mozambique

Mozambique

Saturday 23rd August 2008:

Still having Malawian Kwacha and knowing from past experience that they were worthless outside their own country, we were keen to exchange what we had left for Mozambique's Meticals (pronounced "meticash"). At least we would then have some Mozambican money to pay for the bridge-toll, which we knew we would have to pass through when crossing over the Zambezi river along the Tete road. In no-mans land, between Malawi and Mozambique, we managed to get the "money-sharks" to give us a rate of 1Mk (Malawian) to 1.45 Mtn (Mozambican), but they did try to put in some old money with the new money, which we rejected. We took, counted and checked the money we were being given, before we handed over our money. Having both sets of money in the car and being able to check and double-check amounts individually, gives you the advantage and stops the "sharks" from performing their magical disappearing tricks. After swopping our cash we were on our way to the Mozambique border. We joined the long queue out of the Customs and Immigration building, thinking this was the line to get our passports stamped. Some other South Africans arrived and told us that if we had foreign passports we could go to the counter with no queue, and get them stamped instantly. The Immigration lady hardly glanced at our passports before stamping them. From there we went to Customs and got the carnet stamped. In no time at all, we were on our way into Mozambique, our 23rd African country.

Driving through the remote Mozambican countryside, we thought we recognised a vehicle ahead of us which looked just like "TeePee" John's old Toyota from Lilongwe. As we passed it, we realised it was him. We stopped and he pulled over too. We were introduced to his partner Elaine and found out their news on how their new home was coming on. They had left Lilongwe at 5:00am this morning and were hoping to get to Chimoio for the night, before continuing to Gorongosa National Park, where they were keen to look at starting up a holistic lodge in the park. We wished them well and said goodbye, before continuing along towards Tete.

The road from the border to the fancy Tete bridge, crossing the mighty Zambezi River, was great tar. The bridge cost us MTn20 to cross, and then once we had passed through the town of Tete, we weren't quite sure what had happened to the road from there, but it got VERY bad with lots of huge potholes. We knew that one of our front shocks was nearly on it's way out, which meant the other shock would be working even harder than normal, let alone what we were now faced with on this horrendous road!

We contemplated taking a little side road, shown on the GPS, going out to Gorongosa National Park from Comacha via Macossa, to avoid the horrendous potholes and further damage to Duzi2. Luckily, before doing this, we stopped a passing South African GP-registered bakkie, to find out about this road and were told it had been washed away in the floods last year. This was this priceless knowledge, so it was just as well we had asked. Going so far along the road, only to turn back, would've been an expensive waste of fuel and time. This driver also told us the 'potholes' would only go on for another 70km, so he recommended we rather press on. The driving was slow and painful and THEN it got dark.

We had chosen to cross the Zambezi over the Tete bridge, as we had been told the rail bridge crossing at Mutarara wasn't open to vehicles. The only other option would've been to go via Nampula and then cross by ferry at Caia, which looked longer and slower than we were prepared to be in this area. We were very glad to be nearing the end of this awful road as we approached signs indicating Chimoio was not too far off.

As it was now already dark and still being about 20 - 30km from the Chimoio junction, we decided to pull off into a farm on the right, just off the main road, to ask if we could bush camp in their garden and then press on in the daylight tomorrow morning. Having driven up a tree lined driveway to Vanduzi Farm, we asked the security for directions to Stewart, the young farm manager.

The American cyclists we'd met at Doogles in Blantyre, had told us about Stewart, the very friendly 26 year old farm manager, running this huge farm. We were so chuffed to have managed to find the farm.

The gate to the main farm-house was opened and we entered Stewart's yard. He came out to see if he could help us and, after hearing our request, was more than happy to let us stay in his garden, even inviting us to join him and friends for a braai, which they were busy fanning into flame. We popped up the tent and got some boerewors out of the fridge to contribute to the feast. We met Stewart, Shane and Pete, all ex-Zimbabweans or South Africans, now farming veggies in Mozambique. We also met Stewart's girlfriend Claudia, a beautiful Portuguese speaking Mozambican. These young guys told us about their farms and the various HUGE responsiblities they carry, also telling us a bit about veggie farming practices, about life in Mozambique, and the HUGE corruption issues they face daily with the police and government, etc. Vanduzi Farm is a vast veggie farm and produces vegetables for export overseas. Stewart's farm produces and exports baby-corn, courgettes and mange-tout which are cut, packaged and on the shelves in Tesco, in the UK, within 24hours, having also been transported by road, in refrigerated trucks, through Zimbabwe to Johannesburg International airport!!! It was wierd to be on a farm which had produced the vegetables we had regularly bought in London, now being SO far away from London and London life!

We had a lovely relaxed evening, chatting around the fire with the dogs interrupting every now and again. Suddenly Claudia and Stewart emerged from inside the house, with Claudia looking in pain and her arm strapped up and splinted with a number plate. They jumped in Stewart's car and rushed off to the nearby hospital in Chimoio, to get treatment. Claudia had stepped on a rug in the lounge, which had slipped out underneath her on the smoothly polished floor. She had fallen, snapping her wrist as she tried to break her fall. Poor girl, she was so quiet and brave that we hadn't even heard a thing from outside. After they had left we enjoyed a real feast with ribs, steak, wors and fire- crisped jacket potatoes, with Shane and Pete. These guys were so generous and really easy to get on with. After dinner, we watched a bit of the Olympics on TV and then climbed the ladder to bed. A little while later Claudia and Stewart arrived back at the farm with her arm in a cast. Hopefully we'll not have too many more of today's road while we're in Mozambique, cos Duz is sounding pretty frail too.

Sunday 24th August 2008: Vanduzi Farm (Stewart's Farm), Chimoio, Mozambique

GPS Info: S18° 51' 04.9" E33° 16' 36.7"

Miles Today: 286 Total Miles: 34 861

After a lovely sleep, we showered and were treated to a full breakfast of bacon and big boiled eggs and toast. We chatted around the diningroom table with Stewart, Claudia and Shane. Claudia's arm was in a cast, still strapped onto the numberplate, but Stewart was worried it wasn't set straight so they were planning to go into Zimbabwe to have it reset properly there. It was very encouraging to hear them say that the best medical care they can get is still only in Zimbabwe, after all the bad we've heard.

Stewart's Mom lives in Zim and it takes less than an hour for them to be in Mutare, Zimbabwe. Shane and Stewart taught us how to peel a hard boiled egg very easily with very little mess by sliding a teaspoon between the shell and the white of the hard boiled egg. We had another great time with them, learning more about veggie farming and the ways of Mozambique ..., but sadly we needed to move on, to get to Inhassoro before dark.

One story we couldn't help but chuckle at was when Stewart told us of how one of his farm indunas had said to him, "I don't help muzungu, muzungu must help me!", to which he was promptly told to "Foxtrot-Oscar" from the farm. In speaking to Stewart and Shane we were made aware of how incredibly fertile Mozambique is for farming and how easily things grow here, this made us think as we drove through vast areas of dry open wasteland. Each of the farmers talked us out of visiting Gorongosa National Park, due to the expense and lack of game. It was again great to hear this from locals and would mean we could have longer to relax on the gorgeous Mozambican coastline - Vilanculos, Inhambane and other gems we've both grown up hearing about, but have never been to see and discover...

