We’re Going to Mozambique?!
Sunday, 31 January 2010 -- 6:30 pmIf you’re anything like me, you’re looking puzzled and saying, “Really? Mozambique?!?” This is a country that was definitely not on my travel radar a month ago! When I think of southern Africa, I think of South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Basically safaris and Victoria Falls. So when our friends invited us to go with them on their Easter trip to South Africa and Mozambique, I really didn’t know what to say.
Of course we accepted the invitation, but at the time, literally all I knew about Mozambique was that there is an AK-47 on their flag. Not a particularly welcoming sign to prospective tourists!
In the past few weeks, my knowledge of this African nation has increased tenfold. I now know that the capital city is Maputo, the official language is Portuguese, the currency is the metical, and they allegedly have the best beaches in Africa.
The plan is to drive from Johannesburg to Maputo and then continue up the coast to Praia do Tofo beach, where we can go scuba diving and snorkel with whale sharks. Since we don’t really have the budget to stay at the scattered $500/night luxury beach resorts, we’ll probably be roughing it a bit in a basic beach hut or even camping along the beach.
The second half of our trip will be slightly more traditional. After driving back to South Africa, we’ll be heading to Kruger National Park where we have a camp site reserved at Satara Rest Camp for a few days of game watching. Much more like what I expected to be doing on my first trip to Africa!
February 1st, 2010 at 4:06 am
I can’t wait to read more about your trip. We are planning on going to South Africa next Christmas and would love to squeeze Mozambique in. I’d especially be interested in hearing about driving to Mozambique from Johannesburg or to Kruger as that’s likely what we’ll be doing if we go there. We’re hoping to stop in Swaziland for the night too.