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Published: March 13th 2016
People ask us why we always go back to Mozambique and specifically Ponta Malongane. After all it is quite far to drive (about eight hours from Johannesburg), you have to cross a border (which can sometimes be somewhat of a schlep and then still bounce around for about another half hour on a sand road to get to the campsite. Furthermore we take malaria prophylactics which can also be tiresome. We ask ourselves the same question time and time again while undertaking these journeys but once we are there we sigh with satisfaction as we look out over the sea and say this is why we return. Who can complain about a shady camp, sheltered from the onshore and off shore winds, just a stone's throw from the beach? A couple of steps through the coastal shrubs and you are on the beach, a beautiful long stretch of white sand with very few people on it, a lovely crystal clear warm sea to swim in, and far away from the struggles and torments of city life. This Southern tip has just enough flavours of Mozambican culture to tantalize the taste buds and satisfy your sense of adventure, without you having to
go far. Unless of course you want to go further north, which is a whole other challenge or three.Read about them here:
Bitten by the Moz bug and it's name is not mosquito!,
Tripping through the latitude,
Living on a sandbar Our first visit to Ponta Malongane was in June 2002. Those of you that have read about me ranting and raving about Mozambique before, I apologise, but once again I will bluster on about it. If you haven’t read it, here are the links if you would like to read about them, please click on each one.
Post-mortem of a jockey wheel and the rescue of short term travellers,
Back to the future,
Friends make you suffer when you have to camp in the rain!,
Dumped like a piece of refuse Since then we have made a consistent yearly crusade give or take a year or two.
This year we decided to do the journey in two stages with an overnight stop at Piet Retief. Bali Biasa, the B&B we stayed at was really worth while. It was a good choice, because we had been warned of noisy trucks driving through the town throughout the night and although the B&B was just off the main road, our room was quiet and we could hear only a faint groaning of the gears changing down as the trucks slowed to stop at the intersections. Bali Biasa was also quite reasonably priced with plenty of
parking, separate rooms or cottages to accommodate people overnight. One drawback was that the on site restaurant was unfortunately closed. Trying to buy dinner in town proved to be quite a mission as it was the end of the month, which meant it was payday and to put it mildly, it was hectic, with cars, trucks and people zigzagging in all directions around each other. Being a Friday night as well, every inhabitant of this small town seemed to be out on the tiles. We didn’t want to leave our vehicle unattended and eat at a restaurant as we had all our documentation and passports in the car and it would be a huge loss if someone decided they needed all that more than we did. We ended up buying some fast food and ate outside our room on the patio, relaxing the rest of the evening for an early departure.
Once again we entered Mozambique at the Kosi bay border and the Mozambican side was more sophisticated with fingerprint scanners, obviously for the biometric passports. It took us a matter of a few minutes to be cleared both sides, a bit longer to fill in the papers to
take our vehicle across the border but not by much. Of course letting down our tyres for the sand also took a while, but soon we rolled those wheels onto the soft sand and set forth for camp. We had that same feeling of excitement that we do every time, the anticipation of a wonderful holiday ahead. We set up camp in light rain and were finished far earlier than normal because of the overnight stop. We even had time for a walk on the beach before the sun set. The rest of the holiday we couldn't complain about the weather.
The campsite’s official name is now Complexo Turistico do Ponta Malongane. Yes, there are a few little gripes here and there and the campsite needs a bit of TLC but they are working on it. There is a mean team on board at the dive camp and it seems like they are taking on the responsibility of running the entire camp too.
Darryl,
Johnny and
Lerato, (my apologies if I don’t mention everyone’s names, but there are just too many) with all their colleagues, staff and helpers at the camp, are making a huge difference. We
can see the changes that they have made since they have taken over the running of the dive camp. After dives there is no slacking with their feet up sipping a cold one, it is back to the grindstone, doing maintenance, checking gear, painting, building and even renovating pools. And of course endless meetings with the officials of Mozambique to advise and request requirements for the camp.
We find that the camping and indeed the accommodation is so reasonably priced with a choice of campsites, chalets, log huts and rondavels to choose from and whilst you might not get luxurious facilities, it certainly is adequate and five star friendliness and treatment plus the magnificent location will make up for it. I have always felt welcome in Mozambique, but this time it felt extra special. As usual everyone was so friendly and helpful but on this occasion I felt that we were welcomed as part of the family.
