made plans to have another dinner together. We met with them at Sumi, a very delicious Japanese restaurant in Tofo town and enjoyed a very nice evening together with them.