Mozambique Beach Hike
8th - 18th August 2009
by Joy Loberg
Hikers: Frances Kirkup, Joy Loberg, Carole Dougal, John and Audrey Tyldesley, Barbara Auret (potential member of ERHC), Estelle and Koos (friends of Barbara), Sandra Madson (Boksburg Hiking Club) , Amanda and Ronnie (Johannesburg Hiking Club) Hike Leader: Jill Salt.
Our holiday started on Saturday with a visit to the Botanical Gardens in Nelspruit. A beautiful 159 hectare of rare plant life, waterfalls and the first man-made rainforest. After an hour of scenic walking we had a snack at the restaurant, which caters for every taste bud.
 We overnighted at the well-run and comfortable Road Lodge. Supper was at O’Hagans with much excited anticipation of our holiday.
At 6am on Sunday morning the trailer was loaded, bums found seats in Johan’s mini bus and off we went.
The border and the roads were very busy resulting in a very long journey. We eventually reached Makolo Resort in Barra after dark. A tired, stiff, hungry but still humourous group stumbled off the bus. Oh no, steps to climb as well! Frances went up on all fours, her walking stick waving about threatening to slice anyone in close proximity.
After a much appreciated shower in our beautiful 4-bed, self-catering Casitas, we felt energised again. Our hosts, Ronel and Gareth, served a scrumptious supper of Barracuda, chips and salad. That with a few local beers went down pretty well.
Early Monday morning it was time to explore. What a beautiful beach stretching for miles either way. Warm, crystal-clear water, shells and soft sand.
After a great breakfast on Monday we were given the option of the day’s excursions. One to Pansy Island and one to snorkel with Whale Sharks. Of course both were booked. 5 people decided to stay at the resort and do their own thing while 7 of us opted to check out the excursions.
The first trip to Pansy Island started with us trying desperately to get into the rubber dingy with grace and poise. That was just a fantasy – we were unceremoniously grabbed by an arm and hauled into the dingy – legs at all angles, landing like beached whales in the boat. We were doubled over laughing at each other. Marcus, our skipper must have wondered what he was in for. Pansy Island comes to life when the tide goes out. Small pools of water everywhere with Pansy shells by the hundreds. It felt like an Easter egg hunt. We also saw beautiful Star Fish in the shallow water, colours ranging from pink and mauve to yellow and brown. What a fascinatingly beautiful island.
 We returned to the lodge to change boats. Oh no! A bigger boat! More howls of laughter and after much ado, we sped off in the opposite direction. We all watched the sea with intense eyes each hoping to be the first to spot a whale shark. We had travelled for more than an hour, the sea was getting rough, our humour waning with every empty swell, realising no whale sharks were around. Marcus suggested snorkelling over the reef so we kitted out and splashed into the sea. Some very startled faces through the masks told a story of inexperience in a rough sea. Sandra and I bravely flipped away to see the reef. We managed a few minutes then returned to the boat, me feeling a little odd. The humour had returned with each one’s snorkelling escapades.
We sped off, still in fits of laughter, when suddenly Marcus shouted “Whales!”. Sure enough a few hundred meters ahead of us a Humpback Whale jumped out the water, twisted and landed with a mighty crash. Wow! Wow! Wow! While we watched the whales playing a school of Dolphins joined the fun. Marcus rubbed his fingers on the side of the dingy, making the same sound as the dolphins, and they came up real close. So here we are, in the middle of the ocean, with these awesome creatures around us. That was an incredibly humbling, special experience. One never to be forgotten.
The rest of the day was spent on the beach swimming and relaxing. We all met at the bar that evening to share our experiences and enjoyed a great meal in great company.
Tuesday morning after breakfast, we went on a cultural tour of Inhambane.
Inhambane is one of the oldest settlements on the East Coast of Mozambique. Dhows traded here as early as the 11th century. The area is well known for its local cotton spinning and production by the Tonga tribe. Inhambane at present has a population of 63 000.
Wednesday was the start of our 12km hike to Tofo. An hour into the hike, a steep walk up to the lighthouse was well worth the effort.
