D&D in Africa

Our second longer stay in Moz was on the beaches in Inhambane where we finally found the tropical paradise we were looking for. We drove down from Vilankulo and headed first to Tofo, which is supposedly the main backpacker drag in the area and offers the best surfing. At first we didn’t find Bamboozi Backpackers because it’s a long way off, but some other people showed us the way in return to getting a ride on our back bumper . The accomodation didn’t impress upon first sight. The whole place is located behind a huge dune that separates it from the beach. We got a very basic reed-hut with two beds because we didn’t feel like camping. The hut was ok but the beds were a disaster – my back still hurts when I think about it. The weather had turned foul again and it was very windy and c o l d… I was not impressed… Luckily we met two american girls on the second day and they had one of the nice Chalets up on the hill .

The weather did not improve on the second day, quite to the contrary a thunderstorm swept across the beach. We spent the day playing Settlers with the americans. They had two extra beds in their Chalet and in return to cooking a nice prawn curry that night we were invited to stay. On the next day the weather had completely changed and all was set to go on a Ocean Safari with the local Dive-Shack a bunch of South African ‘cougars’, the american girls and us set of in a pontoon boat to find the famous whale sharks. Launching the boat through the surf was quite a challenge. The swell was still high from the storms and it was a bumpy start. At first the expedition did not look fruitful – no whale shark anywhere only a few dolphins jumping near the rocks. We drove far to the south until our spotter suddenly called out that he had seen a large shadow. The skipper maneuvered in front of it and everyone jumped in. I was disoriented for a second but then I saw the huge animal, the largest fish in the world, swimming straight toward me! I waited until it was passing under me and paddled with my fins like mad to keep up. The whale shark moved his tail veeery slowly from side to side but it took quite some effort for me to keep up! I swam on the side of the shark for some time and got to study every part of it. Suddenly I realized that there was almost noone around me anymore! Above the water I could see some snorklers of another boat getting out of the water but my own boat was nowhere to be seen. I looked back the way I came from and was relieved to find our boat popping up behind the waves every few seconds. As soon as I started waving my arms they saw me as well and raced over. Apparently I was the only one still in the water and they nearly forgot about me… Cheers to Martin for reminding them!

I spent the rest of the day laying in the hammock or lazing on the beach. For dinner we decided to head to town and give a place called ‘Casa de Comer’ a shot. It turned out to be a fantastic place and we had some of the very best food on the trip sofar. It was so good we decided to come again tomorrow and booked four of the freshly caught tuna steaks that were the next days special. On the way back to Bamboozi we quickly joined into the party at another Backpacker and moved to the vibes of the local band. It has been a while since we had a proper party!
The next morning brought another fine day and we slept in for a change. Today we wanted to head over to Barra, which is another beach in the area. After having another one of the gorgeous pancakes in the restaurant, we left Bamboozi for good and made our way over to the Barra Lodge. The beach there is much more secluded and not as windy and wavy as at Tofo. Palmtrees line the beach and I finally got the feeling of being in a tropical paradise. I arranged two dives for the next day and spent the rest of the afternoon reading and walking along the beach.

The diving on the next day was fantastic! I can strongly recommend the dive center of Barra Lodge – they were by far the most professional I have seen so far. Because I did not have sufficient training for deeper divesn I got to go to a more shallow reef (Serengeti) just 1km off the beach only together with one instructor. Shortly after having descended to the reef I already saw a Blue Spotted Ray and some baby Lionfishes. Further along we also saw the rare Frogfish, a swarm of about 50 Squids (!), an Octopus, a Zebra Morray, a Stingray and loads of other more common fishes. It was an awesome dive! Unfortunately I don’t have an underwater case for my cam so there are no pictures . We returned just in time to make the breakfast buffet. For the second dive I joined another group of divers going out to a reef called ‘Mike’s Cubbard’ which is a little deeper and further out. It’s always a bit more stressful to dive in a large group because you keep looking for your buddy and you need to take care not to bump into anyone, so it was not as enjoyable as the first dive. But I still saw some interesting sealife, including Cleanershrimp and a colorful Nudibranch. The rest of the afternoon went by quickly with a few of the 1.50$ Gin Tonics and a long walk along the beach. On the walk I noticed many small blue jellyfishes that were washed onto the sand. I later found out that these were a variant of the very poisonous Portugese Man-o-war whose tentacles can get up to 10m long – good that we stayed well clear of the little beasts!

