Mozambique Tofu Bamboozi - 11-13 May 2012

Have been having the most amazing weather here, where everyday is more of the same. We have settled into a semi-routine where we wake up, have a  small breakfast. Grant & Bryce generally head down to the beach and Bryce surfs. Mitch, Aimee and I go for a short run along the beach towards the market, buy fresh bread and veggies for the day and then a gentle stroll back  along the beach.

Bamboozi Restaurant from beach

Morning run

Bryce surfing

Today ( Saturday), Grant & Bryce took the scooter to market, where they met us for a swim after our run and then Aimee hitched a ride back with Grant.

Grant & Aimee on scooter.

The rest of the day was fairly lazy with some housekeeping chores to be done. Clothes washing, spring clean of motorhome, haircuts  and of course the obligatory swim/surf/boogie board.

Moz hair salon

 Went to look at the Tofhino side of town, some beautiful spots there.

Tomorrow( Sunday) we are hitching a ride to Barra Lodge to have a look at Lighthouse campsite on the way, as well as have a mothers day breakfast and to use the wi-fi to update the blog.

To our two very special grannies, we wish you a very Happy Mothers day and hope you have an awesome day. We love you lots.

Sunday 13 May 2012

Have had a fantastic day, woke up and got some chocolates for mothers day which is a real treat. We got a lift with one of the managers Dee Dee and her husband Henry to Barra Lodge. We were taken on the scenic route which runs parallel to the coast. They stopped off to let us see the Barra Lighthouse campsite on the way, the most amazing views over the Barra Bay. We are still deciding if we should go and stay there or do Inhambane and dhow over to Maxixe as we are going to be a bit tight on our 30 day tourist visa and will need to go out of Moz and back in again to renew. Their little 4 year old son, Reece, was our tour guide on the back of landrover and the kids really enjoyed the ride as well as the last stretch to Barra on the beach.
As Phil Collins would say,"Another day in Paradise." We had the awesome buffet breakfast at Barra and caught up with Jani who used to work at Bamboozi and is now at Barra. "We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun!" Chilled at the pool, did some route planning, kids read and enjoyed the pool. At about 14h00 we started walking back to the point where the taxis collect. We only had to wait about 15minutes and then we piled in. We counted 27 of us by the time we hit half way, 4 hanging off side and 2 on the back. It was great to drive passed the small villages and get the feel of a lazy Sunday in local Moz. Lots of them just hanging out, some on there way to play or watch soccer.

outside Barra Lodge

poolside

Restaurant in background

Walking to first chapa stop

The first stretch of our trip only took about 40 minutes and cost us 25 Metacais/R7-50, when we got to Barbalaza the taci continued to Inhambane. We had a long wait and eventually decided to take a local Isuzu taxi to Bamboozi at about 10 times the rate. 250 Metacais/R75.
There was no wi-fi available at Barra today, so we are back at Dino's Beach Bar. Our first visit included a pizza and now we have resorted to the local beer(2M) and fruit juices. We may become alcoholics doing this blog.

Mozambique - Tofo - Bamboozi

Tuesday 8^th May

After another early 12h00a.m. start, we had a very long driving day, arriving in Tofu at 14h00.

We left Hlane in Swaziland at 12h00 a.m. and with a rather nervous Lauren opening and closing the game gates and disconnecting and reconnecting the electrified gates as we passed through. I kept thinking a Rhino was going to charge me at any moment. We got to the main gate where the guard let us out and we were on our merry way.

The exit out of Swaziland went relatively smoothly and the entry into Mozambique a little more complicated with some serious road tax. The officials were out in full force today and Grant was stopped 9 times. Generally they would wait for us to stop and pull over and then wave us on. Other times they wanted to see all the documents we had. Aimee was in front with us, buckled up at the one stop but they said that the, “baby” must not sit in the front. She was most indignant as, “she is 7 you know.”

Our original plan had been to go back to Bilene and to stay at Complexo Palmeiras for a day or two. We had stayed here before and it was great as there are huge salt inland lakes that we were hoping to paddleboard and use the paddle boat. This was not to be as when we arrived we realized that we were not going to fit in the entrance gate as the thatched entry roof was too low for the, “Bushwakka truck on steroids.”

We then decided to head to Xai-Xai and camp there for the night. We arrived at the campsite and soon after decided not to stay. It is quite run down and neglected as well as we were the only people in the area and it just seemed that security would be a problem. We went and parked on the main road and the kids had a swim in the most awesome natural tidal pool known as Wenela.  This is right in front of the old hotel that is now a ruin, it must have been an amazing setting in its time

 

Long rive to Bamboozi

Long drive to Tofu

Leaving Xai-Xai we pushed through to Bamboozi  in Tofu and were all very pleased to arrive, almost a feeling of coming home. The kids were excited to see all the familiar sights and after a quick setup of camp, in our same position we went for a swim in the sea. Awesome!!! Warm water. It is great to have electricity for certain times of the day and they have been putting a lot of work into upgrading the bathrooms. They are busy building a new ablution block where the one open air communal kitchen was and have built another open air kitchen on the other side behind office.