A head wind had picked up and pushed against us making the walk a little harder. 1km before Tofo, we stopped at Bamboosi Backpackers for amazing prawn salads and pizza. Tofo greeted us with a busy commercial theme. Beautiful colourful sarongs flapped in the wind at the local market where lots of local arts and crafts were on sale.
Our pretty 2-bed Casitas at Casa Barry Beach Lodge was a welcome haven. We were privileged to attend a talk by Dr. Simon Pierce (an exceptionally handsome Aussie) on Whale Sharks and Manta Rays that evening. The nearby reef is a haven for these stunning creatures.
 Thursday, all hoping we were ready for the 20km walk, with our packed lunch safely in our backpacks, we walked along a sand road to Tofinho where a monument proudly displays the end of slavery. A picturesque walk, and an added bonus of whales playing in the ocean, we headed down to the beach where we were met by a forceful head wind. The going was tough but so were we! 9.33kms into the walk we reached Praia da Rocha. A remote area where, high on the sand dune, a small new resort is being built. It is ideal - as the high rocks and sand dune on the beach form a protected bay for swimming and wind protection. Here we thoroughly enjoyed our lunch break before climbing the steep sand dune to reach the beach again.
20kms of amazing coastline and Coconut Bay was in sight. Oh my goodness, a daunting steep climb to our 6-bed cottages seemed almost impossible. The only way was up. With wobbly legs and racing breath we finally reached the top. The next hurdle was getting our luggage from one end of the resort to the other. A chair and an ice cold beer did much to heal our weariness. Supper was a traditional prawn curry. Carole and I do not eat prawns and we served a chicken curry to die for. Here the garden beds were bordered with lifeless looking coconuts as decoration. Much to our surprise one of the coconuts was sprouting. A few cycads were bearing huge orange fruit and a cashew nut tree was proudly showing its loot.
Friday was an easy, leg-loosening 8km walk to Guinjata Bay. The wind was still strong but by now we were used to it. We stopped half way at Rosa’s for a delicious lunch and to buy more curios at the small local market. We reached Guinjata Bay and stopped at the one and only superette to stock up on luxuries (chocolates and cookies) before walking the 2kms to our two large 8-bed Casas accommodation at Vista Bonita where we stayed until Sunday. Our hostess, Maretha, served the most stunning 5-course meals. The two barmen, Morgado and Jose looked after our thirst.
On Saturday, Morgado and Jose took us to their village. They showed us how they pick coconuts, cut them open, drain them and then served the pearly flesh and milky juice for us to enjoy. They also shared their coconut beer with us (tasty and strong). It was an honour to share this time with them and their families.
They then drove us to Paindane Resort to eat, relax and swim. A scenic 2km walk back to Vista Bonita ended a magic day.
 Sunday, a 10km walk started early with a packed breakfast. This had to be a faster walk as the tide was coming in. The weather was brewing and along the way we had to quickly don Drimacs and poncho’s. We were lucky to reach Paindane where we enjoyed our breakfast while the heavens opened. This was an extremely remote stretch of beach. I called it the graveyard beach as anything and everything washed up onto the beach. Flip-flops in all colours and sizes, shoes, a large turtle shell, a dead gannet, an eel, blue bottles and many other small, unknown sea life.
Our last sleepover was at Island Rock. A very quiet, remote and isolated resort high up on the sand dunes. The sea was extremely rough with huge waves crashing down upon themselves, shooting up spray like a symphony. The accommodation was very basic but clean and comfortable with communal ablutions. The food was very tasty and enough for our stretched tummies from Maretha’s feast. The electricity is run with generators. It was like a school camp adventure with lights out at 10pm and on again at 5am. This caused a lot of muttering as we had to get up at 4:30am to be ready and packed at 5:30 am for our return to Jangamo Village on the back of a bakkie, where Johan was waiting for us.
This was such an awesome hiking holiday it almost seems surreal. The food and accommodation was faultless. The group bonded like family and Jill was a star throughout. We are all extremely blessed to have experienced this hike.
|
|