Thankfully after joining the road from Mutare, in eastern Zimbabwe, to Chimoio and on to the Banduzi Bridge, the tar was new and excellent, so driving was straight forward.

We've also worked out that Duzi2 is most economical at around 90m/hr, so we tried to keep close to this, so as not to have to fill up with diesel in Mozambique, another country with very expensive fuel. We stopped in at the Shoprite in Chimoio to get some fresh bread and something for lunch and potentially dinner too. Being a Sunday morning, Shoprite was quiet and fairly empty. We bought some lovely fresh Portuguese bread which was hot when we bought it. We couldn't resist tasting one, which was actually quite salty.

Both of us had a Zimbabwean reality check while we were standing in the queue to pay, at Shoprite. In front of us in the queue were two older Zimbo men, who had two full trolleys of simple groceries. The first man came to pay for his goods with US dollars, which the checkout lady promptly scrutinised very closely. She rejected any notes with marks or creases. Due to the strict dollar-inspection, this man couldn't pay for all his goods as he didn't have enough money. The second man handed over his money to be checked, to pay the remainder of the bill and to find out how much he could spend, during this time the first man went off to the garage to swop his US dollars with Meticals, at the garage outside.

It's illegal for Zimbos to travel through Zim with US dollars, as they can be imprisoned on the spot, which we know from some of the people we've met, one of whom spent time inside. We were both shocked at the extent to which these poor people had to go to, just to get food!!! Both men were downing Redbulls, obviously energising themselves for their long drive back to wherever they're from in Zim. The second man paid for the first grocery bill and then started sorting through his trolley of simple goods trying to take out things he didn't need - tins of no-name brand tuna, pasta, toilet rolls etc. Our hearts were both so sore for these poor men. If we'd had more money on us we would've bought his whole trolley for him. Luckily, as he was paying for his vital essentials, the first man reappeared with all the rejected US dollars now changed into Meticals, so the entire trolley load of goods could be bought by both men.

We bought our bits and pieces and then went back to Duz. In the carpark we bumped into another Zimbo, who had stopped at Shoprite to do a quick shop for things to take back to Zim, after being in SA on business. Seeing the plight of the Zimbabweans so closely was such a wake up call for us. To have to risk driving through your own country with illegal currency and then out to a neighbouring country, just to buy food...makes you appreciate how bad the situation there really is. While we were driving out of the parking lot, we passed the two men loading their purchases under the back canopy of their bakkie. We all smiled, waved and wished them a safe trip back. Wow it's unreal how hard life is for SO many just because of one insane animal of a person! You can't help but wish the worst fate on a man like Mugabe and his cronies.

Driving from Vanduzi past Chimoio and on to Inhassoro was a very pretty drive passing many trees full of bright pink flowers, other trees and strong, bright rusty red bushes, which stood out like burning bushes against the dry brown surrounding bush scrub. We were once again struck by the nothingness and poverty we saw in Mozambique, and how primitively the local Mozambicans were living. We passed many mango trees, but sadly it was out of season so we couldn't see or buy any fruit. We did pass crazy, suicidal, pineapple and chicken sellers who stand in the middle of the road and don't move out of the way until the very last minute. Pretty risky "close encounter with death" selling technique.

We didn't buy anything from them, even though their pineapples did look like the deliciously juicy green Queen pineapples we'd bought and devoured in west Africa. We were very law-abiding on our drive and travelled at well below the speed limit on all the roads, driving very conservatively especially through the towns and villages, watching the solid white lines closely. This way we hoped to avoid any Mozambican police stops and other potential false fines, scams and bribes.

Luckily, we never saw any police activity anywhere, maybe due to it being a Sunday, but our drive did take us a lot longer than Shane and Stewart had estimated.

From crossing over the modern, quite fancy Banduzi Bridge, the familiar signs of potholes began to show every now and then, but luckily nothing like we'd driven through yesterday. It was sunny and hot on our drive to Inhassoro and it seemed to take forever to get there. We drove into the well signposted Seta Hotel (MTn200p/p/night camping) at just after sunset and enquired about the possibility of camping, costs and how safe the campsite was, being Mozambique and after all the horror stories we've heard about camping here. This is one country we will not bush camp in, firstly because it's so populated and secondly because it's not safe to, especially as you get further further south.

We walked around the camp grounds and ablutions, and were glad to see other rooftop tents and people camping. There seemed to be a lot of building work on the go, and as we only planned to spend one night here, the view didn't really bother us. We could hear the waves crashing from the sea, so we knew it was close by. We chose our spot and opened up the tent for the night. An Italian man named Marco spoke to Ross in the men's bathroom, telling him he'd had his video and digital cameras stolen on the beach that afternoon. This was a "welcome to crime filled Mozambique" once again. We were saddened to hear this as no-one deserves this to happen to them especially not such lovely tourists like Marco and his wife, Rosanna. They had advertised rewards for their return, but needed to leave Inhassoro tomorrow morning, to head back to SA before flying back to Italy.

It was quite cool and windy, so we had a quick one-pot supper and then headed up the ladder to bed, after a hot shower.

Monday 25th August 2008: Seta Hotel and Camping, Inhassoro, Mozambique

GPS Info: S21° 31' 56.3" E35° 12' 05.6"

Miles Today: 61 Total Miles: 34 922

The sunrise this morning over the sea below us was lovely. The sea was flat and calm and shimmered as the golden sunrise colours reflected off it like a mirror. The wind was still blowing, but with the campsite being high up, we weren't effected by it. Some curio sellers set out their wares for us to look at and buy. Some cleverly made wooden dhows with white cotton sails, paintings, huge shells, etc. We watched 2 South African families pack up their 4x4 overland vehicles before setting off, and chatted to Marco and Rosanna, who had came over to see Duzi2 in the daylight. They had hired a Landrover Defender 110 with a rooftop tent for 3 weeks, to do a trip through South Africa and Mozambique, going right up north. The saddest part being that they had just lost all their memory cards and photos of their holiday when their video camera and digital camera were stolen off the beach yesterday. Marco and Rosanna are such a lovely energetic couple who love Africa and return every year to explore other parts of it.

They were very interested in our trip and route and asked many questions about where we'd been and what we'd seen. They were planning on going past the police station as they drove out of town, in the last hope that their cameras would have been handed in, before they left Inhassoro for South Africa. We really hope that these will be returned for their sake too.

We had decided to go for a walk along the beach as this was our first sighting of the Mozambican coastline. We explored around the Seta Hotel which is being added to and finished off really beautifully. There were workers busy building a new wooden deck and walk way around the pool and out over the bank, overlooking the beach and sea below. This was going to make this part of the hotel and restaurant really lovely. We walked down the steps onto the soft, fine, white sand and instantly were aware of how strong the wind was. The beach was covered with scattered leaves, either from the trees above or from the seaweed and there was a strong sea smell. There were no shells along the shoreline, just lots of plant matter. Due to the rough waves, the sea wasn't the idyllic turquoise colour with white bobbing dhows. Instead it looked a green angry colour. The wind made our walk very unpleasant, so we decided to head back to Duzi2 and rather get on our way to Vilanculos, which we hoped would be more like the pictures we've seen of Mozambique.

