Our Last Tough Border Crossing
From Tanzania, there are two options to cross into Northern Mozambique, which was our thirteenth and final country in Africa. There is a ferry that wasn’t running for the next five days due to low tides, and then there is the Unity bridge connecting Tanzania and Moçambique (as the locals write it). The obvious choice was the bridge since we were in a bit of a hurry to get back to ZA, sell the car, and explore a new continent. It is a very nice structure with enormous granite elephant tusks on either end. The border was easy as we were the first ones there (even before some of the employees). However, the journey was slow going because the roads after the bridge put Tanzania’s to shame.
We had read about the Mozambique police being some of the worst in Africa. Marcos and Natch were ahead of us, warning us that they’ll frequently stop you and want to search the car. He suggested that we buy waters to hand out along with some change as it makes the process move much smoother. However, we aren’t as sweet as them, so we refused to buy them something plastic that they would just throw on the ground. Being prepared certainly helped us keep our cool with them as they made us pull everything out of the car, and we almost made it out of Mozambique without a ticket, but then would it even be Africa if we had?
Five hours after we left the border, we arrived at Mueda, a little outpost in Northern Mozambique and the closest civilization to the border. We went straight to Ntima guesthouse, the only place mentioned in Lonely Planet as an option to spend the night. The good — it was the coolest place we had been in a while and we were able to finally get a good night’s sleep without waking up covered in sweat. The bad — there was no running water so we had to use the bucket of water in the bathroom to flush the toilet, a cup if we wanted a shower, and the same bucket of water from the bathroom to wash our dishes. Africa!
Ilha de Moçambique
Our first major excursion was to visit Mozambique Island; it is connected to the mainland by a one-lane bridge, and the tide was so low in the morning that we could’ve walked across most of the way! The island is rich in culture and architecture as it was once the capital; conquered by the Portuguese in the early 16th century, it is adorned with colorful but run-down buildings, massive forts near the water’s edge, and plenty of places to worship.
We went to the museum where we removed our shoes and walked through the governor’s old stomping grounds. Our guide spoke little English, so Coons was crucial in translating our guide’s Portuguese with what similarities he could pick up from Spanish. The mansion had lots of Chinese and Indian influence as well — what a lavish lifestyle that man lived! What was most interesting was seeing old items we still use to this day like tea kettles. Rumor has it that you can dive near the island and find remnants of china from sunken ships!
We had read that the best local spot was this place called Sara’s, but it was closed due to the power outage on the island. We decided on Rickshaw’s Cafe, a beautiful spot with ocean views and a nice breeze. Little children in their underwear (sometimes birthday suits) were jumping off a nearby pier to keep cool during the scorching afternoon heat. We had fish tacos for lunch which really hit the spot after the fourth consecutive day of peanut butter and bread.
Nampula
After lunch we continued on, slowly making our way into southern Mozambique where it is considered safer, for there is a lot of political and cultural unrest in the North. Coons drove through his last city, Nampula, with the exception of Joburg (which he was now a pro) and we stayed in another stuffy, overpriced hostel. The kitchen had Coons dreaming of Westmoreland. We slept at a campsite, promising great views of the Zambezi River (lies) and a hot shower (there was no running water). Our supplies had to last one more day; we planned to meet Marcos and Natch at a campsite just short of Tofo with promises of running water, a shower, and friendship.
Marcos & Natch
We met up with Marcos and Natch at Goody Villas campsite in Inhassoro which had a nice ocean breeze and plenty of shade. We spent hours catching up, and we all cooked dinner together and shared pot-luck-style. Marcos was able to snag some prawns from a local fisherman, and Coons marinated chicken thighs and grilled them up! It felt nice to have company and swap stories (largely about the pesky police) well into the night.
The next morning we left for Tofo, but Marcos and Natch wanted to stay an extra day. To be fair, that campsite was awesome, but we had diving reservations and a timeline. We would meet up with them once at the backpacker hostel in Tofo, and then again at our second home in Johannesburg, Westmoreland Lodge, where we shared one final meal together to celebrate the end of our African safari adventure together. We were able to meet up with them five separate times in four different countries! It’s been real, you two, see you in Barcelona!
Tofo
Tofo has some of the best diving in Mozambique, so we were excited to get back under the sea. We booked two dives with Peri Peri and went out one day later than expected due to high swells — they weren’t kidding about the swells; both of us felt wicked sick after each dive, although only one of us threw up off the edge of the boat (it was Coons!) On the first dive, we could feel ourselves swaying back and forth with the surge. We saw an enormous turtle, some batfish, and eels. One the second dive, a drift dive, we barely had to use our flippers as we were floating with the current like astronauts in space! We saw the biggest lobster we’ve ever seen and a lot of different colored starfish. We were a little bummed we didn’t see any more whale sharks or manta rays (which frequent the area), but we just love diving!
When we weren’t diving, we were eating delicious seafood and hanging out at our backpacker lodge. We were back in Savannah (cider beer) territory which tastes delicious on a white sand beach. We enjoyed playing in the waves and chatting with other travelers. We wished we could’ve stayed longer in southern Mozambique and we understand why this is a popular tourist destination for Africans and ex-pats. We can definitely see ourselves returning for a visit. But alas we had reservations for Kruger on the 16th so the birthday girl could look for her African animal friends one last time! We didn’t realize we would miss South Africa this much!