South Africans wanting to visit Mozambique recently have found that it is virtually impossible to obtain reliable travel information. The information that is available is either out of date or unconfirmed and in many cases it has been impossible to reconcile contradictory reports about the state of the roads. Even the Mozambican embassy doesn’t seem able to provide accurate information about road conditions and flood damage. The prevailing view seems to be that the whole country is under water following the spate of cyclones and floods that it experienced earlier this year and that it should be avoided at all cost. As a result, most tourists have opted to cancel trips to Mozambique despite the fact that large portions of the country were relatively unaffected by the floods and have remained open to tourists.
We travelled through Mozambique from Ponta D’Ouro in the South to the Malawian border in the North between 6 and 18 June 2000 and have recorded some of the information that we picked up first hand during our trip. Obviously, this information cannot be regarded as a complete overview of conditions in Mozambique and only relates to the places we visited personally, but hopefully it will assist South Africans in planning trips to Mozambique in the future.
Ponta d’Ouro
We crossed the border into Mozambique at the Kosi Bay / Ponta D’Ouro border post and the very Southern tip of Mozambique. The road up to the border on the South African side is tarred and in relatively good condition although portions of the road were under construction leaving only one lane open to traffic in various spots. Going is quite slow as you have to keep an eye out for the hundreds of cows and goats that graze on either side of the road and tend to stray into the path of oncoming traffic. The difference between South Africa and Mozambique is vast and is obvious almost immediately after one crosses the border. The tar road literally stops at the border and is replaced by a sandy track that winds its way to the town of Ponta D’Ouro. The road is very sandy and hilly and one would definitely need a 4x4 vehicle to complete the stretch of road between the border and Ponta although we have heard of a taxi service between the border and Ponta D’Ouro, although fairly unreliable.
There is only one campsite in Ponta, the municipal Parque de Campismo (S26 50 39.0 E32 53 22.4) . Camping costs R53-00 per person per night over weekends and R43-00 per person per night for week nights. There are no banking or currency exchange facilities in Ponta so make sure you take lots of cash. The shops all accept Rand as well as Meticash (the local Mozambican currency). The supermarket is dismally under stocked and although you can get consumer goods like canned food and sugar, fresh fruit and vegetables are non-existent. The supermarket does not stock bread but there is a bread stall just next door that has fresh bread twice a day. The bread is baked in the village and brought to the stall on huge trays. Expect to queue for your bread, as it is delicious and very popular. There are a couple of scuba diving operations based in the municipal campsite and the diving in Ponta is superb. The beach is also exquisite.
Ponta D’Ouro to Maputo
As we understand it, the road between Ponta and Maputo was closed for some time after the floods. This road has however been reopened. The road is hilly and exceptionally sandy and going is very slow. The 160km’s to Maputo (S25 57 43.0 E32 35 29.9) took us over 5 hours. There were some graders and bulldozers out on the road trying to level it out but it seemed to us that they still had a mammoth task ahead of them although we understand that the road was never great, even before the floods! The road winds up the coast via Ponta Malongane, Zitundo(S26 43 52 E32 48 11), Salamanga (S26 29 01 E32 38 58), Bela Vista(S26 20 24 E32 39 55) and Boane (S26 02 35 E32 19 55) and is often difficult to find. There are also intermittent portions of tar but nothing to write home about and the road is really just a thick sand track up to Boane where it joins the main tar route running between Nelspruit and Maputo via Komatipoort. This road is in good condition although traffic is heavy. It is possible to take a ferry from Catembe to Maputo which is a slightly more direct route but we opted to drive.
Driving in Maputo requires nerves of steel and the residents of Maputo seem to be intent on redefining the term “road hog”! As one reaches Maputo there is a lot of road construction work on the go and the local authorities seem to be in the process of erecting a series of pedestrian bridges to regulate the stream of people and animals that seem to cross the road at regular intervals. There are a lot of traffic police around so keep an eye on the speed limits, which is 80 km/h on the open road and 50 km/h in town, for 4x4 vehicles and make sure you wear your seatbelts.