The drive from Inhassoro to Vilanculos wasn't far and was on good tar roads. We entered Vilanculo town and spied two banks, which we needed to change over more Euros in Meticals. Barclays were offline and the staff were pathetic. They couldn't really be bothered to help us with a simple foreign exchange transaction, so we crossed over the road to the other bank who had a far better rate, charged no comission, and had very helpful and friendly staff. We then drove around Vilanculo which was hugely disappointing for us. The town looked so rundown and all of the campsites looked awfully neglected, actually looking like they were closed. Part of the main road had been washed away, so we ended up driving along a sandy rubbish filled road to get back to the centre of town. We met some guys at the fuel station who were filling up jerry cans for their boat, as they were sailing from Durban to Dar Es Salaam over 3 months. That sounded so lovely, but with the angry seas we'd seen this morning it could be really rough at the moment.

We found Baobab Beach campsite after driving along another rubbish filled, sandy track and were both at a loss for words. We were met by a guy wearing an official guide's vest, and were immediately hassled into going on a dhow trip out to Paradise Island. We decided, without even talking to each other, that we were NOT staying here no matter what!!! If it looked like this was the only place to stay, we were going to rather head straight on to Inhambane instead. Baobab Beach looked devasted and destroyed.

We could not believe this was the place everyone, whose waypoints we have been using, had stayed at - this was supposed to be THE place to stay at in Vilanculos. The campsite is in a carpark far from the beach and only has one communal loo and shower in a tiny block, "There's no hot water for campers," we were told by the receptionist.

Everything about the place looked broken and destroyed. After a brief look around, we decided to try the lodges along the southern shores of Vilanculo and if we had no joy there then to drive on to Inhambane. We were both SO disappointed with Vilanculos.

The roads around Vilanculos are thick, soft sand, so it's no wonder 4x4s are necessary for Mozambique - it's not because of the roads being so bad, but rather due to them being so sandy. We followed a road on the GPS from Vilanculos, following the coast southwards and stopped in at two beautiful resort lodges to enquire about camping.

Both lodges recommended we drive on to Blue Water Beach Resort. We weren't too happy about driving through the sandy rubbish filled road as we couldn't see what was lying in the rubbish and we couldn't face another puncture, especially if it was due to discarded rubbish and waste. We arrived at Blue Water Beach Resort and were instantly impressed by the security and the welcome we received. The owner, Johnny, greeted us warmly as did the man at the security gate. Johnny told us camping costs (R100 or MTn300p/p/night camping with no banda, or R120p/p/night camping with a banda) and then walked around to the various sites to recommend the good ones. We decided to take a lovely site with a tree providing shade and stunning views of the turquoise sea below us to the front of our site. Johnny kindly let us use the end banda for free which had a cold shower and a loo. We decided to rather try the main showers to enjoy hot water, but the loo being so close would be a bonus.

The sea showed different shades of blue, obviously with deeper and shallower parts. We could see out to sea for miles and managed to just make out some islands or sand banks in the far distance.

With the tent popped up, and after a late lunch, we met our neighbours. There was a big Dutch independent overland truck parked next to us. It was a Unimog, which is an incredibly luxurious way to travel through Africa, but must be thirsty on diesel. Hein came over to introduce himself to us and invited us to go inside their home to have a look. He was dog-sitting a gorgeous little black and white fox terrier called Obie, who was so cute, friendly and adorable. Hein's wife, Bernadette and Obie's owners, Patrick and Annemarie, were in town doing internet stuff and shopping. While we were chatting to Hein, Obie got really excited and then we heard the other truck coming along the road and into the campsite. Obie's parents were arriving and she couldn't wait.

The truck, another smaller Unimog, parked up and we were warmly greeted by three jolly Dutch people - Bernadette, Patrick and Annemarie. There was lots of chatting and exchanging of stories. Patrick, Annemarie and Obie had driven down the west coast of Africa too, over the past 16months, while Hein and Bernadette had shipped their vehicle from Holland to Port Elizabeth and had driven up from there. Both trucks had started independently, but had met each other two months previously and had been travelling together since then. They were such fun and instantly invited us to join them for a drink, but we declined to rather have a bite to eat. We hoped to get on to the beach before it got dark, especially as we were staying so close to it, but hoped to join them thereafter.

While we had all been chatting, Hein mentioned that they were keen to hire a local fishing dhow to take them over to one of the islands close by to snorkel around, if we were keen to join them. Blue Water offered speed boat full-day island trips for $65p/p/day, including snorkelling equipment and a full lunch, this was a bit steep for us on our budget, and the Dutch agreed with us on this too. They had spoken to one of the local beach-boy / fishermen on the beach earlier, who said he could take them over to the closest island for less than $65 for all of them, leaving early tomorrow morning. Hein thought he could negotiate the price down even lower if there were more of us on the boat. To go with the fisherman, everyone would need to hire their own snorkelling equipment, which he recommended they go to Archipelago Sun Resort for, a little further up the beach.Hein, Bernadette, Patrick and Annemarie were going to walk over to Archipelago Beach, to enquire about the possibility of hiring snorkelling equipment for tomorrow.

The idea of hiring a dhow together sounded lovely, but we were very sceptical about the beach-boy / fisherman and the safety and reliability of the day. After the beach-boy scams we were warned about on Lake Malawi, we were not keen to be included in the dhow trip, even though it sounded great. We decided to join the Dutch for the walk over to the next beach and enjoyed seeing all the weird rock formations and hard, pillar-like stacks that were exposed out of the sand, due to the retreating low tide. Obie loved being on the beach and ran around crazily with excitement. She madly dug a deep hole until her whole body was just about in the hole, not worrying about who she sprayed with sand in her excavation.

The beach was made up of fine white sand and lots of whole shells. It was low tide which pulled the waves far out, making the beach wide and open. It was beautiful to see the contrast between the white sand and the turquoise lapping waves. There was a cold, fairly strong onshore wind blowing, which we became very aware of once on the sand. The shallower water was a light turquoise colour, while the deeper channel was easy to see, where the sea turned dark blue. Seeing how deep some parts looked made us realise how easy it would be to dive deep so close to the shore here. We found lots of twirly shells and walked over other barnacled, sharp shells. We even found a purple-tinged pansy which was broken and a stunning cowrie which looked like it had been painted with it's delicately detailed, individual patterns.

We met a lovely lady at the Archipelago Dive School, who said the hiring of snorkeling equipment was not possible to people who weren't snorkelling on their false reef, and not even an option for people going out on fishing dhows. She very honestly reminded Annemarie of the dangers of the sea we were looking onto, which looked fairly calm from up there. She warned them to be careful and ensure there was a decent size motor on board the boat, that they each had reliable life-jackets, and decent snorkeling equipment - goggles, snorkels and fins. She also said that they may only reach one of the close islands which have been illegally, and quite extensively, fished out by the fishermen. She feared that the fishing dhow that would take them wouldn't pay the required park fees ($10p/p/day), but would rather pocket the money. The warnings sounded quite harsh, but she was only reminding all of us for our own safety and care. She highly recommended doing the full day's dhow trip, but at $65p/p/day, this wouldn't be happening with any of us six!

The Dutch couples had walked off back down the beach ahead of us, while we chatted a bit longer to Nicole at the dive school. We had decided to spend tomorrow stopping, relaxing and catching up on washing, sleeping and diary updates, as we were both flagging by the time sun set tonight. We hoped the Dutch would be happy with our decision not to join them. Walking back along the beach, we enjoyed the late afternoon's light and picking up all sorts of shells. The shells along the beach were big and whole, but were white and bleached of their colour. It was lovely to finally be on such a big open beautiful beach, and to not have to rush off from here for a change. On arriving at the beach in front of Blue Water again, we saw the fishermen offloading their fresh early evening catch. They were chatting with the Dutch, who were now telling them the basic requirements they needed to make the dhow trip in the morning a reality.

