Dec 99/Jan 2000 - Central Mozambique, Southern Malawi, Zimbabwe
Route
Durban - Golela -Namaacha - Maputo - Vilankulo - Beira - Quilemane - Blantyre - Monkey Bay --> Zobue - Tete - Nyampanda - Harare - Beit Bridge - Johannesburg - Durban.
Date
17 December 1999 to 5 January 2000
Pre-Trip
With the new millenium in sight we felt that it would be a good time to get away from the potential chaos. After our previous trip to Mozambique we also wanted to see what was happening further north in Mozambique, and seeing as we were so close we may as well go to Malawi. Basically we wanted to see how far north we could get within reason. Our route planning was done with a high degree of precision :-). We had a map, knew where we wanted to go and what our turn around date was and the rest was left up to the spur of the moment.
Packing the vehicle for this trip did take a bit more thought, and because we wanted to cover every eventuallity I finally sat down and drew up a packing list to make sure everything was accounted for. A copy of this can be found at http://www.overland.co.za
Fuel - The Landrover's tank can hold 79l and I worked on a range of 550km. Added to that I had 4 jerrycans, which gave me an effective range of about 1100km. My game plan was to keep 2 jerrycans as reserve. These would only be used to get us to the next place should we arrive at a place with no fuel.
Water - We carried all our own drinking/cooking water for the trip. This was about 100l. In addition we each had a 25l drum of washing water, should we have no access to ablution facilities. We planned to fill these up from any water source and dose it with purification tablets.
Food - We carried sufficient food for 4 weeks, assuming no other source.
Spares & Recovery - See list at http://www.overland.co.za for details
Finally at 6am we headed north (we were planning to leave at 4am). Our first stop was at Mkuze to refuel. Then onto the border post at Golela. We entered Swaziland at about 10am. On we went through Big Bend and onto Lomahasha. On the Mozambique side we encountered our first hazzle. Everyone was friendly and helpful, we quickly had our passports stamped and then when we went to get our vehicle clearance this particular customs officer was out to show his authority. He was a young guy who looked new to the job. He deliberately spoke softly, threw documents at us and demanded that we pay our gate fee in Meticais. Usually Rands are acceptable, the guys selling insurance was more than happy with Rands. Anyway we smiled, bowed and were polite, traded with some other South Africans for Meticais, paid and got on our way. As we left we noticed that he was treating everbody in this manner and some of the Mozambiquers were getting very vocal about his attitude.
The drive from Namaacha to Maputu is quite scenic as you wend your way down from the top of the Lebombo Mountain range to the coastal plains. We got to Maputu at about 2pm. We had hoped to be there earlier so that we could spend some time in the city. On our previous trip we also arrived too late to see the sights. We refueled and decided that we will do it on another trip, and headed north to Casa Lisa. As a note aside, the turn off to Xai-Xai has been changed and the old intersection has been ripped up by roadworks. We got to Casa Lisa at about 3pm. Always a great place to overnight. The place was quite busy, but there is ample place to camp. We opted for a chalet but they were all booked. Lady luck smile on us because they got a cancellation about an hour later.
Day 2
Got going at about 8am, and headed north to Vilankulo. We got as far as Inhambane on our previous trip so we made no stops along the way. The road up to Inhambane is in good shape. Very few potholes and is well maintained. At Maxixe we stopped to look at Inhambane from the other side. Inhambane is situated on the Inhambane Penisula and from there to Maxixe is about 90km by road. On the Inhambane side you can hire a dhow that will take you across to Maxixe, where you can have lunch at a waterside restuarant.
This is a pic taken from Maxixe, looking east at Inhambane.
Some fellow travellers. I think they were from Richards Bay. Anyone on the list?
From Maxixe to Vilankulo the road deteriorated. It was not as well maintained and in some places you had to drive at a snail pace. Little were we to know that compared to other roads we were to travel on later made this stretch seem like a super freeway. We arrived at Vilankulo at about 4pm and set off to find a place to camp. We stopped to read all the signs for potential accommodation and were immediately beseiged by a group of youngster who all speak fluent English and offerred to take us to the best campsite, best pub, best......
