From Barra Reef Resort:

Russel (owner of Barra Reef Divers) and I arrived to SA after a busy week with the Adventure Dive Challenge 9 ‚Äď 18 May, on the 28th of May in the early hours of the morning at about 01:10 am!! We left Inhambane (500km north of Maputo) on the 27th 13:00 pm and were critically looking at any signs of unrest or aggression in our town. At Verdino‚Äôs, Tara & Barry the British Couple‚Äôs Restaurant in town, the ‚Äúforeigners hang out‚ÄĚ was full as usual with no sign of anything that is not normal! On the way to Maputo we stopped twice once at a small town to buy some of the ‚ÄúMother in-Law‚ÄĚ Peri-Peri sauce and once in Xai Xai at the Pharmacy. I climbed out both times with loads of vendors around me with no one even blinking an eye in the directions of aggression? Through Maputo that evening around 18:30 it was hectic as always with the traffic and even more so with the darkness!

You are only a good driver once you have driven through Maputo at night! In all that ‚Äúcraziness‚ÄĚ we passed without incident & even at the toll gate in Maputo with quite a long queue, widows wined down, next to other cars no one even blinked at us? At the Komati Poort border gate near Nelspruit (Resano Garcia) later that evening there were almost no cars or people even and we passed as if there were never any unrest in SA?

The only negative thing that did occur, happened last week at the height of the unrest in SA clients did drive back and on the way they were shown the finger over the throat and screamed at.

Immigration officials at the Lebombo border post say it is safe for South Africans to travel to Mozambique.

It follows reports that Mozambicans have warned they’ll take revenge on South African tourists and businessmen, for attacks on their countrymen in xenophobic violence.

The border post coordinator Henson Msongweni says the situation in Mozambique is very calm and quiet so people are free to go in and out.

In a bid to give boost to the lucrative tourism industry in the African continent, South African Tourism along with the tourism boards of other countries in the Southern region of Africa are working at creating a ‚ÄėUni Visa‚Äô or Universal Visa for inbound tourists to countries in the region. This Universal Visa will enable them to gain access to countries like South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Tanzania and Mozambique. It is being developed with the objective of breaking barriers between the nations in the Southern African region to promote tourism. The `Uni Visa,‚Äô is expected to be in place by 2009.

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Tofo is a small town with only a couple roads – it’s popular with South Africa holidaymakers, so there are a few dive schools here, a couple of hostels and resorts and a small market selling numerous tourist trinkets.
I decided to stay at Bamboozi, a very basic, backpackers place a few kilometres out of town and for the next week the most difficult decision I faced each day was whether to have dinner in the bar at the hostel or walk 10 minutes along the beach to Dino’s, the other restaurant.

All would-be travellers to Mozambique are advised to read Justin Fox’s book “With Both Hands Waving” (Kwela books 2002).¬† Apart from many useful observations about how, and how not to travel in Mozambique, the book includes copious historical notes.¬† At the time that journey was done the smart tar road running west of Gorongoza crater had not been completed.¬†

Driving is on the left (except when dodging potholes). 

R1,00 = MTN3,10.  The standard note is MTN100 = R32 (about).  Most tourist prices are quoted in US dollars ($1,00=MTN25), to which the metacal is linked.

THE MAPUTO ROUTE: On our first visit in 2003 we decided to avoid border posts and travel from Johannesburg through Komatipoort and Maputo and then the long 2500 kilometer potholed road North.  4-wheel drive is quite unnecessary, but the potholes smashed our front shock absorbers.  The road is still not too good, but at least the terrible 100 kilometers between Rio Save and Nchope has been fixed.

THE ZIMBABWE ROUTE:

Zimbabwe road vista

The best and shortest road is the 600 kilometers through Zimbabwe via Masvinga to Forbes Post at Mutare; then down the Beira corridor through Chimoio, turn left at Nchope and then on to the new 300 km Gorongosa tar road to the Zambesi ferry at Caia.  Transit visitors to Zimbabwe may carry extra fuel which has been declared. In 2007 we experienced numerous unpleasant road blocks in Zimbabwe.  The latest unsettled election results can only make matters worse.  So, sad  to say, the Zimbabwe route should be avoided until things become stable again.

