The big party and the big storm: Day 42 - 44

We were spending a night at the next door joint called Baobab Backpackers, who are a participant on Open Africa’s Vilanculos Route route. There was a lively bunch of travellers sharing the bungalows and having a party for the one British guy’s 30^th birthday. After making friends in the first 5 minutes, we were invited to share in the shenanigans, and had a great evening socializing and drinking the bar dry. Finally, after an amazing day at sea and an eventful evening ashore, we collapsed into the bunk beds. After nearly a month of not a single rainy day on The Journey, the heavens opened in full force at 4 in the morning. The downpour was so loud on the thatch that I lay there just waiting for the roof to cave in! None of us could hear the other shouting over the rain! We were caught in an infamous Mozambiquan tropical storm – bright flashes of lightning through the roof and thunder like a lorry driving through the room.

The morning was luckily calm, and we got on the road again heading inland towards Malawi. Our Mozambique adventure was coming to an end…but Malawi was waiting. We drove all day on hot dusty roads through village after village, passed the beautiful Gorongosa National Park (which has recently been taken under the financial wing of Bill Gates, who aims to help get it on track) until we reached Caia. We crossed the bridge and camped on the banks of the Zambezi, woke up early and made our way slowly but surely on the dusty rural back roads of inland Mozambique to the Milange border.

The bustling beach town and the deserted island: Day 39 - 41

Beautiful Magarouque.

Flamingoes in the sea!

Driftwood on Magarouque island.

Our next destination was Vilanculo. Despite the warnings against visiting the town of “Villian”culo, we decided to listen to the positive reviews we’d heard and arrived to a relaxed yet happening atmosphere, with the sea so still it blended into the sky – just the islands in the distance were evidence of a horizon. And how glad we were that we gave it a chance! It goes to show that different people have different tastes when travelling, and what some don’t enjoy, others adore. 

Vilanculo definitely had a good dose of beach spunk. We followed some rusty signs along a sandy road right next to the beach (which seemed as if it was a village path or someone’s back garden instead of a legitimate town road), asked a local where a nice place to stay was, who then hopped on to the bonnet of the Landy and gave us directions by waving his arms around as we drove to Beach Village.

The new place in town, Beach Village offers chalets and dorms, has a great bar and restaurant that are open and practically on the beach. It is still under construction, and is not officially open, however they were not turning guests down, and happily welcomed us.

Colourful water wonderland.

That afternoon we organized with a local rusta called Daute, who we met through the barman at Beach Village, to take us out to the nearby islands on his boat snorkeling and fishing the following day. Magarouque is the closest island to Vilanculo, with Bazaruto far in the distance.  So we decided that would be the one to explore. For 25 dollars each we were going on a half-day island adventure – 6 hours of sailing, snorkeling and exploring, with lunch included. We couldn’t wait!

The most amazing lunch!

The next day we hopped aboard the local sailing boat and headed towards the small piece of land on the horizon. The boys had their lines trawling while the girls lay sunbathing on deck. The colourful sea life below us was even visible in the deep waters, which was as mesmerizingly blue as the turquoise shoreline. We eventually set foot on the Magarouque sand, and decided to go walking, knowing eventually we’d land up in the same place. We had about an hour to wait before the tide was right for snorkeling, and were told by our sailors that it only took half an hour to walk around the whole island. Never trust African time. An hour and a 45 minutes later we got back to the boat, but looking out onto the sea in all directions, strolling along completely serene white beaches with driftwood scattered everywhere, and seeing flamingoes in the ocean it was totally worth the trek.

Our sailing boat...

We fetched our snorkeling gear from the boat and walked back down the beach to where the rock drop off started, ready to snorkel all the way back right along the shore with the tide. Bright yellow and blue gar fish with their long stouts, giant multi-coloured parrot fish, a big and shy octopus, hundreds of small stripy angel fish and polka-dotted box fish gliding in and around the rocks…what an under-water wonderland! When we got back to the boat, a delicious local lunch of fish, coconut rice, Portugese bread, fruit and salad and soft drinks was waiting. We savoured every bite before heading back to the mainland after a day well worth ever dollar spent.

The invasion on wheels: Day 38

The next day we reluctantly said good-bye to one of our favourite spots yet, and continued up the coastline to a place called Morrungulo, which had been recommended by the owners of Areia Branca. We were welcomed by a long stretch of unspoiled beach and a very green, lush camping area. After a few hours of being totally alone and secluded, we had a sudden turn of luck when a troop of bikers arrived in full force and surrounded our lonely tents. We made the most of the ‘invasion’, and got chatting to the crazy bunch of fellow South Africans who were on their way from East London to Germany in 52 days! That evening we enjoyed one of our best camping meals we’ve whipped together so far – a spicy fish curry, which we were told by our neighbouring campers smelt delicious!