We ended up at Parque de Campismo. What a great place. We had no reservations, but because the main holiday rush had not started, getting a site was no problem. The place is clean and well run. The ablutions were adequate (No hot water). The local water is supposed to be fine, but we stuck to our own supply. Cost us R30 ppd and an extra R15pd for an electrical point. This campsite is virtually on the beach.
Day 3
Went for a walk alomg the beach, and spent the rest of the day just vegetating. It was really hot and humid, something we were to experience during the whole trip.
Video clip of Vilankulo (234K)
Video of the beach and camp at Vilankulo.
Video clip of Vilankulo (131K)
More video of the beach and the islands off Vilankulo.
Day 4
We had arranged to take a trip on a dhow across to one of the islands off Vilankulo called Margarugue do some snorkelling. The island is about 11kms from the coast and the water is very shallow. If I remember correctly 10m is the maximum depth. So we set off at about 7am, joined by a couple from Cape Town, Mark & Kathy. This is an experience well worth doing. This dhow had 2 crew members, one who spent most of his time bailing water. About halfway across we ran aground. The tide had dropped and there were a myriad of channels and sandbanks to navigate. The wind was blowing the wrong way and these dhows can't tack worth a damn so it took us nearly 3 hours to cross, often having to get out and push the dhow across the sandbanks and into deeper water. Once on the island we paid our park entrance fee (R25) and went off to snorkel. Sadly the tide had turned and was ripping along the side of the rocks. This meant we travelled very fast and it also kicked up a lot of silt so the viz was not great. Having said that the fish and coral life was good. It was very hot and you couldn't walk barefoot on the sand and the water was luke warm. There are no facilities on the island for day visitors. Take all your own drink, food and toilet paper etc. There is also nothing to buy so only take money to pay for the park entrance.
View of the campsite from the dhow. It is so shallow they poled us along.
Video clip of us on the dhow leaving shore (133K)
On the way back our crew discovered that a rival crew had loosened their anchor and our dhow was drifting far away. The borrowed a dhow to retrieve theirs, so we sat around for about 2 more hours while they had to sail back to get us. Oh well it was fun and we did not have any other place to be right then.
The beaches on Margarugue
Day 5
Decided to drive around the town and to go and exchange some currency. Vilankulo is not as big as Inhambane nor does it have the same character. It does have a busy market, banks and a hotel, one or two small churches, but nothing more comes to mind. Sat around for most of the day and just enjoyed the surroundings.
A view north of the bay with the hotel just visible.
Video clip of a view north of the bay (147K)
Day 6
We sadly left Vilankulo behind (about 7am), but looked forward to see what our travels would bring. From here we were heading for Beira. The road gets progressively worse the further north one travels. The road had sustained a lot of damage during the Oct/Nov ?? floods and detours were necessary. The countryside is still pretty flat and bushy with the odd pan or marsh. It took out about 4 hours to reach the Mutare - Beira road. We did do a quick detour to see what was going on at Inhassoro. Not much. It is a fishing village, but there is a hotel and camping available and you can get to Bazaruto and Paradise Islands from here.
We headed off to Beira which is the second largest city in Mozambique. We were planning to spend 2 or 3 days here before heading further. We got to Beira at about 3pm. The road is under repair and has good stretches and bad stretches. The locals drive like maniac along this road. We were nearly taken out head-on at a bend and I fortunately managed to aviod the other guy who was on the wrong side of the road doing about 160kph and was definitely not in control of his vehicle. What the idiot did manage to do was to chip my windscreen. Frankly we were very disappointed in the place. It is very dirty and rundown. There are some very dodgy hotels and some good hotels from around US$85 per couple per night. A place called Biques was the only place everyone pointed us to. So off we went. Its location is not bad. Right on the beach, with a big pub/restuarant and good ablutions facilities. However, the camping left much to be desired. If you have a standard tent there is space to camp next to the beach. If you have a rooftop tent you have to camp in the parking lot. This did not float our boat and we read that there was another campsite about 30kms north at a place called Savane. We took a chance and headed up that way to see if it was any better. After getting lost a few times we finally mamaged to find the correct road and headed out. When we got there the place looked good. Just one catch. To get to the campsite they have to ferry you across a lagoon. Well seeing as we could not convince them to load the landrover on a boat :-) we turned around and headed back to Beira. Savane looks really good but you need a standard tent, as no vehicle can get to the site.