We were fortunate to have the section of camp before the restaurant all to ourselves (north side) apart from one night. The day we arrived we met another couple that had camped close to our site for the previous
week. They left the next day and for the rest of our stay there were no other campers on our side. In fact, the whole camp probably only had about 4 or 5 small groups of people. Whilst we enjoy the peace and quiet, with ablution facilities to ourselves and no other campers around us, it is not conducive to being a viable tourist destination and yet it has so much to offer. During school holidays, Easter holidays and other public holidays the camp is usually packed to full capacity but that is of short duration. Granted, I wouldn’t like to be there at that time, but the rest of the time groups dribble in. Even the camp’s restaurant does not get enough business at these quiet times and on occasion closed its doors early for the evening, because they didn’t have any patrons.
One of my favourite pastimes apart from walking on the beach and swimming for hours on end and trying to identify a few birds (which is quite difficult, because they always are so high up in the trees) is to lie in bed at night and listen to the sounds of the dark.
A chorus of chirps and cheeps, croaks and high pitched pings continue throughout the night.
At first it starts with a solitary tone, increasing in frequency and joined by other different sounds, each trying to out do each other until it reaches a peak, then sudden silence except for the crashing and swishing of waves, only for the chorus to slowly start up again and eventually reaching another crescendo. It certainly is far more pleasing than listening to sirens and traffic. I would love it if someone could help me to differentiate between some of the sounds that I haven’t been able to identify yet and even pinpoint a few things that we haven't discovered yet. There are a multitude of creatures such as bats, bush babies, cicadas, frogs, scorpions, spiders, snakes, huge stick insects and even corn crickets; the forest is rich with all these critters and more. During the day we have seen bush buck, mongoose, monkeys and squirrels and of course a multitude of birds, many of them different to what we have at home. We even managed to see and hear the cry of a fish eagle this time. A few years back we saw
a solitary buck walk through the camp. We were so excited. The next time we saw there were two. That was even more pleasing. On this occasion we noticed a smaller buck with the two which is good to see as they obviously feel safe enough to breed. So many of the animals were destroyed during the war and it is heart-warming that they are increasing.
The first night we decided to have the usual Portuguese chicken for dinner at the Sunset Shack overlooking the lake. Chicken never tastes better than there. As we drove back to camp Paul noticed the oil pressure light was glowing and put it down to the way the car was parked on the slope. However the next day when we drove it was still glowing. His usual holiday job title changed from bush mechanic to beach mechanic. If you’re intrigued about his past mechanical issues, click on this link
Grease monkeys in the dust.. We couldn’t find any oil leaking and with plenty of testing and calculations we decided that it must be the electronics that were temperamental. Upon returning home, Paul has since found that a nick in a wire was causing a short
circuit which caused the light to flicker.
If walking on the beach and swimming or snorkelling becomes boring, there is a dive centre which has for many years been the main attraction for visitors. Diving is great majority of the time and visibility underwater varies according to the conditions of the sea and weather but is often very clear.
If you haven’t had enough of the critters under the trees you can always spot a few on the beach. This time we had lines of blue bottles, the most I have ever seen. We weren’t prepared to risk a swim that time because they give nasty stings.
Little creatures that we called sea louse kept Paul entertained, which he caught and gave to the locals as they use it for bait. All you can see is their little eyes sticking up above the sand and the minute you approach them at the edge of the waves, they retract them. I have since discovered they are actually called mole crabs. No wonder, because if you are lucky to catch one and you put it down, they burrow under the sand within a second and disappear completely.
Amazing vanishing skills!
I was disappointed by the rubbish that had washed up on the beach. So much plastic that seems to be discarded in our ocean and on our beaches and it is having a huge negative effect on our marine life. Drastic measures will have to be taken to bring this under control. I’m of the opinion that not enough is being done to save our oceans and am convinced much of the debris being washed up has been drifting for quite some time and even broken up into microscopic pieces ruining much of the marine life that we are not even aware of.
When it was time to pack up and leave we did it with heavy hearts. We weren’t pleased at all that our stay had come to an end and each year we say we should stay for longer. Maybe next time, because we will certainly come back.
We passed a stationary truck on the way back to the border and Paul contemplated continuing his mechanical duties but then reconsidered. Perhaps it was beyond repair even with his capabilities. Besides, we still had an eight hour drive ahead of us.
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Athol Cousins
non-member comment
Pensioner Now
Paul, This is probably the 3rd time that I have looked at your Mozambique tours, it always makes me feel that I should travel there again. I am still driving my RAV 4 and always have concerns about the height of the car but always survive. -- Great to see where you have been- do you think it is safe to go up North at the moment. Regards,