The bay of waves and mangroves: Day 36 - 37

Inhambane Bay from Ponta da Barra.

Dancing in the evening sun.

We woke up to a long stroll on the beach and refreshing swim. We decided to pack up and continue exploring the nearby area, took the sandiest, least driven roads we could find, until we found ourselves just 10km away at Ponta da Barra. We ate lunch in a fishing boat hanging from the ceiling and looking out onto the beach at a place called Barra Lodge (which looked a fantastic place to stay, but was sadly out of our budget). Just a few kilometers further we found the perfect campsite right on the point where the Inhambane Bay meets the Indian Ocean at Areia Branca Chalets and Campsite. You have endless river and mangroves on the one side, and sand dunes and waves on the other.Tom was itching to go fishing (which happens every time we see a body of water big enough for fish to live in), and so we went for a sunset walk on the beach, right around the point and back to camp along side the mangroves on the banks of the Inhambane estuary. The boys cracked open some coconuts from the trees around our campsite with our panga and we all enjoyed the white nutty flesh.

The great lake discovery: Day 34 - 36

The beautiful lakes of Inharrime...

The rising sun meant another day on the road. Our Mozambique adventure continued as we carried on north. We left Chidenguele and started making our way towards Inhambane and Tofu on the EN 1, the condition of which was still brilliant. We passed through small village after small village, passed pavement markets selling cashews, honey and bananas and ladies in their bright attire sitting under the trees with their tomatoes and naartjies piled up in little pyramids. Until suddenly the village scene opened up to a view of the most arresting turquoise lakes bordered by white banks, pink dunes and lush green coastal bush with the big blue sea in the distance. We took the first road left towards the lakes to get a bit closer – the clear blue water was drawing us to its shores. This time we won the battle against the soft sand and made it to the lake.  Without a single other person in sight, we waded into the turquoise water. A villager appeared a few minutes later with coconuts full of sweet milk. We drank, soaked up the scene and enjoyed a bit of lunch, which us organized girls had ready for the road. Reluctantly, we headed back for the main road after the most beautiful off-the-beaten-track discovery.

Conquering the sand.

We passed through Inhambane as the sun was setting, and made it to Tofu with the last light. There was a real buzzing vibe along the beach front – locals mixed with foreigners, music from the bars and bright fabrics from the sidewalk shops blowing in the wind, a beach soccer match taking place with couples walking on the beach in the distance. We just had to dip our feet in the water and discovered the strangest thing about Tofu on our way to the waves…the sand squeaks beneath your feet! You can imagine the animated sound effects from the sand under the feet of the soccer players!

We set up camp at the popular backpackers called Fatima’s Nest, and ate dinner on the street at a tiny place called The Bread Shack, which had the most amazing fresh homemade bread.

The land of sand and sunshine: Day 32 - 34

The rocks at Xai Xai.

After making triple sure we had all the necessary requirements to get into Mozambique relatively hassle free – the reflector vests, third party insurance (which even if you already have, you need to buy again at the border), red triangles and blue triangle stickers on the front and back of the car – we paid a small bribe to avoid having to unpack all our gear for customs to search and headed into Mozambique. We took some advice from SA 4X4 magazine and turned onto a gravel road short cut that bypassed Maputo and got us closer to Xai Xai, while giving us a real feel for Mozambique life as we wound our way through little local villages.

We got to Xai Xai after dark, went straight to the campsite and cracked open a 2M (the local beer, pronounced “doish-em”) after a long day driving. 
At the bar we met some people who knew some people (a common phenomenon in Africa) who had a place literally 500m away with chalets that opened up onto the beach, and so we rambled on a bit further and finally collapsed into bed at Shadrak’s Chalets, too tired to fight the mozzies.

We woke up early to a beautiful clear morning, opening the door onto the sea. We enjoyed a stroll and a swim as the only people on the beach before repacking and getting ready for the road again. We paid Shadrak for our stay (who then sneakily disappeared and pretended to be sleeping so he didn’t have to give us our change!) and got on our way. Contrary to what we had been told, and much to our gratitude, the EN1, which is the main highway that stretches the entire length of the country, has been recently tarred and is in perfect nick. Our general plan for Mozambique was to get going early, arrive at a place around midday, and then explore and enjoy it for the afternoon. After driving for a few hours, we were hot and hungry and saw a sign for the beach at a place called Chidenguele. We decided to take a lunch and swim break, finding ourselves curious to check it out.