On the way back to Beira we came across this old series landrover. If we thought we abused our vehicles, think again.
This looks like a SIII, loaded with people and goods. I think the rear leafsprings have collapsed.
We got back to Biques at about 6:30pm and were still not very happy. So we decided to follow a guide book and lookup some of the hotel accommodation recommended. Well immediately we hit 2 obstacles. None of the streets in Beira had name signage. Nobody in Beira seems to know anything about the place, included the police. The hotels we found fell in 2 catergories, so expensive that it was a joke, or places where I would not get my wife into for no love or money. So back to Biques we went. They let us park next to the place where they keep caravans that they rent out so we did not have to sleep in the parking lot. Camping costs are R30ppd. We took advantage of the restuarant and had a good meal. The pub is great and is a big attraction. The ablutions were not bad, except that to get to them you have to wade through a moat. So no matter what you tried you could not get to the showers or loo without wading through water. This hacked Catherine (my wife) off in no uncertain terms. The other thing that made us a bit twitchy is the fact that Beira has a bit of a reputation as far as theft goes. Biques were well prepared and there were 2 security guards patrolling our side of the camp area alone. Needless to say we decided to cut our visit to Beira short. The sea was also not very clean as the Pungwe River mouth was closeby.
Video of some of the buildings and market in Beira
Some footage of Biques and the beach at Beira
Day 7
We decided to head inland and see if we could get some accommodation at the Gorongaza National park. We could not find out if they allowed camping, but going on an article in the Getaway magazine which suggested that they do, provided you are self-sufficient we headed that way. The drive from Beira to the campsite took about 3 hours. The road left a lot to be desired and we also had to cross some interesting bridges.
On the way to Gorongoza. This was a tarred road.
These steel structure bridges are common in Mozambique. The planks are loose and the noise when crossing is a bit nerve racking. If you are lucky most of the planks are in place.
The Gorongaza Park is undergoing some revamping. There are not many animals around and the buildings all show the effects of war. It must have been a very nice place once upon a time. They happily accepted campers. They had built new ablutions, and the camp area had many big trees. We did take a drive through a part of the park but only saw birds. Apparaently the area was the headquarters of Renamo during the war. We were the only people there. Cost us US$10pp entrance and about R48ppd. They also have bungalows for rent. This place is great. Quite, peaceful, just hot. I measured the temperature at 36.5C in the shade. That night at about 8pm another couple drifted in. They had just come via Zimbabwe and we planning to go north to Caia. What they did not know, and what we only found out when we got there was that the bridge from Chitengo camp along the road to Muanza was washed away. We had also planned on going that way.
Day 8
This couple left the next day to go back towards Beira and then north. Later that afternoon Mark & Kathy also arrived at Chitengo camp (we met them at Vilankulo and did the dhow trip together). They were also planning to go to Quelimane so we decided it would be best if we travelled in convoy. I had been receiving all kinds of different reports about the road from Dondo to Caia. This varied from crossing rivers chest deep, wading through mud, being bogged down to there is no problem with the road it is fine. Mark & Kathy also had a tdi300 Landrover so we felt confident that between us we could cope with anything the road would throw at us.
Day 9 (Christmas Day)
We left Chitengo camp at about 8am and headed back to Dondo and then north to Caia. This road is unsurfaced. It is very sandy in places and huge potholes are common. We were lucky that it did not rain. We often had to cross low level bridges, and in places the road was washed away. Travelling at about 30km/h was a comfortable speed. Anything faster and you just started to bounce around.. This road is parallelled by a now defunct railway line and in many places there were train wrecks, with carriages strewn all over the place.
From Dondo to Caia is about 150kms and this took us about 7 - 8 hours.
Video clip of Dondo - Caia Road (169K)
Video of the some railway trucks and a repaired piece of road.
Video clip of Dondo - Caia Road (133K)
It had rained about an hour before we hit this stretch of road. Very quickly it turned to mud.
Video clip of Dondo - Caia Road (113K)
More of the muddy road.
Images of a war. The pics below are of destroyed armoured vehicles we saw along the roads. The first one is between Vilankulo and Beira (Ithink) and the others are on the Dondo Caia road.
