We are writing this as we rattle, faster than usual, in a military convoy between the Save River and a town called Muxungue here in Mozambique. This is in place because Renamo (the opposition group) caused some trouble about 8 weeks ago, but nothing since, and the Frelimo government have been organising convoys for this 120km stretch of road since then. We have seen nothing except the occasional 8ft wide, 2ft deep pothole, and only have 30 kms to go.Imbabane is the oldest town on the coast between Maputo and Beira, (the second largest city). It is situated on the end of a peninsula, with imposing, well maintained buildings. A blend of Arab, Portuguese and later African architecture, where the pealing pastel colours and wide tree lined streets give the place an old colonial, if shabby feel. We had enormous garlic prawns for lunch at a bistro overlooking the bay, whilst we watched the flamingos. There we met a chap called Stuart (a late 30’s Oxford graduate from Kenya) who makes his living designing upmarket lodges in Mozambique, the Selous game reserve in Tanzania and Kenya. He rang a contact and arranged accommodation for us in an amazing luxury lodge built on the top of the sand dunes overlooking the sea, called Dhagatane it wasn’t full so we paid little more than camping rates. The lodge consists of a huge central living building with kitchen, dining and lounge areas and four detached double, en suit bedrooms with his and hers basins and showers! There is an infinity pool which looks out over the Indian Ocean. Dhagatane has its own web site if you’re interested.<clip_image002.jpg><C:\Users\Terry\AppData\Local\Temp\ msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image004. jpg> The first night we walked down to the wide open beach with miles of unspoilt white sand and just a few locals. We paddled in the warm water and left our footprints on the pristine beach. That night the weather turned and thunderstorms and strong winds prevented us taking full advantage of the place. We did visit a local beach restaurant where we ordered chicken and bacon sandwiches which arrived minus the bacon, when we enquired the waiter politely smiled and told us that there is never any bacon, they just write it on the menu! We were keen to move on, plus had committed to buy 114 pairs of shoes for the project in Mocuba, so needed to find a Pep store (a bit like a mini BHS in the bush)Vilankulo was the obvious place, a popular tourist centre, with a proliferation of Zimbabwean expats who seem to own, or work at most of the accommodation / activities in town. Whilst here we went on an overnight dhow safari to the beautiful Bazaruto Islands, Richard, the dhow owner regaled us with tales of his previous passengers, including a geriatric lady who wandered off and was eventually found sitting on his bed and had to be piggy backed to the boat and the Russian oligarch, complete with mirror sun glassed, gloch toting body guard who stood knee deep in the surf, still in his tight black suit. The cook made simply delicious chicken, calamari and potato fish on an open fire on board the wooden craft. The skipper gazed inscrutably out to sea and effortlessly manoeuvred us through shallow water and sea grass beds, past sand banks to 2 mile reef, said to be one of the 5 best dive sites in the world. The guide was quiet, perhaps overawed by Richard being with us.
We left the coast behind to drive towards the ‘interior’, starting with the convoy, we were escorted by a pickup full of soldiers at the front bristling with AK47s and an ancient armoured car at the back. There were probably about 40 trucks of various sizes, shapes and states of repair and a similar number of cars, mutatas and chapas ferrying the locals. It was all a bit chaotic as all the faster vehicles wanted to overtake the slower ones, sometimes three abreast, presumably hoping there was nothing coming the other way. By the time we neared Muxungue the procession was strung out over ten kilometres like a long morse code message with most of the dits at the front and the dahs still at the back. The soldiers cheerily waved us past as we leapfrogged up the order. It felt very much like paying lip service, but a significant show of strength and control by the government. We stayed at a couple of super spots, a camp just outside Gorogosa Reserve, and a forestry concession a little further north. Here at Capatu, Mfingwe camp which is owned and run by another Zimbabwean family who have been there since the 90s, we rented a little wooden chalet, ate in the restaurant and the highlight was taking ourselves on a walk through the miombo forest. We spotted a small herd of impala, a couple of red duikers, and a tiny suni antelope, this was very special as they stood and watched us for a few minutes before leaping away. They make furniture from wood sustainably harvested from their concession and a lovely range of craft items which are all made from trees which fell naturally or from “colonial timber” - timber cut by the Portuguese before they fled in 1976/7. They still find these mammoth trees lying where they fell 40years ago. Wild mangoe, partridge and marmite coloured lead wood and all that the termites have left is the most beautifully seasoned heart wood.
Then on to “our project” at Mocuba , the LR full of (now) 117 pairs of shoes along with all our stuff to the project that we have been supporting for last couple of years. We knew that Bernadette was in Cape Town undergoing treatment for cancer, and expected that some of the work may have been scaled down, but were sad to see that the clinic has closed due to lack of staff and funding, the milk formula project ground to a halt and the well and ablution block that Rotary and we had funded for vulnerable families were, as yet, unused. There was an air of lethargy and despair about the place. The pre-school still runs every day for orphan children who have been involved with the centre from being babies, and the children there were confident, playing and learning together very happily. The shoes, along with sleeping mats and mosquito nets, which we bought whilst we were there, will be distributed to the children who are registered there. We hope that Regan, a US Peace Corps health worker, who is based there for the next 18 months, will be able to revive some of the projects and plans to develop a permaculture programme so that she can teach the locals how to make compost and enrich the soil, as well as make a solar powered drying box to preserve the hundreds of pawpaws and mangoes that, literally, fall of the trees in the growing season. We and the staff there all hope that Bernadette will return in 9 or 10 months.
We head to Malawi next.
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