We told Hein, Bernadette, Patrick and Annemarie that we would definitely not be joining them on the dhow in the morning, and they were so relieved because then we could dog sit Obie while they were away. We were so pleased to be able to help out and were more than happy to look after cute little bouncy Obie. The wind had picked up and it got cold. We went to have hot showers to warm up and to put on long clothing to protect ourselves from further mozzie bites.

We decided to use the last of our mince to make a savoury mince, rice and veggie dish for supper, in an area sheltered from the wind. While we were eating outside in the cool, we could see Hein and Bernadette sitting around their breakfast nook watching their laptop screen - either typing up a diary, looking at photos or Skyping, if they have a compliant mobile phone. Lucky for them they had somewhere to shelter from the wind, which seemed to be picking up in intensity as it got darker. Even with the wind, the mozzies still came out in force, so after dinner we climbed up the ladder to bed fairly early, hoping the mozzies wouldn't follow us into the tent too...

Tuesday 26th August 2008: Blue Water Beach Resort, Vilanculo, Mozambique

GPS Info: S22° 03' 08.8" E35° 19' 26.3"

Miles Today: 0 Total Miles: 34 922

We were up before sunrise to be able to watch sunrise from the tent. Hein, Bernadette, Patrick and Annemarie were leaving at 7am for their dhow trip to the closest island and we were dog sitting Obie for the day. The sea was flat and calm, making a change from yesterday, and shimmered brightly as the sun rose higher. We awoke to a friendly, huge, white hen who was determined to become our new friend. She polished off the left over rice in no time at all, and then decided to spend the rest of the day around our car and our campsite. Obie was kept inside the truck until the Dutch had all left on their boat trip and we were told we could spoil her rotten. Yay! The fisherman/dhow sailor was ready and waiting on the shore and seemed to have the life jackets and snorkeling equipment for all of them, as arranged. They all climbed aboard the dhow and set off, with the sails being opened once they were a bit offshore. It looked like the perfect day for a dhow trip, with the wind not even murmuring and the sky being totally clear of clouds. We hoped they had LOTS of suncream on, otherwise they might return looking more like red lobsters than humans.

After a few minutes and once they were out of sight, we let Obie out and called her over to sit with us while we ate breakfast. She is such a cute and very affectionate dog.

We were both very glad we had the time to do our own thing in our own time for the whole day, not having to drive anywhere. We did our washing, typed some updates and enjoyed our rest day. Today was a perfect day with clear skies, no wind and not too hot. The tide was going out which made the beach really wide. Obie got restless and lost interest in all her toys and us as the day drew on. She was really missing Annemarie and Patrick, even though we fed her lots of chocolate coated dog biscuits! She was content to sleep in her truck, after we tried many times to occupy her on the beach, only to see her disappearing into the distance back up the hill to lie outside her truck. We walked down on to the beach to tan for a bit and ended up both falling fast asleep. We woke up minutes before a dhow pulled up on shore with familiar faces in it.

Ross ran back to the truck to get Obie and when she spotted everyone she went bananas and started digging a hole in the sand to Australia. The Dutch were fed up, to say it politely. They had been on the water for 4 1/2 hours and hadn't reached any of the islands. The wind had started picking up and the boat wasn't that stable. They had tried to snorkel above the sand banks, but had seen no fish at all. Thirsty, tired and sun burnt they were very glad to be on solid ground. It was a pity they had had a bad experience, but at least they got back safe and sound. NEVER trust the beach boys, especially if they can speak English!!!

We spent the rest of the day lounging around the pool, which was protected from the cold onshore wind. Blue Water's swimming pool water is the same colour as the sea. When you're in the pool and look out over the wall to sea, you feel like you're in the sea. Relaxing around the pool was such a treat and fantastic to finally have a bit of time to catch some rays and a tan.

In the early afternoon two more vehicles with rooftop tents arrived. We went over to say Hi and met Al, Debbie, Rich, Ange and Hennie. They were all on a 3 month trip from SA through Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and into Mozambique, www.cape2kili.co.za. Hennie and Ange, from Gauteng, had a red Landy 90 V8 while Al, Deb and Rich were in a Toyota Hilux doublecab called "Beast". We got on really well with them and the fun and banter started immediately. They set up camp on a nearby site and were also exhausted after consecutive, long, driving days from Dar to here. A little later in the afternoon a young couple in another bakkie arrived and set up camp just behind us. We went over to say Hi and met Cathy and Sean, from Assagay/Hillcrest, only 4 days into their 3 month trip up the east coast of Africa from SA to Cairo.

Both of us were green with envy, as they have their whole adventure still ahead of them. They were very lightly packed and had set up their ground tent for the night. Cath was relieved that we were still so positive about our trip, after being on the road for over 10 months, as they were still trying to figure out where things were and whether they had what they needed for the time ahead.

Tonight's sunset was beautiful as the sky was still cloud free and the air was still, for a change. The other camping party arrived back after a day's snorkelling out on the islands, with Johnny's speed boat. They were very impressed with what they had seen and were a touch redder than when they had set off this morning. We had decided to treat ourselves to dinner at Blue Water Beach Resort tonight, to try some local cuisine and for Heidz to have some fresh seafood.

After a shower, we headed off to the restaurant and met a big crowd of people, Zimbabweans, hanging around the bar. We sat at a table next to Al, Debbie, Rich, Hennie and Ange and placed our order - 1 fish of the day and 1 peri-peri chicken. Sadly, the Zimbo crowd grew and grew, and then they all began ordering food too. Things got a bit mixed up and time marched on. After about 1 1/2 hours of waiting, by which time the Cape Town bunch had all finished their dinner, we joined up our two tables and were just about to start playing a game of cards together when our food arrived. The food was delicious and worth the wait. We ate while they played cards, having a really good evening together.

Afterwards we all went back to the Cape Town bunch's banda to boil some water and enjoy more laughs and jokes over a hot drink, before heading off to our tents for the night.

Wednesday 27th August 2008: Blue Water Beach Resort, Vilanculo, Mozambique

GPS Info: S22° 03' 08.8" E35° 19' 26.3"

Miles Today: 0 Total Miles: 34 922

Woke to another lovely day with the sun glistening off the calm sea below. Annemarie, Patrick and Obie were leaving today, to head on up towards Malawi and further north.

We woke to the sound of our recently adopted hen clucking around Duzi2. The huge white chicken had adopted us as her new found friends and was lying on the floor under our car. She ate the remains of our ProNutro from our breakfast bowls, with nothing going to waste. She certainly would make a HUGE chicken roast for a lot of people.

Sally, one of the Capetonian campers in another group behind us, came over to teach us about twitching (bird-watching). She was hoping to see a 'Lifer' which is apparently what you call a bird you see and identify for the first time. She thought she may find one here in Vilanculos and had her binocs and small iPac, which showed a picture of each bird and played the call it made, making identifying a lot easier than flipping through a bird book, which she had too. Sally was so lovely and such fun - a real bundle of energy. She was tremendously excited about birds and did spot a lifer, but not the one she had expected. She welcomed us back to SA with great enthusiasm and excitement. She was so excited to hear about us moving back, unlike the usual trend of South Africans leaving SA and packing for Perth. We both take our hats off to her, for trying to teach us clueless-ones something about the birds that were fluttering around us. We met Sally's sister Di, from Durban. They were all having a great holiday away together and had loved everything they had seen.

