Blogs from Southern, Mozambique, Africa

27-7-19 After flying into Maputo we were met by our guide Antalya, we were soon at the hotel Cardoso where we were to stay for two nights. We enjoyed a delicious tapas dinner with Antalya at one of her favourite cafes on our first night out in Maputo. 28-7-19 In the morning Antalya showed us the city which included the old town of Baixa, central market, museum of natural history and the historic railway station. The highlight of the day was a visit to the fish market where Antalya purchased fresh crab, fish and prawns, we then chose a restaurant from the many on the beachfront to cook it all up for our lunch. In the afternoon we visited Mafalala just on the outskirts of Maputo here the people live in severely disadvantaged conditions, with inadequate ... read more

I arrived into the large town of Vilanculos on the rusty chapa and decided to stretch my legs and walk to the hostel. Baobab beach had been recommended to me so I headed in that direction. A few tuktuks pulled up offering a lift but I was enjoying the walk! When I arrived I checked into my dorm and went for a refreshing swim as the tide was in and the water looked so inviting. I chilled for the evening and ordered food and met lots of other backpackers. Which was nice as I had spent most of the previous few days without seeing a single traveller. The next day I took it easy. I relaxed on the beach, took a walk around the local area, did some laundry (exciting, I know. Amazing how stinky your ... read more

Sunday 18 February Barra Beach, Inhambane & Monday 19 February Vilanculos Up at 5.20am, breakfast at 6.00am (boiled eggs, toast and cereal) and away by 6.30am. It was still sprinkling with rain and the power had gone off early in the morning, so no air-conditioning. It was cooler, so that didn’t cause any issues. We stopped off at Inhambane for supplies. This gave us a chance to walk around the town, including the markets. It was a little too early (8.00am) on Sunday morning, so the activity hadn’t started. I came across a church where many people were singing and the minister at the front was definitely preaching forcefully. The singing was beautiful. Inhambane was a very typical African minor city with tired looking buildings, some abandoned but some in excellent condition. Most of the retail ... read more

Thursday 15 February Inhambane This was a long driving day through local villages. We saw the rural life of Mozambique which makes up around 80% of the country. The roadside stalls were selling fruit, cashews (very famous in the country) and clothing as well as charcoal and grasses. Inhambane (pronounced in-yam-ban) is in the Jangamo District of Inhambane Province, Mozambique. It is a sleepy historic town some 485 km north of Maputo. It has some great colonial architecture (in a low-key sort of a way) and is considered by many to be one of the prettiest towns in Mozambique. It is situated on a peninsula overlooking a bay, and also serves as a springboard to the coastal resorts around Tofo beach (some 30km due east, along a reasonably good road). The road was relatively good up ... read more

Fouriesburg was not very exciting, at all , the dinners ok fish but that was all. the general heading is north towards Mozambique and the Kruger Park so that’s where I went, north towards heat and humidity. The South African country side went by at moderate speed, why hurry if you don’t have to so I don’t. If I get to the Victoria falls fine and if not fine as well. The inn keeper in Fouriesburg told that using the GPS was a very good way of getting lost, so that’s nice to being told something that you more or less new already. I stopped in The Golden Gate Park and just sat there and thought about the beautiful nature, deep huh? I decided to go to Dundee and put it to the GPS and of ... read more