For More info – click here

MOZAMBIQUE

With so much hot air in the world of responsible tourism, it is a huge relief to be genuinely impressed by Nkwichi Lodge on the shores of Lake Niassa (Lake Malawi) in Mozambique.

First, the lodge itself: seven stunning thatch, wood and stone chalets hidden beneath the tree line, designed to be removed without leaving a trace; dinner under baobabs that have stood firm through 40 years of civil war and for 2,000 years before that; showers under the African sky; tiny coves of empty white sand along a freshwater lake famed for its snorkelling; and genuine peace in one of the remotest parts of Africa.

There are other places, perhaps, whose brochures could paint such a dreamy picture, but pitifully few that are so closely linked to the development of their local communities. Funding from the lodge has contributed to the neighboring Manda Wilderness Project, which ‚ÄĒ with the support and help of the local community ‚ÄĒ is turning 100,000ha of lakeside Mozambique into a community-owned conservation area.

Where decades of war and grinding poverty have destroyed the local ecosystem, tourism is now reason enough to nurture the area back to its prewar status as one of East Africa’s most ecologically abundant wilderness areas.

With support and funding from the lodge, a clinic and six primary schools have been built, basic medical training provided, and an agriculture project established to train 60 farmers in more sustainable methods of farming. Those farmers now provide fruit and vegetables for the lodge‚Äôs kitchen. The community seems to determine exactly which projects happen, and the support of the lodge ‚ÄĒ among others ‚ÄĒ makes much of it possible. An impressive partnership, but one you cannot visit without flying.

Details: www.mandawilderness.org

Nominated for Times Newspaper Green Spaces Travel Award by Alexia Woolsey, London

Maputo, Mozambique РMozambique and the World Bank have signed a one billion dollar deal to carry out high level investments in tourism based on four anchor locations yet to be identified along the southern African country’s picturesque 2,500-km coastline.
Tourism Minister Fernando Sumbana told the APA on Thursday that the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank arm, is set to support the Mozambican government in the project’s implementation.

He said the Tourism Anchor Investment Program, which is a joint initiative of the IFC and the Mozambican Tourism Ministry, has secured four locations on the Indian Ocean coast, which are expected to generate one billion dollars in investment for Mozambique, and create 25,000 direct and indirect jobs in the process.

“This project is a good opportunity for large-scale investment in one of the most beautiful parts of Africa,” said Sumbana, adding that Mozambique has an exceptionally strong basis for tourism and it was now time to transform that potential into opportunities through quality investments.

“We see this project as a platform to help develop and preserve protected areas, provide international visibility for Mozambique and be a driver of the tourism economy‚ÄĚ in the region, he said.

The four locations will include two tourist resorts, with a capacity to accept wide-scale tourism and construction of homes. The other two locations will be selected for smaller-scale eco-tourism, he added.

Mozambique is aggressively investing in its tourism sector as part of its preparations to host the bulk of the 600,000 tourists who will be descending on southern Africa to watch the month-long 2010 FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa.

Source: APA

Travelers should be aware of the risks of crime, poor road safety standards and limited health facilities in Mozambique. With that said, Mozambique is a moderately low-risk country as far as crime is concerned and the vast majority of visits to Mozambique are trouble-free. Keep a close watch on your possessions in busy places and keep all your valuables in a hidden money belt.

Avoid driving at night whenever possible and set off as early as possible so that you have as much time as possible to deal with delays. When dealing with officials, be friendly and patient and treat them with respect. They are likely to reciprocate.

If you are visiting the Bazaruto Archipelago, the only real dangers are razor clams which are exposed at low tides. It is recommended you wear sandals to avoid cutting your feet on these.