COUNTRY: Southern Africa (Swaziland, Mozambique & South Africa)
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Monique Bedwell
Heading to Mozambique everyone was excited and had been looking forward to this chapter of our trip since we got to Swaziland. Even though we have only been here a short period of time we all felt that we were in need of a holiday. It was the first time we had to completely pack our bags since settling into our rooms. Packing our small backpacks for Mozambique was the easy part, trying to pack away everything else, not so easy! The weather was in our favour for the trip; in other words we didn't have to sit in the car sharing leg sweat with the seat and each other. We had a long drive ahead of us and were all eager to get going. Wawa was our driver, which proved to be a good choice. The border crossing was easier than others we'd had so we were able to hit the road again quickly. About 30 minutes after crossing the border it was time to exchange our money. We all felt like we were working in the shadows when we pulled to the side of the road and a guy jumped in. One by one we handed our rand to the walking ATM to have it changed to Meticash. We all kept a close eye on the man as he ever so casually pulled out rolls of money from his pocket. It was a sight I'm sure all of us had never seen and within 20 minutes he was gone and we were back on the road.
Once we arrived at Casa Lisa, our accommodation for the night, everyone was just happy to be out of the car and moving our legs. To pass the time people either showered, played cards, kicked around the soccer ball or even climbed trees in Fe's case! For a while we were observed by two Border Collie dogs before they gradually came closer. It didn't take long for us to realise they wanted to play with the soccer ball. To our surprise they could dribble and header the ball back to us which thoroughly entertained a group of us for a while. A small game of 2V2 was started between Harry and Fe VS Mon and Kirsten. It was a quick game after half of us wound up on the floor covered in black sand. Dinner was quick and everyone hit the sack early for the last drive in the morning.
The last leg of the drive was long and tiresome, but we finally made it to Bamboozi Backpackers Lodge at Tofo beach. We were all in awe as we had not been to a beach in a while and it was overwhelming beautiful. Our accommodation was nice; it was basically a large beach shack with tables in the centre and beds spaced out along the walls with mosquito nets hanging above them. Within moments of settling in and being shown the basic surroundings, Liam, Mikaela and Simone from the Mozambique Antipodeans group walked through the lodge from the beach. It was good to have a quick catch up with them and organise a time and place to catch up over a few drinks and a game of pool.
Wawa took a small group of us on a walk along the beach to point out where the markets were and how to get around town. Conveniently, everything we needed was within walking distance and we had no real need to go anywhere other than the beach. Dinner was nice and easy, and we eagerly headed out to Fatima's beach bar for drinks. Once getting there we all got to catch up with Orietta from the Kruger trip.
The next morning was early as we were headed out on our Ocean Safari in hope of seeing some beautiful Whale Sharks. Peter was our guide for the trip and he gave us a run down of safety procedures and prepped us for the morning before we headed out. The trip out into the water was amusing as we had to ride out against the waves. This made it more like a carnival ride than anything else which resulted in a lot of screams and laughs. Looking for the Whale Sharks is actually a long and enduring task. When our hopes began to drop, people were getting cold and were ready to head back into land when a hump back whale was spotted! Within minutes we were informed that our boat was in the middle of a large group of about 30 hump back whales. This was the largest hump back whale sighting in more then 10 years of doing the ocean safari tours. Before heading into land we were given the opportunity to go snorkelling over a reef just off the shores. Unfortunately Zoe and Madi were both stung by blue bottles; we soon returned to the beach after this. The rest of the day consisted of chilling by the beach or checking out the markets in town. Haggling with the locals over anything of interest became almost a game for most of us and we almost did it for a source of entertainment. That night was Orietta's last night in Mozambique so we had spoken to her and arranged to meet that night after dinner at a place called MozamBeats. Unluckily for us it was on the far opposite side of town to where Bamboozi was but things improved when Wawa was nice enough to decide that he wouldn't drink and would drive us all to MozamBeats.
We were all shocked when we arrived at MozamBeats. We were not expecting such an outstanding pub/bar. It stood two stories tall and had a pool with lights changed colours. The surroundings were filled with multiple pool chairs and mini hammocks hung off trees. The upstairs area was filled with oversized couches and more hammocks, which we soon claimed as our hang out. After saying our goodbyes to Orietta and a few drinks, everyone headed home at around12.30am.