We finally made it to Caia at about 5:30pm, only to find that the ferry that will transport us over the Zambezi River is out of action. It had been out of action for about 3 weeks. But as luck would have it they finally fixed it about 10 minutes after we got there. We were quite a few vehicles parked there and we managed to convince the captain to take us across. At a R100 a vehicle. I suspect the price was rather inflated but we were eager to get on with our trip. We found out later from other travellers in Quelimane that they had camped at the ferry for the night and then drove north and across a bridge and then later had to use a hand operated ferry to get to Quelimane. It added over 200kms to their trip and it took about 4 hours. In that light the R100 was cheap.
Video clip of ferry crossing at Caia Road (92K)
Video of the crossing point while we wait for the ferry to be brought to the landing stage
By the time we had crossed the Zambezi it was after 6pm and we still had to do about 200kms to Quelimane. So we had to do one of the travel no-no's of Mozambique and drive at night. The road from Caia to Quelimane is tarred, or a better description would be potholes with some tar around them. Never have I been so gratefull for the pencil beam spotlights I have fitted on my Landrover. Between the potholes, goats, people and vehicles without lights or reflectors this was a bit of a nightmare. Along the way the back cover on the alternator had rattled loose and was causing a short, so a quick bush repair had to be carried out. We finally made it to Quelimane at about 10pm. We were hot, tired, dusty and hungry and just wanted to find some food and a bed.
Here starts our Quelimane experience. There is no campsite in Quelimane itself. The hotels left much to be desired. One had no water and gave you a bucket. The other charged US$140 per couple but there was no place to leave your vehicle, other than unattended in the road. The other recommended place rented rooms by the hour and the toilets were overflowing. We then found a reference to a place called Zalala Beach and headed off. We finally found the place 40kms north of the town (13 kms further than the book said). We arrived there just after midnight and no matter what we found, this is as far as I was going. We actually met one of the camp supervisors along the road and he showed us the way, and where to camp. The campsite is not bad. But...there are no ablution facilities. Correction, there are no showers and the toilets are not connected to water. So you have to pour water from a bucket into the bowl to flush. Needless to say that was not done so you can image then state of the place.
By then we were so tired that anything would do. Mark & Kathy headed for the beach to have a swim and headed for bed. Catherine and I were not going to swim in unknown waters so I rigged our shower and a bush toilet had to suffice. I was hungry so I heated up a tin of food and had some coffee. I pushed our 2 water drums under the Landrover and left the hot coffee pot on the gas stove and went to bed. The next morning we woke up to find that someone had stolen my coffee pot and my drums. I was not amused.
Day 10
By now we got to see the state of the ocean which was a nice chocolate brown from the river influx. We also later learned that the town has no sewege works and it just flows into the river and off to sea. Boy were we glad we did not swim in that. We paid our 25000 Meticais (R12-50) and left. Mark & Kathy were heading up to Pebane, Nampula and Mozambique Island and then back through Cuamba to Malawi. We were also thinking of going that way, but after Quelimane decided that heading for Malawi was a better option.
Video of the US$140 hotel and a ruined cathedral
Video clip of Zalala Beach (92K)
Video of the camping area.
We had a quick look around town and then left for Malawi. The road from Quelimane to Milange is a mixed bag. It is tarred most of the way to the next town and they are busy doing some work on it. From this town we turned north to Milange and this road is unsurfaced, but in good condition and looks like it gets graded often. We left Quelimane at about 8am and made it to the border at about 5pm. Ther lanscape changes dramatically as you approach Malawi. The coastal plain is left behind and you start climbing up the escarpment along the sides of the Rift Valley. Got through the border with no problems, except that the Malawians officials wanted the entrance fee paid in Kwacha. No Rands, US$ or Meticais only Kwachas. The exchange rate is a chancy thing he told me. Today you give me foreign money at a certain rate and tommorow the rate changes and I will have less Kwatchas than I am supposed to. Can't argue with that. So some quick bartering in the street got me the required monies and off we went.
This is a pic at the Milange border post. The log is the barrier. They drag it out of the way for you to pass.
From here on we were completely in the dark as far as information went. We had no guidebooks and had to take things as they came. Our intention was to find a place to camp in Blantyre before heading off to the lake. We got to Blantyre at about 8:30pm. By then we started looking for a hotel. The first place we were directed to was US$240 a night per couple. We finally settled on a hotel for only US$85. It wasn't an upmarket place but the water was hot and the sheets clean. The kitchen was closed, but they made us sandwiches.