There is a campsite in Maputo but it is dingy and looks unsafe.
We opted for a guesthouse instead although we hear that the best place
to go is a backpacker’s called Fatima’s which is on Avendida Mao Tse Tung.
Maputo is vibrant and happening and there are lots of restaurants,
bars and nightclubs. Once again, although
you can change cash rands or dollars for meticash it is virtually impossible
to change traveller’s cheques or draw money on your credit card so make sure
that you have lots of cash. The street
vendors and markets are stocked with the most gorgeous fresh fruit and vegetables
but be sure to bargain otherwise it becomes very expensive.
Maputo to Xai Xai
We had been told that roads north of Maputo were washed away and that it was
not possible to drive from Maputo to Xai Xai (S25 03 25.4 E33 38 44.3 )
. We were however not able to obtain reliable
or recent information on the state of the roads, repairs and flood damage. Even in Maputo reports seemed to be contradictory.
In the end we decided to drive the 200 odd kilometers to Xai Xai to
find out for ourselves what the condition of the roads was like.
Getting out of Maputo is relatively difficult but we could not determine
whether this was due to flood damage or merely due to the fact that the roads
were under construction. General mayhem
seems to prevail and there are busses, taxis, trucks and pedestrians all vying
for space on the very narrow roads! Once
one is out of Maputo, however, the road is in relatively good condition until
about 10 kilometres out of Xai Xai and just before the main bridge over the
Limpopo where there are several breaks in the road.
Up to this point, however, although, there is a lot of water on either side
of the road that still has not drained away following the floods, the road
is raised and tarred and has survived remarkably well. There are a couple of patches where the road
had been damaged but in most cases a sand track has been cleared making it
possible to drive around the damaged portion of the road. It is possible to reach Chissano in relative
comfort without running in to too many hassles on the road. As a result, although it may not be possible
for South Africans to visit Xai Xai or Inhambane it is certainly possible
for them to visit Bilene (about 80 kilometres South of Xai Xai). Bilene (S25 16 00 E33 14 55) is reputedly the
holiday spot frequented by wealthy Maputans and has beautiful beaches, restaurants
and hotels.
N orth of Chissano the main north/south road to Xai Xai has been washed away
in several places just before the main bridge over the Limpopo.
In one spot, a low-lying bridge has been washed away and no efforts
have yet been made to repair it. The
locals have started a bustling ferry service at this point and are able to
transport passengers, animals, fresh produce and other goods across the water
in small boats. Passengers on busses and taxis running between
Maputo and Beira are also transported across the water at this point where
they can board another bus or taxi on the other side. There are various options available at this
point should you wish to continue up the coast with your vehicle. The safest route is to backtrack to Maputo
and Nelspruit and then to enter Mozambique via Zimbabwe. The road between the Zimbabwean border via
Vilanculos and Inhambane to Xai Xai is open.
We chose not to follow this route, as it would have meant an extensive
delay and detour. It would also have
meant that we would have had to apply for a second Mozambican visa.
An alternative route has been created to Xai Xai which has been operational
for some months and has been heavily used by trucks and busses.
The route starts at Chissano (S25 00 49 E33 22 16)
and goes via Chibuto (S24 41 13 E33 32 03)
, rejoining the main north/south road at Chongoene (S25 00 56 E33 47
18), just north of Xai Xai and is a detour of about 140 km’s. We were told to proceed to Chissano and wait in the long queue of
trucks and vehicles to take the alternative route to Chibuto. Because traffic on the route is exceptionally
heavy and the trucks have literally destroyed the dirt road, the Mozambican
authorities have only been letting traffic on to the alternative route twice
a day, in one direction in the morning and in the other in the afternoon.
You will therefore have to wait to be let on to the alternative route
but will be able to get through this way.