We packed up the tent as the weather had changed and looked as if it might rain. We said goodbye to our Dutch friends and hope we will see them again somewhere along their long travels. Our plan was to walk up the beach to Archipelago Beach Resort and hand in our cone from the front shock mounting, as well as Al and Deb's rooftop tent ladder to the Kiwi maintainance man there to weld for us. Johnny had told us that this man was a registered welder, so we hoped he'd be able to help us this morning so we could get on our way to Pomene. The Dutch couples were raving about how stunning Pomene was, even though we thought Blue Water was lovely.

There was much joking and fun going on between Ange, Hennie, Rich, Al, Debbie and us. The biggest joke being whether or not we were having roast chicken for dinner, seeing as our friend, Mrs Hen, was plenty big enough for us all to have a feast.

We were feeling torn about leaving this lovely bunch of friends, to move on to Pomene, as we all got on so well. The welder man wasn't at Archipelago, so we needed to leave our cone there until he returned and this meant we probably wouldn't be able to leave for Pomene today anyway.

The rest of the day was spent typing, reading and enjoying the beach and the pool. The tide came in really quickly while we were walking back to Blue Water. It was amazing and quite scary to see just how fast it was coming in, especially if you happened to have fallen asleep on the shore close to the sea. We found a few big pansy shells, some of which were alive so we threw them back, hoping they would survive out there. Ange and Hennie had gone into Vilanculo for the day to try and sort out internet stuff and book their flights for London. They only arrived much later, with their flights booked and paid for.

The weather today was cloudy, grey and quite cool for most of the day, with the wind not blowing for a change. Ross, Al and Hennie drove round to Archipelago to collect the welding, in "KitKat" or "The Machine", Hennie and Ange's red Landy90 V8. The welder never came today so nothing had been repaired.

That evening we all had a yummy dinner together, which Hennie and Ange had prepared, and spent another very enjoyable night together having such fun.

Congratulations on your 21st birthday Ale! Can't believe our baby cousin is 21, that makes us old! Hope you do something really great to celebrate this special birthday.

Thursday 28th August 2008: Blue Water Beach Resort, Vilanculo, Mozambique

GPS Info: S22° 03' 08.8" E35° 19' 26.3"

Miles Today: 148 Total Miles: 35 070

Up to another grey, cloudy, cool day. We packed up and fed our friend Mrs Hen, the remains of our cereal, before saying good-bye to Hein and Bernadette. We were advised to drive down the main North-South coastal road and take the second little road off to Pomene. Even if you took the first one, you had to continue parallel to the main road the whole way down anyway, to join the Pomene road. We stopped off in Vilanculo to change more money, buy some bread and fill up with diesel before heading off southwards to Pomene. It had cleared into a stunning day and it was quite ironic that we were leaving on one of the best days we'd had while being in Vilanculo.

As we climbed out of Duzi2 outside one of the grocery shops in Vilanculos, we were instantly offered fresh prawns by a man who had jumped out from behind some bushes in the carpark. Ross was horrified by the sight of the prawns in the bucket and pressed for us to rather buy some rather expensive wors, to cook on a braai in the next few days. Ross bravely agreed though to eat some prawns while in Mozambique, where we can buy really fresh prawns straight from the boat or from the morning market, but for now he was more keen on wors than prawns.

Luckily the drive from Blue Water to Pomene Lodge wasn't too far, so we could take it slowly and in our stride. We joined the main tar road, which soon turned out to be really bumpy and pot-holed. This was a continuation of the horror stories we'd heard about the Mozambican roads. Following Johnny's advice, we took the second exit road to Pomene and drove for a long way through palm groves, open bush, small villages and thick soft sand. No wonder you need a 4x4 in Mozambique. Most of the access roads to the beachy places are through deep, soft sand, while the tar roads are open-cast mine dumps.

The tar road stretch from Nhachengue to the turn-off to Pomene was very badly potholed and very bumpy. We caught up with Hennie and Ange, and Al, Deb and Rich who had stopped along a soft sandy stretch to deflate their tyres, to prevent them getting stuck. From here on, we drove in convoy along the endlessly long sand track towards Pomene Lodge. Little wonder people advise that you stay here for a few days, as the access road to the lodge is long and far off the beaten track. The wind was still howling strongly against us, making Duzi2 work really hard. We drove alongside tall dunes separating us from the sea, until eventually we entered an estuary mangrove area, indicating we were nearly at the lodge. We were relieved to be approaching in daylight and during low tide as the mangroves grow literally centimetres from the sand road, and in high tide the road is probably under water in places... We stopped along the way and picked up two whole coconuts lying in the bushes, hoping they would be dry and good to eat, once we get through the husk to the shell and crack them open.

The wind was still howling when we parked outside the reception. Due to there being so many of us checking in together, and promising to advertise Pomene Lodge, we were given a campsite with a banda, with an electrical point, for R100 or MTn300p/p/night. It was great to have a power point to run the fridges from and to have a shelter to cook in while protected from the wind. Al chatted to the owner about getting some fresh fish... about 7kgs of King fish for MTn45p/p, working out at next to nothing each.

Pomene was different to what we had expected as it is nestled on the beach in pine trees, with the sea on your right and the estuary on your left. While reading info about Pomene Lodge, we were all shocked to read that the estuary mouth had broken through 2km closer to the lodge, during the floods in March, meaning Pomene Lodge had lost 2km of beach and all their luxury honeymoon stilted-bungalows with it. They have rebuilt some stunning luxury wooden bungalows on the estuary side, but we were wondering how long these would last. When the tide is out and the estuary is low, the stilted bungalows are well out of the water, but when the tide is in and the estuary is full, the stilts are very much in the water and the wooden walkway joining them to the mainland speaks for itself. The stilted bungalows are close to mangrove trees whose roots are exposed during low tide.

The wind was so strong and rather unpleasant, but we were still determined to make the most of the beach around us, although tanning on the sand was out of the question.

Pomene has a stunning pool overlooking the estuary. When the estuary is low there is a strip of sand evident from the pool, but when the estuary is full, the pool looks like it overflows into the estuary. It is very cleverly designed and great to have a wooden decked area to enjoy the sun on, especially when the weather was as windy as it was when we arrived.

With three vehicles (2 being Landrovers), three rooftop tents and a ground tent, our huge campsite still looked rather empty. We chatted together, lazed on the deck around the pool, went for exploratory walks around the area and had good fun together. Al and Deb tried to go snorkelling in the estuary, but it was initially too low, and then when the tide came in got too deep and mirky to be safe.

Al gutted, prepared and enjoyed cooking the most scrumptious fish for us for dinner. He filleted the HUGE King fish and grilled some fillets in foil with butter, garlic and mayonaise and these were delicious. Before we had the fillets, Al and Debs fried fish scampi - small battered fish pieces which they served with chutney, mayo and tomato sauce to dip them into. Rich and Ross even ate and enjoyed the scampi, commenting that it tasted just like chicken. Ross and Rich were saved from eating fish fillets for dinner and had braai'd chicken fillets instead. After another very cheerful evening together and loads of laughs, we climbed into our various tents for a good night's sleep. The wind had died down a bit, but was still blowing strongly onshore so we decided to sleep with our one flap zipped up and our tent poles down.