Blue Bottle Jellyfish

Unfortunately our time under the palms of Inhambane came to an end and we carried on with our journey to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique and a bustling african city with lots of character. Driving into the city is a bit of a nightmare with dense traffic and markets sprawling far out into the street all along the inbound main artery. We didn’t feel like hostelling or camping and went for a ‘real’ hotel for a change. But before we got to try the nice comfy bed we went for a little stroll through the ‘Beixa’ (read Beischa), the oldest part of the city and the one immediatetly around our hotel. We visited the famous train station (a very quiet place i must say..), saw the oldest building, the Fort built by the Portugese and the lively municipal market with its many colorful foodstands. I liked the place! It’s a nice change after the rather bleak cities of Lusaka and Lilongwe, full of life, colour and sound. Of course the contrasts of rich and poor are extreme and the city is not particularly safe (always take a taxi at night!) but we found a lively artists scene and beautiful colonial architecture, mobile phone operators invest in large new officebuildings and you can see development here and there. Unfortunately we did not get to taste the nightlife very much but I hear it is excellent.
Because I did not want to miss out on the world famous Kruger National Park we left Maputo the following day already and headed to the border of South Africa.

Downtown Maputo

Trainstation

Natural History Museum

From the Mountain in Malawi we finally arrived in the last new country of our trip: Mozambique. Torn in a long civil war the country has only relatively recently been opened to tourists. We heard mixed reports about the border crossing procedure and the popularity of ‘spot fines’ (read bribe) among border officials. But our uneasiness proved to be unwarranted and the bordercrossing went smooth as and quick. With lifted spirits we took the long drive on the bumpy dirt road to Mocuba under the wheels. Near Mocuba we hit the main road running from North to South through the whole country. Since we don’t have an endless amount of time on the trip anymore we decided to miss out on the north of Mozambique and instead concentrate on the southern parts. We wanted to cross the Zambezi on the same day and stay somewhere close to the road shortly after. The road was now superb, there were even markings and cats eyes! Although they are busy building a huge new bridge over the giant stream the crossing of the Zambezi is still being done on ferrys! When we pulled up on the rivers edge we were luckily the first ones in the line and waited for the ferry to come and pick us up. The ride is quite an event when the aged and worn ferry points upward into the current and revs up the four diesel engines sending black clouds of smoke into the sky.

On the long dirtroad to Mocuba

An enormous bridge over the Zambezi will eventually replace the aging ferrys for the main north-south axis of Mozambique

Eventually we reached the other side and continued to one of the few accommodation options of the area. The night was quickly over and we were back on the road to reach Gorongosa National Park in time to do an afternoon gamedrive. Gorongosa was once a jewel among the game parks but also fell victim to the devastations of the civil war. It was here that RENAMO, one of the conflict parties, had their headquarters! As a result the whole area was heavily mined and the animals were killed, eaten or fled in panic. But now that the conflict is over there are efforts under way to revitalize the park again, rebuild the infrastructure and introduce new wildlife. For this to succeed the park needs visitors and that together with the beautiful landscape was the main reason why we decided to go there. Unfortunately we learned that there was no camping available at the moment as the Chitengo Camp is in reconstruction and all the construction workers are occupying the camping area. We insisted and tried to make a deal but to no avail, all we were offered was a 100$ bungalow. Although not in our guidebooks, we heard that there would be someone offering camping outside the park and that we should try there. Sure enough Piet van Zihl is operating a not yet opened campground on the site of his Envirotrade Project. He offered us to stay in one of the large tents with proper beds and only asked for a donation to the project in return! I was absolutely stoked and my slightly bad mood of having been turned away at the NP disapeared. In the afternoon we went on a gamedrive through the park. Much still needs to be done in terms of game but we got to see different antelopes in fairly large numbers, amongst them some new ones like the small Oribi. We also saw quite some bridlife with a Crane being my favorite amongst them. Other highlights were absolutely huge crocs that silently slid into the water as we pulled up on the riverbank and a lone Elephant bull bathing in a small lagoon. The animals are still quite shy and not used to humans. The Elephant was also quite agressive, instantly charging us as soon as he was aware of the car.