The only disappointment for the kids is that the swimming pool is devoid of water as with the cyclones that hit the area earlier this year have damaged the pool. The launch route for the dive centre here has also become unusable and the beach has changed slightly. We are hoping to get an early night after a long day of driving.

Wednesday 9th & Thursday 10^th May

Went to check Eric & Gill's house out - floor in, roof on & walls up to door height

We went for a walk to the market and had an awesome sea swim. The kids surfed in the afternoon and had a nice chilled out day.

Today more of the same, will be heading up the road later to try and find a wi-fi spot to post blog.

29 degree sea temp

Pizza @ Dino's

Friday - well same again, Great!!! Lol, Aimee & Mitch ran to the point, bought paio breads, then walked back. Bryce surfed, coming along nicely

Inverter blew last night. had plenty generator & electricity problems, so think it was tired, probably a surge. Took scooter off today so could meet a lady heading to SA. Need a new one. no helmets needed around here.

Swaziland 6-7 May 2012

After an eventful start to our morning, the rest of the trip to Swaziland was smooth going.

 We left Dolphin Holiday Resort in Ballito at midnight. When we got to the exit boom at Dolphin Holiday Resort, the guard held up the boom for us. I fortunately was out of the truck directing Grant when I noticed that the electrical cables above the truck were getting hooked on the paddle board. I climbed up on the roof and held them up so that we  could pass under. As we got free of the ones at the back, we snagged a low hanging one in the front. A bit of a circus for that time of the morning, but fortunately no damage. Yeah!!

 Mitch’s diary entry: When we got to the Border post it took like five minutes in and out and then we hit the road to Hlane and we were singing the song,” Hit the road Jack and don’t come back no more, no more.” Then we arrived at Hlane. Bryce and Aimee got their cameras and went straight to the watering hole. I followed them and there were two hippos and nine rhinos. Did you know? Rhino is the most endangered species in Swaziland. So we were lucky to see one, never mind nine.  Then we went to the campsite and setup.

MITCH’S CLASSROOM IN SWAZILAND

Aimee…….. This morning  we were lying in bed and I could hear the rhinos and birds. By the way we are in Swaziland. We went to watch the rhinos and one of the rhinos nearly charged Bryce and I.

RHINO AT WATERING HOLE

Bryce…. Hlane means Wilderness in Swazi. There are hippo, rhino, buck, elephant and warthog. There is no electricity at the campsite so we are using our solar charger to try it out. There are lots of trees which make it nice and shady. This morning we went for a game drive and we saw Impala, (which you can recognise from the black tuft of hair above their heels), a big spider and a Maribou stork. It was fun to be up so high and see so much.

Lucille and Sally ( an idea for bike rack stands for Trail-a-thon)

CHEERS FOR NOW

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Cheers for now

Balito

last night we went with Jan,Pete and kids to a Crawfords night at Ahley's school. They had a laser show and lots of kiddies stalls. Was great to see Janice again and to meet her family.

Having a braai with Janice (Riley) Smorfitt. Been good day. Kids heading to beach with moms in tow. Mr Riley and I tending the fire.

Had an awesome day at the beach, boogie boarding and chilling. The water here is so warm that you stay in for such a long time, like being a kid again.We went to a tea garden on the premises for some lunch, they have a lovely forest walk and great food. Had a late afternoon braai at Mr Rileys house just down the road from the campsite. We have stayed at Dolphin Holiday Resort in Ballito, it is a real gem with beautiful trees and 100m from the beach.

We are heading into Swaziland tomorrow and will probably stay at Hlane National Park. We will be out of comms for a while, but we will post as soon as we can.

Scottburgh 2-4 May 2012

Magic day today. Hot day and warm water = great beach day. Boys went surfing and I had to do lifeguard duty. All good!! Getting into the holiday spirit of things now. Don't think we will get used to all the stares from people. Its been quite funny watching the cars in the campsite almost have accidents trying to check the overlander truck out. Would be easier just to stop driving before you look dude....

Moving on to Dolphin caravan park in Balito tomorrow. Good friend of Laurens, Jan, stays nearby, so meeting up with her. Staying there for 2 nights or so then out of the country.

Will post our intended route later

Last day in East London

What an awesome way to spend our last day in East London. The boys played in a doubles tournament with their best mates and had a really good day. Josh and Bryce played U12 together and Mitch and Dan played U10.

Josh & Bryce

Dan & Mitch

Got home from tennis and did the final, frantic pack and had supper at monsters with Granny & Papa.

The kids and I slept in the truck and Grant came down at 12h00 when we left .Uneventful  trip to Scottburgh  bar the mandatory 60 speed bumps around Mthatha area. More llike climbing mini mountains. 

We arrived in Scottburgh at about 9h00 and had breakfast and some last minute shopping. Windy day here but water still warm enough for a swim.