Day 11
Malawi is really a pleasant place. The people are friendly and helpful and seem to bend over backwards for tourists. We headed out of Blantyre at about 9am. It was interesting to see familiar trademarks and company names, a bit like being back in South Africa. They even have a Landrover/BMW dealership. In daylight we could suddenly see many more places we probably could have stayed for the night.
Our plans were to head north towards Zomba and then onto Monkey Bay as we had done a lot of driving and were keen to get to a place just to rest up for a while. Sadly population pressures have really deforested the place. The other thing we noticed that Malawi must be the religous centre of Africa. We could not believe the number of denomination headquarters were located along this road, both Islamic and Christian. At about 2pm we saw that we were close to Liwonde National Park and decided just to have a quick look. We studiously followed the signs and after a while decided that we were well past the 6km mark the sings indicated. We stopped at a busstop where a truck was uploading some passengers and asked for directions. Very enthusiastically all 20 odd assured us that we had missed the turning but not to worry, if we followed them they would show us the way. So we tucked in behind them and followed them to a turn-off some distance away. They prompty stopped, about 5 people jumped off and started explaining the way and how nice the park was, while the rest of the people on the truck all leaned across and pointed where we had to turn. It was quite amuzing. As it turned out everyone we met at Liwonde missed the turn-off.
When we got the the gate a very friendly lady explained that the park fee was US$10 ppd and US$2 pd for the vehicle and accommodation was paid for seperately. It is also about 30 minutes drive to the camp area. We decided that this was a bit expensive especially as we had no idea what the camping facilities were like. We explained that we were heading for Monkey Bay and asked how far it still was. About 3 - 4 hours we were told. This left us with the prospect of arriving late and then hunting for a place to stay and putting up camp in the dark. After Quelimane we would rather take on an unknown place in the light than in darkness, so we paid our fee for one day. I asked what happens if we decide to stay longer. No problem, when you leave you pay for the time you spent in the park. Now came the warnings." The road to the camp area is not in good shape but if you drive properly it will take half an hour. If you drive at 160kph it will only take a minute but your car will be wrecked". Ok, I will drive slowly is said. The other problem she had to warn us about was the rain. Normally the park is closed to vehicle after the first rains of the season. It it unusual that it has not rained yet, but when it does it washes away the road in a number of places and then we could be trapped in the park until April. Thanking her for all this info, we headed to the camp. Along the way we saw some game in the distance on the pans, and the whole area is covered in boababs. There were 3 places where the road crossed deep gullies and these had makeshift "bridges" or soil and rock fill to allow vehicles to cross. Yep, the first decent rain and this was all gone.
We arrived at the camp. Wow! and double Wow!. Neat reed screen fences, a huge thatched pub/resturant/reception and neatly trimmed lawns. We were immediately approached by one of the reception staff while we were still getting ourselves out of the Landrover. "Good afternoon, my name is X. Will we be having the pleasure of your company?" Well we just about fell over. We explained that we were looking for accommodation for the night. " Sure, no problem, why don't you come in, have some coffee and we can tell you what we have available." Well in brief, camping was US$8 ppd, a tented hut was about US$40. We opted for camping. The campsite was great and the ablutions were immaculate. Sitting on the huge veranda sipping drinks, watching hippos wallow in the river, what a life. We like the place so much we stayed an extra day. Dinner was also available, served on the banks of the river under 2 big boababs. Mark and Kathy also arrived here about 2 hours after us. Seems they decided not to go further north into Mozambique and headed for Malawi instead. Liwonde is also one of the places where South Africa is reintroducing black rhino.
Our very dusty Landrover. We decided to use this opportunity to get some washing done and shovel out the dust.
Video clip of Liwonde (Shire River) (77K)
Video of the river at dusk with some hippos
Video of the riverbank where dinner is served
Video clip of Liwonde Pub area (71K)
Video of the pub/restuarant
Video clip of Liwonde Campsite (273K)
Video of the campsite area. The landcruisers were on their way to Egypt. Also shows a tented hut.
