Dumped like a piece of refuse


Advertisement
Mozambique's flag
Africa » Mozambique » Southern
June 15th 2002
Published: May 7th 2013
Edit Blog Post

Ponta MalonganePonta MalonganePonta Malongane

Rock formations in the sand
June 2002

Our first trip to Ponta Malongane, Mozambique

The long civil war in Mozambique had ended in 1992 and at the turn of the century, tourism was slowly becoming a popular means of income for the Mozambicans again, with lots to offer and South Africans were starting to explore this country again and we were fortunate to be amongst those that did. After such a devastating war, in 2002 it still needed plenty of finance and work to recover from the destruction of war, though.

Earlier in the year Paul and Philip went to Ponta do Ouro for a long weekend with my brother, for a diving trip. Jacques and I had to stay behind as Jacques was writing exams for his Matric year, the last year of school. They did some sightseeing while they were there and found Ponta Malongane, which appealed to Paul. He came back home raving about this place that I would enjoy, so we decided to go there for a week during the June school holidays. We could stay in a bungalow or chalet, which was great, as we had no camping gear at that stage. But what about the last 15
Is that a happy face?Is that a happy face?Is that a happy face?

After Mom's flight
kilometres of sand road? We did not have a 4 x 4 yet and how were we going to manage in a normal sedan, which was very low and didn’t have the power to get out of soft sand? Most of the way you could manage on a good day, but the odd hill could get you stranded. That problem was solved quickly, because apparently we could park our car at the border in a secure parking area and get a border transfer that was organised by the resort at Ponta Malongane.

Great! Sounds good. Clothes packed, limited food in one cooler box, because that was all we could take - regulations for the border transfer. All set for a week of a bit of adventure into Mozambique. We had pre arranged with the resort to meet at the border at 1pm. We got there well ahead of schedule just before 12 noon, proceeded through the border clearance which was so quick and easy and probably took us all of 5 minutes to get through both South African and Mozambique sections, with nothing else to declare, as we weren't taking a vehicle across the border. We met another family
Ponta MalonganePonta MalonganePonta Malongane

Love the signs they make
that was also waiting for the border transfer, so we chatted to them while we waited.... and waited.... and waited. TIA. (This is Africa - a well known saying that anyone who has travelled in African uses) But after waiting a while we were getting a bit concerned that we would be stranded at the border, not able to get to Ponta Malongane. Then we asked someone working at the border if they knew anything about the border transfer; yes, it had been already, but of course not at the allocated time! Nobody was waiting for them, so they promptly turned around and went back to the resort. A gentleman overheard us, who worked near Ponta Malongane, and he said he would contact the park to send a vehicle to collect us. Cell phones of course were just about non existent in Moz at that stage, so we couldn't contact the resort ourselves.



After another half an hour, in the distance we saw a large Bedford truck approaching the border - that was apparently our 'border transfer'! No comfy seats to sit on, in fact, no seats at all - just hard metal! All we had to
Remember thisRemember thisRemember this

Next time you need caterers
do was climb onto the back with all our luggage and off we would be on our way. With no steps or ladder to climb on, it was a bit of an effort for the ladies and girls to hoist ourselves up onto the truck, but with assistance from the men, we managed, climbing on the wheels then onto the back. There was plenty of space, so we could have brought far more than we thought we could. We proceeded along the sand road, bouncing around on this hard metal container, wind blowing through our hair. Luckily it was quite warm, so it didn't bother us as we were on our way. A couple of days into our holiday we discovered that the Bedford truck was used to cart refuse around – luckily we weren’t aware of its main purpose and I'm hoping they gave it a bit of a clean before we used it! We were dumped at our chalet, figuratively speaking of course!!



The chalet was basic, but served our purposes. We all bee lined for the beach. Living inland, but being ardent beach bums, as you may have discovered from our previous blogs, the
CateringCateringCatering

Unique or what!
sea is like a magnet to us. What bliss to be back at the sea again, and be able to enjoy some time on the beach. The days were pleasant, sometimes a bit fresh, but on the whole lovely.



Because we could only bring limited food with us we had dinner at the restaurant every night. There were about five items to choose from on the menu for the main course, so we made short work of trying everything on the menu as the week progressed. Our newly acquired friends were in the same predicament as us, only having catered for their own breakfasts and lunches as well, so we joined forces and ate together each night. And each night when our waiter came to serve us, we asked him what the catch of the day was. After about three nights giving us the same answer: barracuda, one of us piped up: same as last night? Without hesitation he answered with a beaming smile on his face, yes, same as last night. This had us in fits of laughter, as we were visualising the same unwanted piece of fish, lying on the plate with no takers, looking
Upper classUpper classUpper class