As everyone had climbed into bed, the generator switched off and everything suddenly went very dark. A loud crashing scraping noise came from Al and Debs' vehicle which puzzled all of us, but most of all Al and Debbie who thought it had come from the other vehicles. Eventually torches were found and an investigation of the area was done, but the mystery of what it was or what could have caused it was never solved...

Friday 29th August 2008: Pomene Lodge, Pomene, Mozambique

GPS Info: S22° 54' 22.9" E35° 33' 23.9"

Miles Today: 0 Total Miles: 35 070

We woke before sunrise to go for a walk along the beach. Everything was quiet except for the crashing of the distant waves. We walked along the beach for a long time in the direction of the 'Old Hotel'. The sun rose along our walk and looked like a bright red ball as it rose in the sky. Heidz and Ross (although he won't admit it) had a ball collecting stacks of beautiful whole shells. The shells here were different to those at Vilanculos and there were thousands of whole pink and purple cowries as well as interesting twirly shells. There were also pink cuttle-fish lying along the big, open sandy beach. We met Rich along the beach. He had been for a good early morning run. A little further along our walk, we stopped and chatted to some local curio sellers who were on their way to sell their goods at Pomene Lodge. Our walk was a special time together and a lovely way to enjoy the beauty of where we were.

The camp was still quiet when we got back, except for the odd stray snore, with everyone still fast asleep in their tents. Poor Rich was trying to clear out an entire black ant colony which had invaded and had got into EVERYTHING. After his methodical ant eradication, he enthusiastically devoured another book, sitting quietly in the banda enjoying the sunshine. He LOVES reading and reads SO fast! Al, Deb and Rich only had a very limited space in which to bring all they needed for their trip, with three of them in the vehicle. Rich told us he'd used most of his space for books he knew he'd read. Only when we saw how quickly he read, did we realise there was no ways he would've been able to bring enough books for the whole trip.

A little later, Hennie and Ange, and Al and Debs emerged and we all enjoyed some breakfast in the sunshine. Luckily the wind seemed to have died down a bit today. We were again very thankful to have the banda on our campsite though, as we would've used so much gas in the wind just trying to boil water etc. After breakfast we headed to the beach and pool deck to chill and enjoy the sun. We spent lots of time chatting to Hennie and Ange. We get on very well with them and enjoy their sense of humour.

They are heading to the UK, London, for a few years to have 'their' time as they have been married for very nearly a year. They were very interested in our flat and wanted to see photos of it. Ange is hoping to get OT work (occupational therapy), in Richmond/Twickenham, when they go over so our flat would be ideal. They are a lovely couple. It would be a dream come true to have them as tenants in our London flat, but we'll have to see if this could be possible for them and for us in the future.

The Pomene Lodge staff drive around on bright yellow quad bikes, which Heidz managed to catch a lift back from the reception on, much to everyones envy.

For lunch we had yummy left over fish and various salads, followed by a lazy afternoon chatting, reading and tanning around the pool, spending lots of enjoyable time chatting and getting to know Rich. We cracked open one of the coconuts to eat and it was perfect, so we'll stop and pick up some more from the side of the road on our way back out on Sunday. Al prepared and cooked more delicious king fish for dinner, this time grilling and frying steaks to see which we preferred, with Ross and Rich enjoying chicken flatties instead. The wind had picked up again and there was a lot of moisture/dew dripping from the pine needles, obviously due to the persistently strong onshore winds. The tide came in higher this afternoon and gave us a wake up call about how high it could get in a spring tide. Hennie and Ange decided to move KitKat to slightly higher ground, to avoid having water too close. It was quite a lot cooler this evening, probably because of the damp around us. We all enjoyed another lovely evening together full of fun and laughter. It's amazing how easy it is to get on with some people and how easy it is to feel like you've known them for ages, even after such a short time.

Hennie, Ange, Rich, Al and Debbie were exactly these type of people and we were so glad to be able to spend such fun, effortless time with them.

Out of the darkness of the late evening sky, two bright headlights appeared from the entry road to Pomene Lodge, with a spare wheel strapped onto the bullbar between them. The three girls were sitting in the banda chatting, while the four boys were closely monitoring the braai outside. The two bright headlights just kept on driving just about into Duzi2! Ross recognised the spare tyre attached to the front of the Toyota landcruiser as being that of Kim and Barbs Hertzberger.

It WAS Kim, Barbs, Leigh and Paula. What sort of time was this to arrive at a place like this, along the dodgy Pomene 4x4 road??? This poor family was tired, frustrated and Kim & Barbs were at a near divorce point, after getting completely lost while driving around in the dark for hours and then finally getting stuck in the soft sand in a cassava field. They had spent lots of money tipping people to show them which road to take, only to realise they ended back where they had started from before. They had taken the first track shown on the GPS, expecting to arrive at Pomene just after lunch, but finally arrived in the pitch dark at around 10:30pm. They were VERY relieved to see familiar cars and faces, and to enjoy a Konyagi and tonic after a horrible and rather scary driving experience. The girls ate quickly and went to bed, while Kim and Barbs relaxed and enjoyed a few laughs with us after a VERY stressful afternoon/evening of driving.

Saturday 30th August 2008: Pomene Lodge, Pomene, Mozambique

GPS Info: S22° 54' 22.9" E35° 33' 23.9"

Miles Today: 0 Total Miles: 35 070

We woke up early again this morning, and watched another lovely red sunrise. Rich came back from another early morning run and we decided to light an aggi for boiling the kettle, using coal rather than gas. The wind was still blowing wildly and the needles were still dripping wet, making everything damp. There were far less ants this morning compared to yesterday, due to everything being packed away last night, and the table legs being sprayed with an insecticide. The aggi took ages to do anything other than smoke, thanks to the strong wind. Ange and Ross were on a mission to see who would boil the kettle first, one using the traditional aggi, while the other used the modern gas in the banda. Just as the fire in the aggi seemed to finally be going, a very familiar whistling sound came from inside the banda. Ange had won using the gas. Poor Ross was determined not to give up and ended up using the aggi to boil up more water to wash dishes in. We all enjoyed fried eggs and toast for breakfast, huddling in the warm, sheltered spots.

Some local ladies came around selling fresh lettuces, veggies and some fruit, but didn't have change so we didn't buy any. The curio sellers we met on the beach yesterday morning set up their wares outside the Lodge and Ross bought "Bob", a very cleverly made man made from a coconut. Bob has glasses and a straw hat and looks just like Bob Mugabe. Debbie bought a bright serong skirt, but the rest of us decided to rather stop off at their shop along the road, back to the main road to do all our curio buying there.

After breakfast, the Hertzbergers moved their vehicle, with the two rooftop tents still erected, to a quieter area so the girls could do their school work without being distracted by us, at least that's what they told us... This should've been a simple move, but ended up being rather disastrous as a low pine branch caught one of the rooftents and bent the pole. Kim got busy, 'boer maak 'n plan' style, and managed to bend and support the pole so that it looked right as rain again. Kim, the new Mr Fix-It.