Day 12
After a good nights rest we did not have any great ambitions to go looking for animals so we took this opportunity to get some essential washing done. We had also collected an interesting number of dust layers and there was some things that needed repacking and reordering. By about 2 pm everthing was shipshape again and we headed of to go and sit on the veranda and be decadent. Ofcourse everybody developed the habit of looking up at the sky and praying for the rains to hold off. I was getting to the stage where I could happily stay until April, but Catherine would have none of that.
Day 13
Packed up and headed for Monkey Bay at about 9am, and not a moment to soon. As we were leaving the rain started. The people at Liwonde recommended that we stay at Nkopola Lodge (sp?) on the lake shore, so off we went. Up to this point the roads were in good shape. There was the odd pothole, and this continued up to Machinga. From here the road really got worse mainlu due to potholes, often big enough to lose a Landrover in. At Mangochi, we stopped to exchange some money at a bank. We also found a museum all about Lake Malawi. It is well worth a visit. It has displays of all sorts of things about the history of the lake. We stopped for lunch and then headed of to Nkopola Lodge. When we got there we found that it is actually a Protea Hotel and that they had camping sites but these were all booked. It was also our first real look at the lake.
Video clip of Nkopola Lodge at Lake Malawi (117K)
Up until this point camping space was never a problem, but now we found that space on the lake was a problem. So we just turned into every place we came to until we found accommodation. We finally found space at a place that catered for overlander trucks. The place was a bit delapidated (we later found out that they were moving to another site along the lake so maintanance at this place had ceased),but as we had spent more time around Mangochi than we intended and it was already 4pm so we stayed. As it turned out they rented us a bungalow for US$10.
Day 14
We left early (about 7am) determined to get to Monkey Bay. A long day was planned as we needed to secure accommodation and then head across to Lilongwe and back, to cash some travellers cheques and get some money off our credit cards. We had heard that Cape Maclear was full so after we filled up, we started to look for accommodation. We were stopped by a young guy in a SA vehicle who asked if we were looking for accommodation. We must have been wearing a sign. He explained that they have just opened a place on the eastern side of the penisuala. We did go and have look and noted it for future reference. They had no trees and everywhere was thick sand. This place has potential with a bit of TLC and sweat. The next place we tried was called Nswala Lodge. They are situated on the western side of the penisuala. They had also just opened but were further along than the other crowd. They offer camping , chalets (US$30ppd) and 10 bed bungalows (US$10pd per bed). By now we were getting to be a bit travel weary and the thought of a chalet was apealing but not at that price.
Still not having any definite place to stay but at least 2 prospects available we headed for Lilongwe at about 11am. We followed a dirt road (it was tarred at some stage) called the Ntakataka Road until we got to the Balaka - Salima Road. We turned north towards Salima and Lilongwe. This is a good road. We could move at a good speed and the scenery was interesting as we climbed out of the valley and onto the escarpment. We got to Lilongwe at about 1pm only to find that the banks close at 2pm and it takes 3 hours to do a credit card transaction. At least they changed our travellers cheques. Lilongwe is not as developed as Blantyre, which we thought was a far more pleasant town. We now had to consider our cashflow very carefully. Catherine wanted to stop at Dezda Pottery and we wanted to get some gifts. The Malawians are also good carvers and I could easily have spent thousands on their woodwork. We were hungry and started to look for a place to eat. As we were driving out of Lilongwe towards Blantyre it started to rain, bucket loads. We spotted a sign 'Annies Backpackers Coffee Bar'. We negotiated our way to the place, parked and swam through the rain to the place. Whatever the name implies, was definitely not what we found. My impression was that if any backpackers frequented the place it was because they were lost. We sat down and hesitantly asked for a menu, which was promptly produced. We ordered vegetable curry and coffee. To set the scene, formica tables, no 3 chairs the same. The coldrink fridge had about 2 bottles of coke a few more of fanta and some coco-pino. None of the cutlery and crockery matched. But it was a great place ( we just had to pack away our expectations). The food was good and the coffee great. Due to the rain a number of locals had drifted in to stand under the veranda. One guy had a guitar and started to strum some tune, another chap had another string instrument I did not recognise, and he joined in. We were suddenly part of a spontaneous jam session. People were drumming on the tables and singing.
