Nervous about crossing over, we had done our homework and debated whether to pay a local guy to assist us or not. Friends and websites recommended not to, as the guys work with the customs officials to try to find items in your luggage to charge you for. We were glad we didn't as everything went smoothly and easily, except for the really irritating locals trying to "help" us, i.e. get money from us. One guy actually got hold of our gate pass and tried to get us to follow him but when we realised we managed to get it back... We found the only way to deal with them was to ignore them completely.
Once through we headed towards Maputo and then North from there. We didn't see much of the city, but the parts around the major highways seemed pretty run down and chaotic. You could also also buy almost anything on the side of that road!
The EN1 north from Maputo is in an excellent condition, and is a pleasure to drive, with the exception of the many many police roadblocks you encounter along the way. Luckily we didn't get stopped once, most likely due to the fact that we stuck to the speed limits almost religiously. Every single tiny town you go through requires a speed drop to 60 km/h, making progress rather slow. But we had already decided to adopt a "Mozambiquan attitude" so we were in no hurry!
We spotted clear plastic bags artfully hanging from trees and poles, containing some kind of snack and just had to stop to investigate. It turned out they contained fat cashew nuts, beautifully roasted. At 100Mt (R33) for quite a large bag I didn't try to negotiate and got us a yummy snack.
We passed through the major town of Xai Xai, not too exciting, and eventually reached the tiny town of Chidenguele. From here we off-roaded it for another half an hour or so, before finally reaching Naara just after 2PM. The place was a haven of tranquility and we were greeted with welcome drinks before checking in and being shown to our tent. Everything done at a very relaxed pace.
The tent was pretty awesome, a permanent structure with a concrete floor, fabulous deck overlooking the estuary, huge four poster bed, beautiful bathroom and outdoor (as well as indoor) shower. We were helped with our luggage and given complimentary bottles of water and chocolates.
The lodge itself was amazing, only a few tents, and a very tastefully decorated "minimalist" style bar and restaurant area with lots of couches and tables overlooking the estuary. We tried our first 2M (dois em) beer before checking out the "infinite looking" (words from brochure!) pool. It was warm and inviting, and had sun loungers, a hammock and large couch. We enjoyed a swim and chatted to the only other couple at the lodge - Simon and Caroline from the Netherlands.
Further down from the pool was a jetty, table and chairs on fake beach sand, a hammock and a bunch of kayaks. We grabbed the two person kayak and explored a part of the huge estuary, enjoying spotting kingfishers and golden weaver birds. Upon our return we were pretty exhausted and had a nap before dinner.
Dinner was served at candle lit tables for two, and we feasted on grilled fish (butterfish) and calamari, with rice and veg, and rounded off with ice cream and Amarula. Very tasty indeed. That evening we slept like the dead.
The next morning we awoke to coffee and cheese scones, quietly placed on our deck by the polite staff. We enjoyed these in bed while marveling at the lovely serene view, the only sounds breaking the silence a rain bird (Burchells Coucal) and a rooster competing with their calls.
Breakfast was included in the price, and we had cornflakes, fresh fruit salad, omlettes and toast, washed down with more freshly brewed coffee.
Being the intrepid (read crazy/stupid) adventurers we are, we decided to walk the 2km to the beach. This is not recommended! It was extremely hot and far, fortunately a guy in a Bakkie took pity on us and gave us a lift. It was well worth it - the beach is excellent, but the best part was we were the ONLY, literally only, people there. There were a couple of 4x4s with boat trailers parked, but the inhabitants were probably fishing somewhere out in the ocean.
We had a wonderful refreshing dip in the clean warm water and tanned for a while before heading back. The afternoon was whiled away with swimming, tanning, reading and snoozing, just the thing for a holiday like this.
We managed to fit in another kayak trip, this time exploring another part of the estuary, and being brave enough to stand on the kayaks and dive into the warm clean waters. The wind was coming up and we headed back before being blown away.
The last part of our experience was a lovely massage, again with a fantastic view over the waters. The only challenge was communicating with the masseus who spoke only Portugese...
Dinner was again tasty - I had the fish this time and Werner the chicken kebabs, all complemented by the "blow your head off hot" in house peri peri sauce. Sleep was a bit more challenging in the high winds, as the tent was flapping like crazy. It also had no real windows, only mosquito nets, so the curtains were blowing around as well.
The next morning we enjoyed our last morning coffee and breakfast, before heading off on the next part of our journey.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Chidenguele Mozambique
No comments:
Post a Comment