Chidenguele, just before we got stuck...

Now, because we are driving a trusty Land Rover, the boys were eager to follow the dune road down to the beach and go exploring. We passed through a place called Sunset Lodge and got three quarters of the way down when the boys decided to abort the driving on the beach idea. But it was one dune too late – we were stuck in the sand with a massive dune behind us we needed to climb! After spending 40 minutes deflating the tyres in the midday heat and laying branches on the sand to give the car enough traction to get up the sand dune again, we decided Sunset Beach was the place to be for the night.

Sunset Beach Lodge has really fantastic camping facilities, with a neat little house containing a bathroom and kitchen next to each camp site. The restaurant and bar open up onto a huge deck overlooking the sea, making you feel on top of the world.

The Land Rover blues and the Big Five cruise: Day 28 – 31

Our room at Lion Sands!

A playful cub.

Sundowners on the game drive.

A big buff.

We checked in at Land Rover Nelspruit to give good ol’ Grace a full medical before crossing any more borders. Shane and the team were really great, and made up some brownie points after our shambolic ordeal with Land Rover head office. Turned out that Grace needed some attention, so we left her in their capable hands and each set off to visit our Aunties…Jazz and Robbie in Carolina, and Tom and I in White River.  After some delicious home cooked food, we all met up again to head off to Lion Sands – a real treat given to us by my aunt and uncle, Nick and Jean More, who own the lodge. Seeing as Grace was getting fixed, Nick loaned us his car…we upgraded from a 2003 Defender to a 2009 Discovery – very comfortable and smart (leather seats and awesome sound system), but we missed the banging and rattling of our Defender.

Lion Sands is a 5 star family owned lodge started roughly 10 years ago. They are also looking to get involved with supporting Open Africa and the quest to become self-sustainable by starting a ‘Safari Route’. All four of us had never experienced such luxury and lavishness! We were escourted to our rooms and opened the door to see a greeting message spread across the king-sized beds with reeds and leaves reading “Welcome Tom and Nikki”. We lay there in awe and kind of giggling giddily at how lucky we felt to be there.

We enjoyed a meal for royalty on the deck looking over on to Kruger’s side of the reserve and explored the bar and lounging areas. Just after high tea at half-past three, we headed off on a game drive. We tracked down leopard in the thickets, bumped into some temperamental bull elephants on musth and enjoyed a civilized GnT and wine as the sun went down. It was a Boma buffet dinner at tables around the bonfire with gas lanterns, blankets and hot-water bottles waiting on our seats to warm us up. We went to sleep more than satisfied and still relishing in the glamour of the experience.

In the morning we woke up with the sun rising, and went on our second game drive to discover a mother lioness and her playful cubs, white rhino grazing on the side of the road, and a herd of buffalo lazing the morning sun (always with that curious twinkle in their eye). The Big 5 in less than 24-hours…what a spoil!

We checked out after a delicious breakfast and headed back to White River to finish up with some admin before continuing to Mozambique. A huge thank you goes to our aunty Jean and tannie Sanet for letting us stay and for running around after us while we were carless! We finally fetched Grace, who’s engine was purring beautifully and exterior sparkling after getting a clean…and made our way to the Komatipoort border to cross into Mozambique.

The short sugar stop: Day 25 – 27

Sishebe Rock, Swaziland.

Songimvelo Nature Reserve on the border of Swaziland

We left early and starting weaving our way along the back gravel roads of the Elephant Coast and Maputaland to Swaziland. We we’re surprised by the magical Pongola Lake just after Jozini town lying as still as glass in the valleys and stretching far into the horizon. We passed game reserve after game reserve until we reached the Lavumisa Swazi border. Our second border crossing, into the second of the last three remaining Kingdoms in Africa, went by breezily again, and we were on the road to Manzini in no time.

Swaziland, even though almost completely surrounded by South Africa, has a very unique feel to it. We sensed a relaxed yet organized atmosphere, where the people do what needs to be done, but with a sense of enjoyment. We landed up staying at Swazi Backpackers just outside Manzini, and just up the road from the legendary House on Fire. The House on Fire was the highlight of our short stop in Swaziland for sure…local rural artworks, weaving, ceramics, sculptures, crazy gaudy architecture with creatures and patterns of all kinds faceted on every wall...it was a truly inspiring scene to behold. We were 4 days short of the Bushfire music and arts festival, which takes place every year at the House on Fire, and where people come from all over the world to see local and international musicians for a weekend of off-the-wall experiences.