Time was moving on and by now it was past 3pm. The rain had stopped and we headed for Dezda. By then we had made two decisions, namely that we just had to come back to Malawi and that in light of this and our low cash reserves we would start heading back home the next day. We got to Dezda Pottery just after 4pm. This is well worth a visit. They have a large variety of goods for sale, accepted creditcards and have a really good coffee shop. So after we picked out some items and waited for them to be packaged we had some coffee, apple pie and cheese cake. By now it was after 5pm and we were still a long way from Monkey Bay. Now we had two options. Take a mountain pass shortcut of about 20kms or drive around for about 200kms. When I enquired about this moutain road nobody could give me a definite answer. We decided to go across the mountain road. This took us about an hour and was well worth it. The view across the lake was spectacular. The road itself required some concentration and has some very tight turns and steep sections but nothing that can't be handled. I would not take a car across it, but having said that we did meet a guy with an old BMW coming up the other way. I was gratefull that we made it through before dark. By about 7pm we were back at Nswala Lodge. We were tired and the prospect of setting up camp was a bit daunting so we opted for the US$10 beds. Again luck was on our side. During our absence a group had arrived and taken all the other beds, but they did have a chalet vacant because the previous guests decided not to stay for the booked period and they offered it to us at the US$10 rate, which we gratefully accepted. We had pretty much made up our mind that we would be leaving the next day, until someone who had just come up via Tete told us the the cops in Mozambique were doing some serious pre-New Year harvesting. This put a new light on our planned departure. We had sufficient funds to stay an extra day, all that it meant was that we could not buy as many wood carvings as we would have liked. So as we got comfortable around the pub we replanned and decided that we at least had to make an attempt to get to Cape Maclear. The place is run by a South African and his wife is Israeli. Great couple, and we spent an enjoyable time there.
View to the east from the mountain looking at the lake
Day 15 (New year's eve)
Got a late start, and headed for Cape Maclear. The road is not very long, about 15-20kms, but the corrugations were a killer. The road twists and bends so you could not pick up a lot of speed so we settle for a far more sedate pace. Cape Maclear is very beautiful. The place was very quite. We were surprised. There was lots of camping space and the bungalows seem cheap enough. Camping is K45 ppd, a single in a chalet K45, double K75 (about R10-00). It was really hot so we took a quick stroll along the beach and headed back. We filled up with diesel, and headed off to go and get some curios. We just lounge around for the rest of the day. That evening everyone gathered around the pub and a good time was had by all. Just before midnight some people got in a boat and went offshore to bring in the new year on the lake. The rest of us gathered around and watch them set off 3 big sky rockets. All in all a very low key millenium, just the way we wanted. It was interesting to see the lake at night. The fishermen would go out on boats and sit out there with parrafin lamps so that most of the night the lake had this multitude of small lights bobbing away. We went to bed shortly after midnight as we were leaving at 5am.
The last sunset of 1999. View west across Lake Malawi
Video clip of Cape Maclear at Lake Malawi (118K)
Video clip of Nswala Lodge at Lake Malawi (248K)
Day 16 (New Year's Day)
For once we actually managed to get away at our planned time and headed back towards Balaka, by passed Blantyre and onto Mwanza and the border at Zobue. Along the way we were stopped at a roadblock and the officer asked us with a very straight face if we were Y2K compliant. We replied that we had made it to the new millenium so we must be. With a huge grin he said Ok and waved us on. The road back to Mangochi was its usual potholed self, but from there to the border post was in good shape with few potholes. At the Malawian border post we passed through very easily and then headed for the Mozambique border post. Here the fun started. We had requested double entry visas from the consulate and they said there was no need, 2 single entry visas was a better option. Ofcourse nobody had communicated this different way of doing visas to this border post. After 45 minutes of explaining my story about 5 times to different officials, a senior official was summoned. So I explained my story again. He demanded to see my receipt for the visas. Luckily I had it on me. I think what finally got through to him was my point that, I carefully explain to the Durban Consulate that we would be entering Mozambique twice, once from South Africa and once from Malawi. I, as a visitor to his country had to rely on the fact that the people in Durban who were official representatives of his government, knew what our requirements were and issued the visas accordingly. I in my humble opinion had no right to question them as they were the experts. He grumbled and mumble and finally let us go. I think he realised that we acted in good faith and were the victims of some beaurocratic foul up. After this I resolved to always make sure that I had my visa receipts and no matter what the Consulate said would settle for no less than double entry visas.
