D&D in Africa

Mozambique 1: Gorongosa National Park, Vilankulo and the Bazaruto Paradise

October 10, 2008

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…

• Posted in : Uncategorized
• Author :Admin