Unfortunately, just prior to our arrival in Maputo there had been a
couple of days of heavy rain and the alternative route had been reduced to
a muddy marsh. As a result the route had been closed indefinitely. We were told that the army did let convoys
of vehicles through late at night for a price but that conditions were very
muddy and that there were trucks and 2x4 vehicles stuck all over the place.
At one stage, there were apparently between 400 and 600 vehicles stuck
in the mud on the alternative route (this may however be urban legend – we
were not able to confirm it).
The only other option available to us was to drive through the river at the
point where the bridge that had been washed away. With the help of the locals we were shown a
dirt track running perpendicular to the main road. We followed this track for about 2 kilometres until we were shown
a spot where there was no water and the mud was able to be crossed. In those places where the mud was too thick,
the locals had dug out the worst of it and laid “roads” of sand that were
relatively easy to drive across. We
were required to pay “toll fees” for the use of these roads. We ended up paying the equivalent of about
R300-00 in toll fees but this proved to be much cheaper than the petrol and
visa costs of travelling via Nelspruit and Zimbabwe. If you get stuck there is a tractor to pull you through. We were able to pass through without getting
stuck although rather nerve wrecking. There
were lots of 2x4 vehicles trying to make the crossing and simply being hauled
across by tractors ending up with severely bent chassis.
Although this was the most serious break in the road there were two other
breaks in the road before we reached the Limpopo Bridge. Both involved driving through mud and on some
serious gradients but we got through without incident. The locals are exceptionally helpful and there
is quite a lot of traffic running the gauntlet so the routes are quite clearly
marked. We would however not recommend
this unless you have a 4x4 vehicle and some 4x4 driving experience.
It was quite hair raising.
Xai Xai itself was badly damaged during the floods. The town of Xai Xai has almost been completely
destroyed and all that has survived are those suburbs that are slightly elevated.
There is a large presence of soldiers and aid agencies in Xai Xai,
all helping with the massive clean up operation that is underway.
There is a campsite at Xai Xai as well as a petrol station and market.
We did however not end up staying in Xai Xai and pressed on to Inhambane.
Xai Xai to Inhambane
Once one is passed the devastation of Xai Xai, the road north is in good condition.
There are a couple of spots where the tar has been damaged by the rain
but on the whole the road is fine. It
is about 250 kilometres from Xai Xai to Inhambane (S23 51 54.2 E35 23 23.0
). There is not much accommodation in the town
of Inhambane but there are two gorgeous spots about 20 kilometres out of Inhambane
at Barra Beach and Tofu Beach (S23 51 57 E35 33 19). We elected to stay at Barra Reef (S23 47 27.0
E35 30 21.8 ) at Barra Beach which
is highly recommended. Camping cost
R30-00 per person per night for a spot on the most pristine of beaches. There is also camping at the Barra Lodge. The sites are not as beautiful and it is slightly
more expensive at R70-00 per site per night. Both Barra Reef and Barra Lodge have a bar and restaurant and scuba
diving operations. We did our diving
though Barra Reef Divers and paid about R150-00 per dive (inclusive of equipment
and airfill) for three dives. It is
of course more expensive if you do fewer dives.
There is a fairly organised bank in Inhambane town (BCM or Banquo Commercial
de Mozambique). Once again it is impossible
to change traveller’s cheques and drawing cash on your visa or MasterCard
will take the better part of the day. It is however possible to change cash rands
or dollars to meticash without too much trouble. There is no queuing system in the bank (or anywhere else in Mozambique
for that matter) so you literally have to fight your way to the front waving
your dollars above your head.
There is also a market and bakery in central Inhambane where you can get fresh
bread and veggies. In general, the
Mozambicans do not provide you with your groceries in packets so take a basket
along for your shopping. A case of 12x550ml 2M beer (brewed in Maputo) costs about 110 000
meticash (about R55-00) if you have bottles as a deposit. Otherwise it is about 145 000 meticash. There is also petrol and diesel available.