Our second full day in Mozambique was a canoeing day. It was yet another early morning that most of us were not too thrilled about, but off we were again at 8am to be at Liquid Adventures - the company through which all of our water activities were booked. Peter was again our guide for the day, which was good to have an English speaking guide throughout the day. Our mode of transport to the area where we would be canoeing, was sitting in the back tray of a dump truck.
Once we arrived we were left to sit on the beach until the truck came back with the canoes. Alice was thoroughly entertaining creating a voice over for individuals in our group based off our personalities. When the canoes arrived we all paired up and headed out onto the water. The weather was perfect and the water was clear blue. At the half way point we pulled up on a sand bank to rest. One of the highlights was the Pansy Shells that we were able to collect within the shores. These shells were flat with what looked like a fossil of a pansy! This half way point was also the beginning of a race that was started between team Alice and Madi VS team Harry and Louisa. Both canoes headed out on the water with great determination and speed, the remaining canoes cruised along with casual conversations while we watched events take place ahead. The best way of describing the events that took place between the two teams was a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean. Harry tackled Alice in the shallows and Madi ran ahead pulling the canoe away from the scene just like a cowering Jack Sparrow would flee from the fight to the treasure. In this case the treasure was making it to solid land first. Louisa played the perfect Elizabeth Swan, throwing a fit because no one would give her attention which in turn resulted in Harry telling her she could swim to the shore. In the end team Alice and Madi were victorious!
Once on land we were given a tour of the island. The children were hanging off our arms and they didn't speak English or Portuguese; they had their own native language of which we could not make out a single word. Once we were back to the main part of town we were served lunch by the chief who had taken a strong liking to Zoe. He served her personally then gave her a free drink to top it off. The traditional dishes were generally seafood consisting of crabs, prawns and mussels (which were all fresh from the sea), as well as various noodles, breads, chips, and salad. It didn't take us long to completely demolish and polish off all the dishes. We headed out to the sea and were on our sailing boat back to the truck which would take us home. The long day took its toll on everyone, especially the long hours spent in the sun on the open water. Everyone was left with a pink colour tone over their skin.Tonight was yet again another night down at Fatima's as it was now Patrik's last night in Mozambique. Everyone had a good night of drinks, laughs, pool games, singing and all together just enjoying themselves. It was a late night for all, this was probably due to the fact that there was no activity planned for the morning which meant SLEEP INS!!!!!!!
The next day was free for all and everyone spent it how they wished, mostly haggling with the locals for more goodies and buying the local rum Tipo Tinto. That night only a few people had decided to go out again but before heading out the group had decided to play a game of Truth or Dare. Tash was first up and she was dared to take a tray of goodies to the nearest door and say "room service" in an accent. Lucky for her, no one was home. Next was Alice, her dare was by far the best. She had to take a kettle of water over to a near by fire pit and try to boil the water over it in front of complete strangers who were getting a briefing from their tour guide. She appeared as a crazy lady, and all the people had to say about it was "well that was weird". Next was Zoe, she was dared to pour water over Madi who was sleeping. This soon saw the end of Truth or Dare and those who were going out headed off whilst the others headed straight to bed.
Our last day in Mozambique consisted of us packing and preparing for the long trip ahead the next day. The group had collectively decided that we would go out and party at Dino's bar for our last night in Mozambique and Wawa had agreed to drive past at 2am, pick us all up to begin our very long drive all the way home to Swaziland.
T
he car was packed early and we were all rather excited about our plans to have a very good night out together as a whole group. Tarun surprised us all and showed us all how much fun he could be on the dance floor when he whipped out some dance moves consisting of the sprinkler, the running man, the shopping trolley, and all the clichéd party fist pumping and single person moshing (jumping up and down by himself). The other Mozambique based volunteers had joined us for drinks and partied on into the early hours of the morning with us. We made friends with locals and shared lots of laughs. Half the group began to grow tired as the night dragged on and Dino's became more and more packed. Wawa came early and by the time he had collected us all we were on the road at 2am. The idea of leaving straight from the bar was tactical as everyone was silent and slept most of the way. We arrived home at Lidwala at around 1pm. Everyone was grateful and glad to be home.
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