The crazy and creative House on Fire, Manzini.

After walking around enthralled by the colourful and one-of-a-kind creativity, we stocked up on some more sugarcane, and continued on our way. We passed through Mbabane alongside Sishebe Rock, through plantations and Piggs Peak, racing time on slow gravel roads to get to the Bulembu border on time. The winding roads through the bluegum plantations got the better of us, and we landed up getting to the border half and hour too late! After trying our luck and begging the border past officers to let us through (to no avail), we backtracked to the small town of Bulembu, where we camped on the bowls field of the Bulembu Country Club…right near the border. A nearly-never-visited town, Bulembu still had notices on the wall from 1986 in the abandoned sports club!

We set off at the crack of dawn, got through the border quickly and smoothly (at the right time), and set off for Nelspruit. We drove through the majestic Songimvelo Nature Reserve, another unexpected gem in the middle of seemingly nowhere, which brought back memories of Lesotho with the rolling landscape of mountains, and waved good-bye to the fields and rock formations and mountains of the Swazi Kingdom.

The first beach (with the friendly hosts): Day 21 – 24

A dragonfly we found on the beach.

Following our noses on the N2 most of the way (and passing through about 5 tollgates!), we watched the landscape change from the sparse, dry vegetation of the winter mountains as we passed Pietermaritzberg, Durban and Richards Bay to the tropical and pleasantly humid coastal village of Sodwana.

We headed for the beach, trying to find the closest possible place to stay on the coast so that we could hear the waves. Passing a hippo crossing sign on the way, and countless boards advertising backpackers, B&B’s, lodges and campsites (even though our GPS only mentioned four places – Sodwana clearly an under-explored gem) until we stumbled upon a beach treasure and holiday-makers heaven, AND (luckily) in off-season.

Sodwana Bay.

Inkwazi Beach Camp is definitely one of our favourite and most delightful discoveries on The Journey so far. Marius and Mariette treated us with the utmost hospitality and welcomed us as family, spoiling us on the first night with some of their delicious home-made sushi, and upgrading us to the cabins for the price of camping. We all fell in love with the place – the relaxed wooden beach-style architecture, the sand beneath your feet in the kitchen and dining area, the less-is-more approach and the hosts! We landed up staying for 3 nights. 

Jazz walking along the rock pools at Sodwana.

We visited the 4^th of the World Heritage Sites we’ve seen so far – The Sodwana Bay Marine Park. Paying R25/pp for beach access in the 4x4 (ploughing through the dunes to get to the beach, much to the boys’ delight), we spent the day soaking up the sun and swimming in the warm water, fishing and rejuvenating our inner ‘beach-baby’, and in winter! Next stop …country number 3 – the Kingdom of Swaziland.

The last of the mountains: Day 18 – 20

You could sense a change in the atmosphere as we crossed the border from the land of the Basotho’s to the land of the Zulu’s. The most obvious change, besides the fact that we weren’t in the mountains anymore, was that the traditional huts got more and more colourful and artistically patterned. The South African vibe has a certain electricity to it…only once you’ve experienced it, will you know what I’m talking about.  

The road descending from the Lesotho border was a serious challenge, and by the time we got to the Drakensberg we were all ready for a few days of relaxation. The Sani Lodge Backpackers for R100 per person a night with a four star rating was the perfect place to do just that. The fireplace lounge is the place to hangout when the temperatures start dropping and in the midst of all the people you hear accents and languages from all around the world – a real global mishmash nestled on the foot of the famous (or rather, infamous) Sani Pass. 

A R50 per head FULL breakfast at the Giant Teacup, which is right next door to the backpackers, was the best way to fill us up and prepare us for a lazy day. Egg, bacon, homemade yogurt, milk fresh from the udder, freshly squeezed fruit juice, luxuries like cheese…you name it! Trout fishing in a nearby dam was the highlight for the boys, even though this time they came home empty handed (because it is off season of course).

We all know the Drakensberg is renowned for the Sani Pass – a thrilling 4x4 challenge, but we managed to convince the boys to spare our heavy laden vehicle for the 9 countries we still plan to cover.

After the two days rest a long drive to Sodwana awaited us and we were all more than ready to breathe in the thick salty sea air and soak up some sunshine!