Today was warm and sunny, and the wind seemed to have died down slightly. Thankfully Pomene Lodge does have their stunning decked pool area, so at least we could sit somewhere with a stunning view, that was protected from the wind. We chilled, chatted and read around the pool. The Dutch couples we had met at Blue Water had told us we could cross over to Shell island, where there were supposed to be stunning shells. This meant swimming a short way across the estuary, which was clear blue water, to get across to the island. We all decided to do this when the tide was low, so we could just about walk across with enough time to get back, before it got too deep again.

We were enjoying playing around the pockets of soft sand causing much laughter and fun. After a careful assessment of where the best place to cross over would be, we walked around and found a fairly shallow area where the water was clear. As we were walking through we were picking up whole pansy shells lying in the sand below. We stopped at an uprooted tree and noticed a whole lot of poisonous scorpion fish and a cute trumpeter swimming and hiding in its root system. We managed to get some lovely shots thanks to the underwater housing on Heidz' camera. We needed to swim over a short deep section to reach shell island and were warned by a local fisherman on the other side, to only stay a little while on the island as the water comes in quickly and gets strong.

Much to everyone's excitement, we had all found pansy shells of various sizes on the crossing over the estuary, but there were NO shells at all on shell island. We put it down to the rough seas and strong onshore winds over the past few days, which were still blowing relentlessly. We decided to cross back over to the mainland as the tide started to turn and we knew it came in fast. The Hertzberger family decided to swim directly across the deep part of the estuary, but some of us were a bit hesitant as it was deep and we weren't too sure what could be below us. We went back the way we had come, but had to swim hard as the tide was strong. It was exhausting and something we were glad to have behind us, when we arrived back on the mainland. A silly thing to have done in hindsight, but we've learnt for next time. We all got a BIG surprise at how quickly the tide had turned and how strongly the water rushed back into the estuary.

The tide was exceptionally high this afternoon, with the estuary level raised by more than a metre and the lagoon was about 10 metres from breaking through just below our campsite. We were very nearly stranded on a newly formed island and were pleased to be heading on tomorrow, before the tide rose even higher as it approached spring tide. It made us realise what a risk Pomene Lodge is taking. They have already lost 2km of beach as the mouth broke through so much closer to the lodge earlier this year, and seeing the water levels this evening, it's a matter of time before the existing lodge will be on an island, similar to the island we'd swum to this morning.

We relaxed for a bit longer in the sunshine, warming up and reading, before watching the Sharks play a rugby match on TV. We'd decided to treat ourselves to dinner at the restaurant, so Heidz could have some fresh seafood and Kim and Barbs decided to join us. We made a booking and hoped to be able to have a hot shower before dinner.

Hot would be too much to ask for, especially as none of us had had a hot shower so far!!! We ended up all enjoying a 'Last dinner' together with a long table set for 11. Kim, Barbs, Leigh & Paula, Ange & Hennie, Al & Debs, Rich and us. We all had incredible meals. Heidz had the best prawns ever and 400g of them too. Ross and Rich had another night of chicken...

Tonight was another fun-filled evening with shrieks of laughter and joking. Kim told us some of the pranks he's pulled on friends, and indirectly warned us to expect prank calls from himself, the Pro-prank caller. It is sad to think that we'll all be going our separate ways tomorrow and may not meet up again for a long time. We've been so priviledged to have met up with such wonderful people who have made our African trip even more of a life changing experience than we could've ever dreamed of.

Sunday 31st August 2008: Pomene Lodge, Pomene, Mozambique

GPS Info: S22° 54' 22.9" E35° 33' 23.9"

Miles Today: 136 Total Miles: 35 206

Both of us felt sad about leaving everyone as we weren't sure if and when we'd see the Cape Town bunch again. We hoped to be able to meet up with Hennie and Ange when they came through Durbs, on their way up to do pony trekking in Lesotho, before they made their way back to Gauteng and further afield on to London in a few weeks time.

The wind had picked up strongly through the night and in a way we were glad to be leaving and hoped it would be calmer further south.

The tide had been up high and the access road from Pomene Lodge to the main tar road was damp in parts, with some sections being really soft due to it being around midday when we left. It's always easier to drive on sand in the early morning and late afternoon when it's slightly damper and harder, giving you more traction and less chance of sinking in. We decided to deflate the tyres a bit, which makes it easier as there's a bigger tyre footprint over the sand. On the way out we stopped in at the Old Hotel, which has an ideal location high up on the hill overlooking the huge, wide, white beach below. There would be very little chance this would be destroyed by big seas or raised sea levels as it is so high above the sea. It's built on a peninsula with a 270° view of the turquoise water below, with a private protected cove on one side. Sadly the hotel was abandoned in the 1970s because of the previous civil war in Mozambique, and has never been restored. We heard that the group who own Pomene Lodge had bought it with plans to re-develop it in the future.

Stopping in at the curio seller shops we bought a few serong skirts, and a wooden fruit bowl with wooden fruit pieces, which Heidz really wanted for a story and theme she teaches called "Handa's Surprise". A little further along the road, we picked up three more big coconuts and hoped they'd be as good as the two we'd picked up going the other way.

We re-inflated the tyres before joining the horribly potholed tar road to Massinga. From Massinga onwards the road was excellent and the tar looked brand new. We passed many beautiful red trees and bushes on our drive from Pomene to Inhambane, as well as more sellers playing "chicken" in the traffic by standing in the middle of the road to get our attention. We drove below the speed limit the whole way, dropping well below when we drove through the towns and villages. We hoped that by going slowly and carefully we wouldn't collect any speeding fines along our drive. The roads were very quiet with no traffic cops to be seen anywhere. We put this down to being a Sunday, the day of rest.

The weather today wasn't great, in fact it was cloudy and cold for the whole day. The wind continued to blow really strongly and once again we were driving straight into it all day. We were planning to camp at 4x4 Lighthouse (MTn 240 or R80p/p/night camping) for the night, near Inhambane. Inhambane is located in a bay area opposite Maxixe, but as we approached Maxixe and looked over to Inhambane, we were disappointed to see no beach. The tide was in and the mangrove swamps were covered by sea water, and the town of Inhambane seemed to have been almost overlooked for at least the last decade if not longer. The buildings looked tired and neglected and there seemed to be no shops to speak of.

We followed the GPS waypoints that Shaun and Cathy had given us and eventually ended up driving along a thick sandy track for miles in the dark, which came to an abrupt end near an old lighthouse. The lighthouse was no longer in use and looked delapidated like the rest of the dark campsite. The wind was HOWLING the strongest we'd experienced so far at this place. In good weather the campsite would be lovely, but with the wind blowing and swirling from every direction, with no protection from anything this wasn't the best spot to camp in for the night, but being late and dark we felt we had little choice. We were met by the owner who tried to direct us to the most sheltered site in his campground and told us these winds were here to stay for the month.

Mozambique gets winds for about a month, normally during August, and this is when their tourism drops off. It's little wonder why really, when it is so miserable and very unpleasant.

Due to it being late and the wind blasting so strongly, we decided to have a cheap (R35p/p) chicken dinner at the campsite's 'restaurant' for a change. We both had hot showers to warm up and enjoyed a flavourful chicken and coconut-milk casserole dinner with a big salad. The food was delicious and so carefully and beautifully presented.

Things were being blown around and the tents and cars were being rocked from side to side...