Entry to Gorongosa National Park

White Heron

What we identified as an Oribi

A lone Elephant Bull

Apart from the wildlife, I found the landscape in the park amongst the most varied we have seen in any game park. Floodplains are bordered by the yellow Fever Trees and suddenly you find yourself driving through high grass or lush tropical rainforest with palmtrees. Here and there we spotted the ruins of buildings. One of them must have been a favorite spot for a sundowner overlooking the game roaming the floodplains. You could still make out the bar and the laughter and ring of glasses of past times was almost audible.

Ruins of the former Campo des Leoes flanked by two fever trees

What once must have been a prime lookout and perfect sundowner spot.

On the next day we drove down to Vilankulo and we were eager to dive into the tropical waters of the indian ocean. Unfortunately the weather turned sour for the first time in the whole trip. A real beach-feeling would not come up and it was quite chilly. We originally wanted to stay on one of the islands of the Bazaruto Archipelago just of the coast of Vilanakulo but the affordable options in our guidebooks all closed or went upmarket. We politely declined the offer of ‘Azuro’ that wanted 600$ per person per night for their luxury bungalow… Instead we settled for Baobab Backpacker that offers halfway decent camping and is the only option directly on the beach (and they have 2$ rum-coke’s )j. Vilankulo itself is not really appealing and is quite shabby.

Bridge across Rio Save

Dusk in cloudy weather at Vilankulo Beach

Boats beached during low tide

Because of the weather there was also no diving and so we had to sit it our and wait. Luckily there was a busload of DJ’s from England in our backpacker, that was en route to the Lake of Stars Festival in Malawi. They prooved to be quite fun and ensured a raging partynight.
On the third day the weather finally cleared and we awoke to blue skies and turquoise waters. Today was dive day!! I was super eager to head out to Two Mile Reef and the Bazaruto Islands. Two dives were scheduled, one in the morning and one in the afternoon with a lunchstop on one of the islands. The dives were quite spectacular with one devil ray, four seaturtles (!) and loads of different kinds of fish. The bad weather of the previous days stirred up the water and therefore the visibility was not great at 7 to 8 m.
Lunch on the island then totally lived up to the high expectations of a tropical paradise. White sand and pristine waters teaming with life are backed by palmtrees and other greenery. It was a sight that instantly makes you smile and gives that overwhelming feeling of joy but I guess you have to be there to grasp its full effect on ones emotions .

White sands and pristine waters of the southern tip of Bazaruto Island

Me taking the plunge off the big dune

Martin in the air

Beach of Benguerra Island – Paradise

The wait to be able to go diving put us somewhat behind schedule and we took to the street again the next day in the direction of Inhambane for some more beach paradise…