Such detail
forlorn, dried up, curling at the edges and by now probably past it's sell by date, never being eaten. Maybe it was the copious amounts of wine and local 2M beer we had, but we found it extremely funny. Having said that, we did have barracuda, sometime at the start of the holiday, which was quite delicious and with no nasty side effects! After a few days the bar's wine supply was dwindling to zero, as they didn't have much to start with in the first place - probably only about 3 bottles. They would only get more supplies in towards the end of the week. None of the local shops near the resort was selling wine, only local beer and cold drinks. Let me advise you, the shops around Malongane were really only little stalls with extremely limited items. What to do? One of us, that is one of the two families, came up with the bright idea of going shopping in Ponta do Ouro - on foot! We calculated the shortest and easiest route to walk was along the beach to Ponta do Ouro, about 5 kilometres away. It was flat as well, compared to the road, which
Complete with stepsComplete with stepsComplete with steps

And a veranda!
was hilly and soft, with deeper sand than the beach. We set off with cash in hand and hit the road or rather beach! Not bad walking there, then we stopped for lunch at one of the few restaurants and some much needed liquid! A different menu, although not by much. After a bit of sustenance, we went shopping at the one and only shop, a sort of general grocery store, with mainly tinned foods. Bought our couple of bottles of wine (just about depleted their stock of wine too) and a few other things, then headed back along the beach again carrying our shopping. There were a few complaints about the weight of the wine, but we knew we would appreciate it all the more the next few evenings at dinner time. Fortunately we had a couple of rucksacks, which helped.



Paul and the boys went diving, but I unfortunately couldn't because I was getting over a bout of bronchitis. Another family we met at the camp invited us to drive with them to Ponta Mamoli for the day, an upmarket resort, to do some more diving. This gave us an opportunity to see a bit
Ponta do OuroPonta do OuroPonta do Ouro

We're walking...how far?!
more of the area. Mamoli is slightly further north, about 15 kilometres further. Mozambique was slowly but surely creeping under our skins.



This was such a wonderful holiday and experience, it spurred us on to buy a vehicle which could cope with sand, a Subaru Forester and we enjoyed many more holidays at Ponta Malongane.



At the end of the holiday we had to get back to border – this time it was with the proper transport – a smaller vehicle with a trailer – hence the need to bring limited luggage. Not sure where this vehicle was on the day we arrived.



Subsequent visits to Malongane.

The following year in 2003, we invited Paul's Mom, Alison with us. This time we stayed in a bungalow. While enjoying ourselves on the beach we saw a small plane fly over, do a mock landing, turn around and then landed properly. The pilot came from Nelspruit and had built it himself. He offered short flights to anyone interested, for a small fee of course, so Paul decided to spoil his mother by treating her to a flight – we didn’t have enough
Going shoppingGoing shoppingGoing shopping

Heading to Ponta do Ouro
cash with us for all of us to fly, so gave her the opportunity. Apparently she thoroughly enjoyed being able to see the scenery from the air and asked the pilot many interesting questions. Such an unusual sight for us to see a plane land and take off on a beach.



After our second stay at Malongane we bought a dome a tent for our third visit to Malongane, as we could see us spending many short holidays here and we thought it best to get ourselves more organised for trips like these. No sooner having bought the dome tent we upgraded to the trailer with the tent on top and that is the one we still use today.


Additional photos below
Photos: 27, Displayed: 27


Advertisement

Nearly thereNearly there
Nearly there

Ponta do Ouro getting closer
On the beachOn the beach
On the beach

In the middle of winter!
Ponta MalonganePonta Malongane
Ponta Malongane

Our chalet
Going diving!Going diving!
Going diving!

All kitted up
Ready for take offReady for take off
Ready for take off

Mom strapped in for flight
Ponta MalonganePonta Malongane
Ponta Malongane

One of the many lakes in the area
Viewpoint hillViewpoint hill
Viewpoint hill

We're going up there?
Viewpoint hillViewpoint hill
Viewpoint hill

Steep road that some people just have to conquer in their 4x4 - We took the other road
ViewpointViewpoint
Viewpoint

View to the south with Malongane and Do Ouro in the distance


7th May 2013

MOZ
Nothing like a pop-top to go off road for a pleasant beach sojourn. Southern Mozambique looks and sounds just fine.
7th May 2013

We love using our tent
It certainly is great having a roof top tent and the bed is far more comfortable than a stretcher or mattress on the ground. Only problem is the possibility of falling out of bed at that height!
7th May 2013

Transportation
I'll bet the smaller truck was cleaner. Glad you walked to town for some wine...you'd hate to run out.
7th May 2013

Walking for wine
The smaller vehicle was definitely cleaner and more comfortable...but not as much fun. The walk was great, except Paul ended up with blisters on his feet from walking in the sand!

Tot: 0.347s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 19; qc: 94; dbt: 0.1093s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.4mb