Inhambane to Vilanculos
The road from Inhambane to Vilanculos (S21 59 30.8 E35 18 06.5 ) is tarred
and in good condition. The only problem
comes just before you reach Vilanculos town itself.
The road has been washed away at this point but a fairly decent dirt
detour has been cleared and does not pose any problems.
In general it is not advisable to go off major routes or tracks into
the bush in Mozambique. It has been recorded that there are some 2
million unexploded land mines still buried in Mozambique and no one seems
to know where they are. It seems that
mine fields are only discovered when someone actually steps on a mine and
sets it off. Also, it is reported
that after the floods, some of the known mine fields have moved and some of
the previously cleared areas are no longer safe.
Keep an eye out for signs demarcating mine fields (usually a skull
and crossbones on a red back ground). Known
mine fields are usually cordoned off with red and white tape. We did spot quite a few of these areas on our journey from Inhambane
to Vilanculos. The mine fields do
not seem to bother the locals however who seem to coexist quite happily with
them and live in kraals and villages between the demarcated areas. There is an organisation called Handicap International
that seems to be putting in huge efforts to locate and remove these mines.
You will see their camps and Land Rovers all along the road north of
Inhambane. Unfortunately they are fighting quite a losing
battle however as it is reported that although a land mine costs less than
US$3 to manufacture it costs more than $US1000 to locate and remove. The mines are not generally a problem to tourists
but just bear in mind that they are there and be sensible about the paths
that you take off road.
Vilanculos town is very spread out and not the greatest of tourist destinations
although it does have a superb coast line and provides easy access to the
islands in the Bazaruto Archipelago. There is camping available in town at the municipal
campsite on the beach front. We were
advised not to stay there however as the security is dodgy at best.
In the end we ended up at a place called Blue Waters (S22 03 10.8 E35
19 27.4) which is about 20km outside Vilanculos (take the turn off to the
airport before you get to Vilanculos town). Camping at Blue Waters costs US$5 per person
per night and the place is run by a cool Zimbabwean called Brian. They also offer meals and have a relaxed bar.
Ablutions are basic and there is no hot water.
Next door to Blue Waters there is a place called Paradiso that has
accommodation and a dive school.
From Vilanculos you can arrange boat trips to the islands.
There are not many budget options for accommodation on the islands
although we heard that there was a place called Gabriel’s on Benguerra that
was run as a backpackers. There is of course the snazzy (or so we hear)
Marlin Lodge. We opted for a day on
Bangue Island (S22 02 16 E35 26 57)
– a tiny Robinson Crusoe type island.
The snorkeling is quite good although the area has been badly emptied
by the locals who trawl fishing nets behind their dhows destroying the sea
life. We hear that the best place
to dive or snorkel is a place called 2 Mile Reef or the Aquarium.
If you decide to go out to the islands, make sure that you arrange
your trip through a recognised operator as the bay is very shallow and can
change rapidly with the tides and currents.
We opted to try and do it on the cheap and almost got stranded out
at Bangue as our skipper was very inexperienced and had no knowledge of the
tides and sandbanks.
There is a market in Vilanculos and diesel and petrol are available.
Vilanculos to Beira
The road from Vilanculos to the Save River (S21 07 26.1 E34 33 45.8)
is in relatively good condition. This
portion of the road is still part of a toll road complex that runs between
Inhambane and the Save River and so is relatively well maintained.
North of the Save River however, the road deteriorates dramatically.
Although the road is tarred it is punctuated by many potholes
which make the going exceptionally slow and tedious.
The road improves dramatically, however, after it joins the main route
from Harare to Beira (part of the so-called “Beira Corridor”). This road is tarred and in good condition, it also has decent verges
which make overtaking easier. There
are a lot of trucks on this road is it forms the main access route from the
Beira harbour to Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia.