So onto Tete. The road is Ok, with the occasional pothole. The Tete corridor really is a hot place. We crossed back over the Zambezi and stopped outside Tete to fill up with diesel. We decided that this was probabaly the last reliable source of fuel and that should we find that there is not diesel in Zimbabwe, we had enough to make it back to South Africa. At the Nymapanda border post the Mocambiqeans were very friendly. Even though we did not have the required "yellow" form for the vehicle. They happily helped me sort through my papers until the correct form was spotted. As it turned out the border post at Zobue issued white ones. I had visions of me having to backtrack all the way to meet my unamused official again and ask for the right form. The Zimbabwean officials were also very helpful and friendly, but they were a bit stickyer about the paperwork and wanted me to list everything in my vehicle as imports for re-export. The man was not joking. So I went and fetched the printout of my packing list and pointed out that he did not have enough space on his form for all my stuff. He looked at me, looked at my list, looked at the Landrover stamped my list and bid me a good journey. I asked him what the state of the fuel crisis was and he said that some fuel had arrived. I said that I had 80l of diesel in my jerrycans (which was not listed as a specific item). Paperwork was ammended and off we went.
From Nyampanda to Harare is quite a scenic journey, and the maps showed all kinds of historical places to see, but we had only one mission now and that was going home so we did not stop alomg the way. In Harare we decided that getting some extra diesel would be nice just in case. The first garage had none, but the second had, and there was no limit. Midful of the fuel crisis we only put in 40l. Then we found a Holiday Inn which happily accepted our creditcards. At 5pm we were not going to start hunting for campsites.
Day 17
From Harare we headed south at about 8am. We would have liked to spend more time in Zim because it really is a beautiful country but we had something like US$40 left. WE decided to see what the entrance fee was to Great Zimbabwe and if it was within our resources to stop for a look. Entrance to the park area was US$10 and entrance to the ruins was about Z$50. This is an astounding place for a visit. The complex is far more exentsive that I ever thought. So for 3 hours we huffed and puffed our way up hills and steep footpaths admiring the structures. There is camping available in the park which was good to know. I was really impressed by the amount of local tourists to the place.
At about 3pm we headed out towards Beitbridge. We got there at sunset (6-7 pm). The Zimbabwean side is well organised. There is a board up on the wall with step by step instructions and what to do and where to queue. This really helps. I handed over our last US$20 note to pay the R45 toll fee for the bridge and headed for the South African side. What a circus. We finally got going at 8:30pm. I took less time to get through a Mozambique border post. Hordes of people were flocking across the border and the official did not give a damn. They queues were out the door and there were only 4 officers on duty. Soon 1got up and left and later another one. So 4 queues now became 2. What really amazed me was that the first one to leave took someone's passport opened it up, looked at the time and got up and left, leaving the poor guy standing there with his passport on the otherside. She had not returned by the time we left, and for all I know that chap is probablt still standing there. I was disgusted by the lack of professionalism of this border post. Then at customs they wanted our form isssued when we left South Africa. Well we did not have one. We waded through all our documents again but to no avail. The official pointed out that it was not possible to leave SA without such a form. I asked him to show me the form so that I at least had an idea of waht I was looking for. Well, we had never received such a form. Anyway as it turns out the South African/Swaziland border posts do not issue such forms. Now for the first time someone wanted to search my vehicle. By now I was seething. But put on a smile and said sure no problem and opened up the back. The official dealt with some pedestrians and then come round the back, walked straight into the sparewheel carrier nearly doing himself a grievious injury, took one look in the back and said Ok you can go. He was obviously not prepared to unpack all of that at 8:30pm. As we were leaving the border area we were stopped again by a policeman. Checked some papers, and then proceded to tell us that it was raining towards Mezina and that we must please drive carefully. What a pleasant change. We finally got to Johannesburg at 3am the next day and spent some time visiting family before heading back to Durban.
All told a journey of about 7200 kms. Ave fuel consumption was about 7.5l/km, not bad considering the load, roads etc.
We really had a great trip. It was very tiring and can't wait to go travelling again. We also learnt a lot from this trip and the experience will stand us in good stead for future adventures.
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