We kept all the flaps zipped up and hoped the tent would survive the relentless pounding of the wind during the night. We also hoped we would be able to sleep. From what we'd seen of 4x4 Lighthouse, we wouldn't recommend this spot, especially when the weather was as foul as it was now. We couldn't even hear the waves crashing over the sound of the strong wind.

Monday 1st September 2008: 4x4 Camping Ponta da Barra (Lighthouse Municipal campsite), Barra, Inhambane, Mozambique

GPS Info: S23° 47' 36.1" E35° 32' 13.0"

Miles Today: 265 Total Miles: 35 471

We awoke to the tent flexing wildly and Duzi2 rocking from side to side. The wind was still blasting relentlessly off the sea, and swirling around from every angle and there was sand blowing everywhere, making it very unpleasant. We packed the tent away as soon as we got up, chatted to our German camping neighbours and left early, planning to stop in at the owner's B&B in Inhambane for some tips on places to camp at further south, around Bilene. With this wind we were glad we didn't have to try and kill time in Mozambique, as it's very unpleasant camping on the beach in such strong winds, with nowhere to shelter or hide in. To top it off, this wind was really cold! Sadly with the wind howling, the sea was wild and very rough making our chances of seeing whales, dolphins and whale sharks, which are prominent at this time of the year, very slim. The spray coming off the waves looked lovely from where we were, but showed how we would've been stung by the sand had we been on the beach.

Lighthouse campsite is not protected from the wind at all, but does have lovely views overlooking the big wide beach below. On a calm day, we would definitely have spent time on the beach and would've had the perfect spot to spot whales and dolphins from. Ross explored the ruins of a large building in the middle of the campsite, which was literally falling down. It's such an eye-sore right in centre of the campsite, and is a real pity it hasn't been made into an area which campers can use or shelter in. The ablution facilities at Lighthouse were limited and basic, but they did at least have hot showers.

As we parked up outside the B&B in Inhambane, a woman approached us with a bucket of fresh prawns for sale, caught this morning. We declined as they were small and expensive and were advised to rather buy them from the morning market, where we'd get bigger ones for a better price, roughly MTn180 or R60.00 per kg. After some strong Mozambican coffee at the B&B, we headed to the market and quickly bought a kilogram of big prawns and a lemon to cook for dinner tonight.

From Inhambane we set off southwards into the strong wind, towards Xai-Xai and Bilene. The road was excellent and Duzi2 was very chuffed, but wished the wind would die down or change direction and start to blow from behind us rather than against us.

Brad phoned us to tell us the price of diesel in South Africa was dropping by R1.50p/litre at midnight on Wednesday, so to not fill up immediately, as we crossed into SA, but to rather hold out until Thursday if possible. A very financially important bit of info, thanks Brad.

We stopped in at Praia de Zavora to see what their campsite was like, as they advertised camping too. On arrival we met a whole bar load of Afrikaans speaking South Africans, who were on a 4x4 off-road driving course/expedition and had just finished driving up the beach from Xai-Xai to Zavora. They were shocked to hear the Sharks had won the rugby on Saturday and were keen for us to join them for a drink. We managed to avoid the drink, thankfully, and slipped out to see what the beach below looked like. There were steps leading down to a big, open beach quite far below. Zavora Lodge (R70p/p/night and R35p/child/night camping) was situated on the top of a ridge with an excellent view onto the sea. Any whales or dolphins swimming past would normally be easily visible from here, but the sea was still quite wild so we couldn't see any.

We walked down the back of the massive sanddune on which the lodge buildings were built, to the campsite which was grassed and totally protected from the wind. The ablutions were clean and the campsites were large and lawned. Pity we didn't stay here last night, we would've had a more peaceful night's sleep.

Heading back to the main road and continuing south, we crossed the Limpopo River, paying the MTn10 toll and drove on to Praia da Bilene, arriving just after sunset. We drove to Sao Martino Rest Camp and to Praia do Sol, two places showing camping on the T4A waypoints, but were told they no longer do camping, We were told to go to Palmeiras Compleximo, on the extreme left side of Bilene.

Bilene is a tiny town with one street and an old small beach town feel. It's not actually directly on the sea, but rather on the side of a lagoon. Palmeiras Compleximo (R45p/p/night + R50p/site/nite camping = R140 for us for one night) looked very "kitch", with big neon-lit palm trees and lots of lights everywhere. We had free choice of where to camp as there were no other campers around. The wind was still blowing, but we were able to choose a fairly protected spot to camp in for the night.

Each site was fairly small, but did have it's own braai area. We parked fairly close to the ablution block, a light and wash up basins. Ross started a fire to keep warm, using the coals we'd just bought along the road. The locally made coals burn so nicely and within minutes we had some fantastic coals to put in the two aggis. Heidz cleaned and de-veined the prawns, squeezed the lemons and within minutes we looked like the most organised campers. Both aggis on the go - one boiling up the rice and the other frying up the prawns in the wok.

We sat gazing into the fire, reflecting on our trip and trying to verbalise how we were both feeling, with the end destination fast approaching. Both of us are excited about seeing our families again, but we'd LOVE to be able to carry on exploring this amazing continent. We've had such an incredible time and both wish it could just continue.

Both of us are excited about what the future holds for us, but are more unsure about what we're going to do with our lives now, than when we left England. We have both changed and we hope the values which we have realised are so important, won't be all lost when we get back into the real world in a few days time.

Tuesday 2nd September 2008: Palmeiras Compleximo, Praia da Bilene, Mozambique

GPS Info: S22° 54' 22.9" E35° 33' 23.9"

Miles Today: 246 Total Miles: 35 717

Being our last day in Mozambique and the last day of being on the more wild African coast, we had breakfast on the beach overlooking the lagoon. The water in the lagoon was turqouise and looked just like the sea. There were ladies carrying the familiar buckets from the market yesterday, selling freshly caught seafood - prawns, crayfish, etc.

Typically, on our last day in Mozambique, the weather was absolutely perfect. The sky was clear and blue and the wind had totally vanished. We enjoyed an hour in the sun after breakfast, just chatting together before packing up and heading towards Maputo and then into South Africa.

The roads seemed to get better and better as we got further south. We took the Maputo toll road (MTn17.50), to avoid going into Maputo city itself and still hit lots of traffic this way, so were very glad we'd chosen this route over the even busier city centre. We didn't mind the toll as the road was fantastic. It's great to know how close and easily accessible Mozambique is from South Africa, for us to pop across and explore more in future holidays, when the wind isn't blowing so much. We've both enjoyed Mozambique and would love to see it at it's best time.

One thing we have not really enjoyed though is the mozzies and there are thousands of them here. So much for the saying...'there are no mozzies when there's a wind blowing'...not true according to our experience in Mozambique. During all the winds, the mozzies still managed to be very present and annoying once they were in the tent, having a feast munching on Heidz.

We approached the Mozambique / South Africa border and both felt VERY weird. This was the first time we were entering into South Africa on our trip and finally Duzi2 was entering her/his home turf. We saw the familiar brightly coloured South African flag and handed in our carnet and passports to be stamped out of Mozambique, to proceed and enter into South Africa. Exiting Mozambique was extremely quick as we held South African / Foreign passports, so went to the counter with no queue as opposed to joining the LONG line, out the door and down the road, of Mozambican passport holders.

The carnet was stamped and we drove through the gates into South Africa.