We were told to give Beira (S19 50 08.9 E34 50 25.4) a skip as it is dismal and run down, but we decided that we wanted to visit it to see for ourselves. We really should have taken the advice and headed north to Malawi directly. Beira is a hell hole and I would not recommend visiting it. The city has gone to ruins and is filled with litter and muck. There is no where to camp – unless you are prepared to stay in a scrap yard! The hotels are seedy, run down and look suspiciously like brothels. Our guidebook recommended the Miramar hotel – avoid it like the plague! It is terrible. The grand old Capital Hotel no longer exists and has been taken over by squatters. In the end our only option was the overpriced Embaixador hotel where a room cost US$66 and was generally run down and tatty. The only reason we stayed there is because we arrived too late to push on to Chimoio.
On the up side, Beira is a major Mozambican harbour and so there are lots
of consumer goods, diesel and petrol available. There is a Shoprite that stocks all the good
old South African standards from Mrs Ball’s chutney to Tastic rice! There is also a new Mobil and a BP garage with
excellent service, relatively cheap diesel and petrol and a shop. Fruit and veggies are also available at the
markets and fruit sellers and are dirt cheap.
Beira to Chimoio (Casa Misika)
The road from Beira to Chimoio (S19 06 58.4 E33 28 51.0) and on to the Zimbabwean
border and Harare is in excellent condition. It is tarred and in good condition. Chimoio is quite a large town and diesel, petrol,
food and banking facilities are available there. A much better bet than Beira. We did not stay in Chimoio itself but pushed
on in the Harare direction to a place called Casa Misika. Casa Misika (S19 02 24.6 E33 03 53.7) is situated
approximately 40 km’s (S18 59 57.7 E33 04 55.2) from the juncture of the Tete
road and the Harare road (in the Zim direction). It is a superb spot on a lake and there is
some excellent bass fishing to be done. The
camping costs 30 000 meticash per person per night (about R15-00). The ablutions are rudimentary but there is
hot water. There is also a restaurant,
bar and swimming pool. Definitely
worth a visit. You will however need
to buy all your groceries before getting there, as there is no shop.
Casa Misika to Cahora Bassa
From Casa Misika we headed back the 40 or so kilometres to the Tete road and
then headed north to Cahora Bassa. Once again, this road is in good condition and is tarred. There are some pot holes but nothing too bad.
The road is however very narrow and there are not proper verges which
makes overtaking difficult. En route, we did find diesel at Catandica (S18
04 30.9 E33 11 03.1).
The road to Cahora Bassa turns off the Tete road about 20 kilometres from
Tete. The road is tarred and in good
condition up to the village of Serongo (S15 35 52 E32 43 58).
From there it winds steeply down to the dam. There is an alternative route via Estima(S15 43 51 E32 44 57) that
is less steep and easier to drive. The
dam is well worth a visit as it is spectacularly beautiful. Our visit coincided with the 25th
anniversary of the hydro electric scheme at Cahora Bassa. We would not recommend camping at the dam though
so make sure you have enough time to push on to Tete or the Malawian border.
There is only one place to camp, the Tiger Lodge (S15 37 00.9 E32 42
05.1), which is situated on a beautiful spot along a tributary river.
Unfortunately, the lodge is run by some of the most mean spirited South
Africans we have come across. The
lodge is still under construction and we could only camp in what looked, to
us, to be a building site (pity as the rest of the area is exquisite). The ablutions are non-existent. For this privilege we were charged US$20 for
the night. We balked at the price
but the owners/management were not prepared to entertain a discount even though
we slept in a construction site filled with workmen and were unable to sleep
because of the incessant droning of the generator. The next morning we were informed that they had made a mistake and
that the rate for camping was actually $US25 but we absolutely refused to
pay the additional $US5 as we had had such poor service. The whole experience left a really bad taste
in our mouths and we would not recommend camping there.