Our last stop in Malawi would be our visit to the Mulanje Mountain Massiv. Millions of years a go a bubble of hot magma streamed to the earths crust and cooled slowly, forming erosion resistant granites and syenites. Over time the material around the bubble eroded away leaving only the Mulanje Massiv towering above the plains around. The flanks of the massiv are extremely steep, leading up to plateau like areas that lie inbetween the various peaks. The highest peak is called ‘Sapitwa’ in the Chichewa language of the locals, which means ‘don’t go there’. With 3002m it is the highest peak in southern Africa and of course we wanted go there . Unfortunately Martin did not feel very well since the night before and so Jacqueline and I set off alone with our porter ‘Billiet’ the next morning. The first ascent onto plateau level was strenous and I was soaked in sweat from the relentlessly burning african sun. We took the Chapaluka Path up the mountain which often runs among trees and crosses streams. The landscape is phenomenal with the steep cliffs towering above, rainforest like vegetation near the streams and the loud sounds of thousands of crickets in the air. After almost two hours of steep climbing we reached the Chambe Basin where the vegetation changes to fir trees and forests of the famous ‘Mulanje Ceder’. We still had three hours ahead of us to the Hut at the foot of Sapitwa which we reached just after 14.00h. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the huts. A solid construction of wood, a large single room with a fireplace in the middle. Because only one other hiker was there, we managed to score one of the few sleeping mats and spent the rest of the afternoon lying on the veranda holding our feet into the cool mountain breeze.

Me on the steep climb up to the plateau level

After the first steep ascent the landscape opens up to the up and down of the ‘plateau’

The next day started in the wee hours of the morning when we crawled out of our sleeping bags at 4 am. We joined Rob, the Englishman we met in the hut, for the climb to Sapitwa Peak. The early start ensured that we could do the ascent in the cool morning air and escape the heat. It was a magical climb in the dim light of the dawn seeing the surrounding mountaintops bathed in the first golden rays of the sun. After a first steep ascent followed a long part over, past and under huge round boulders. Here and there the path led through depressions with low knotted trees that were full of lichens hanging from the twisted branches, while the sound of our footsteps was muffled by the thick layer of moss covering the ground. It was a very mystical atmosphere in these thickets and made the ascent to the sacred mountain even more special. At the top we had an awesome view of the surrounding massive. Unfortunately the view into the distance was obscured by a thick haze that covered all of the plains. From this high up the dirty air below becomes visible that all the bushfires and old diesel engines running on salad oil pollute. I took another deep breath before we started the descent – the sun was gaining in strength by the minute and even on 3000m it started to get hot.

Dawn on the ascent to Sapitwa Peak

Me on one of the large boulders near the summit

The peaks of the Mulanje Massiv seen from Sapitwa Peak

3000 m above sealevel!

Me on the summit of Sapitwa the highest Point in Southern Africa

After descending to the hut and resting for a short wile to recover our strength from the 5 hour summit tour, we continued to walk to Chambe Hut. On the way we passed a huge forest fire that seemed to have gotten completely out of control. The whole side of the valley was on fire! After we had traversed the burned area we reached the other side of the fire. There we found a small band of people that seemed to be trying to get the fire under control. Four women were sitting on the path, each with a bucket of water in front of her. They had carried the water up from Chambe Hut, which was still 20 min walk away. In the bush we noticed three men with something resembling pesticide sprayers, which they were obviously using as fire extinguishers. But the sheer size of the fire made them look tragically ridiculous with their little watersprays. I felt sad for the destroyed beauty of the forest being burned away, but I realized that there was nothing they could do. It would need massive resources like helicopters or planes to douse a fire of this size and I doubt that anything like that existed anywhere in the whole of Malawi. On the final stretch to Chambe Hut I noticed a few fire barriers cutting up the mountain slope and my anxiety that the fire might spread to the hut was calmed. The hut was great again and we spent the rest of the afternoon learning how to play the Bao Game from our porter and the hut warden.

Scorched earth after the bushfire had burned all the grass

J., our porter Billiet and me learning to play the Bao game

Chambe Peak as seen from Chambe Hut

On the last day of the hike we only had to descend back down to Likhabula. On the way we made a little detour to a waterfall with a large pool at it’s base and washed off the dust from the hike. When I returned to the Forest Lodge I went to buy a pocket Bao game made from Mulanje Ceder and played a round with Martin over a beer. Tomorrow we will head east to Mozambique and the Indian Ocean marking the completion of our traverse of the African continent.

Steps ground into the bare rock by thousands of bare feet using this path to carry timber down from the mountain.

Likhabula Falls – a refreshing place after the sweating in the hot sun