Cahora Bassa to the Mozambican/Malawian border
From Cahora Bassa we headed north to Tete (S16 09 49.1 E33 35 26.5) and then
on to the Mozambican/Malawian border at Zobue. Once again, the road is tarred and in good
condition. We had been cautioned on
more than one occasion that the traffic police in Tete were particularly bad
and would not hesitate to stop us for any traffic infringement. The speed limit in Tete is 30 kilometres per
hour (as opposed to the 50 kilometres per hour in other towns). We literally crawled though the town making
sure that our speedometer did not exceed 30 km’s per hour. We did spot lots of police with radar and were
happy that we had adhered to the speed limit scrupulously. We met a German tourist who had been fined
US$1000-00 for travelling 37 kilometres in the 30 kilometre zone. The problem with Mozambique is that you are
required to pay your fines before you leave town which can prove to be a huge
problem. Also make sure you wear your
seatbelt and that there are no obvious problems with your vehicle. Tete is a large town and quite a commercial
centre so you will be able get diesel, petrol, fruit and veggies, bread and
you should be able to change money should you need to.
The road from Tete to the border crosses the Zambezi River (there is a huge
suspension bridge) and is in good condition. There were only a couple of difficult stretches
close to the border where there were some road works on the go and one lane
had been closed. There was nobody
to control the one way traffic system so it was difficult to pass.
If you are proceeding to Malawi, there is a town just after the border on
the Malawian side called Mwanza where you can fill up with diesel before heading
for Blantyre. Diesel is slightly cheaper
in Malawi so you may want to wait to fill up until you have crossed the border.
Getting hold of Malawian Kwatcha is no problem as there are literally
hundreds of informal currency changers on both sidesw of the border. The rate that they give is not excellent but
not terrible – just be careful not to get ripped off! You will need some Kwatcha to buy insurance at the border and to
pay a handling fee at customs so make sure you have some available. Make sure that you know what the bank exchange
rate is before you attempt changing money on the street. At the moment the exchange rate is about
K56 to $1 US and K8 to R1.
The Mozambican/Malawian border post (S15 34 33.1 E34 26 21.8) is a very crowded
affair as there are hundreds of busses and trucks waiting to cross.
The traffic along this “Tete Corridor” is really heavy.
Expect to wait to have your passport processed. Once again, the Mozambicans have no idea of
queuing so you have to be quite pushy.
Summary of GPS points mentioned:
|
|
S26 50 39.0 | E32 53 22.4 |
| Zitundo | S26 43 52 | E32 48 11 |
| Salamanga | S26 29 01 | E32 38 58 |
| Bela Vista | S26 20 24 | E32 39 55 |
| Boane | S26 02 35 | E32 19 55 |
| Maputo | S25 57 43.0 | E32 35 29.9 |
| Bilene | S25 16 00 | E33 14 55 |
| Chissano | S25 00 49 | E33 22 16 |
| Chibuto | S24 41 13 | E33 32 03 |
| Chongoene | S25 00 56 | E33 47 18 |
| Xai Xai | S25 03 25.4 | E33 38 44.3 |
| Inhambane | S23 51 54.2 | E35 23 23.0 |
| Barra Reef | S23 47 27.0 | E35 30 21.8 |
| Tofu Beach | S23 51 57 | E35 33 19 |
| Vilanculos | S21 59 30.8 | E35 18 06.5 |
| Blue Waters | S22 03 10.8 | E35 19 27.4 |
| Bangue Island | S22 02 16 | E35 26 57 |
| River Save | S21 07 26.1 | E34 33 45.8 |
| Beira | S19 50 08.9 | E34 50 25.4 |
| Chimoio | S19 06 58.4 | E33 28 51.0 |
|
Casa Misika turnoff |
S18 59 57.7 | E33 04 55.2 |
| Casa Misika | S19 02 24.6 | E33 03 53.7 |
| Catandica | S18 04 30.9 | E33 11 03.1 |
| Serongo | S15 35 52 | E32 43 58 |
| Estima | S15 43 51 | E32 44 57 |
| Tiger Lodge | S15 37 00.9 | E32 42 05.1 |
| Tete | S16 09 49.1 | E33 35 26.5 |
| Moz/Malawi Border at Zobue | S15 34 33.1 | E34 26 21.8 |