Scribbles Abroad

Girls working hard to fetch water just outside of Maputo, Mozambique

We had been on our road trip for about two weeks now and were finally closing in on the South Africa/Mozambique border.  Before leaving Jeffery’s Bay we did a little research on Mozambique via the internet and by asking those who have been before in order to find out about the road conditions and if we would need to take our own food, gas, tents, etc.  While searching online I came across a blog about this guy’s surf trip in Mozambique.  He drove to the surf spot Tofo in an old school Toyota Corolla and said the driving was no problem.  I also checked out the surf spots on WannaSurf.com and they mentioned that you would definitely need a 4×4 to get to Ponto de Ouro and to Tofo.  I figured if the guys made it to Tofo in their Corolla and its recommended to have a 4×4 that the roads must be rough rocky hard dirt and that it’d be better to have a 4×4 but you really don’t need one.  A couple of South Africans that had been to Mozambique told us that we’d need to bring everything with us food, gas, water, everything!  Another person told us you could get everything there but its just really expensive.  We weren’t quiet sure what to expect.  There were a few marked gas stations on our map and we decided we’d figure the rest out once we got there.

Kosi Bay border crossing.  The change in road quality was a little bit of a surprise.

While stopping for gas before the border we noticed a few trucks were also crossing into Mozambique but were fully loaded with food and camping gear.  This made us nervous, thinking we might not be quite prepared, but off to the border we went.   The border consisted of a few buildings and we must have arrived at a good time because there was hardly any line.  They briefly searched our car and checked for a letter from the rental company authorizing us to leave South Africa then waved us through.  As we got out of the car to get our passports stamped I looked toward Mozambique and thought “Where’s the road?”  The road literally went from tarred roads in South Africa to sandy tracks into Mozambique.  We were driving a Honda CRV and weren’t 100% sure if it was 4×4 or not, plus it didn’t have the best clearance.  We kind of looked at each other and thought “What are we getting ourselves into?”

Sand roads in from the Kosi Bay Boarder to Ponto de Ouro

We put the CRV to the test and started off on the soft sandy roads in the direction of Ponto de Ouro.  The number of tracks seemed to quickly multiply and soon there were a few paths to choose from.  It was confusing at first but in the end we realized that they all lead to the same place.  Kahi was having a great time testing out the CRV and so far so good.  The traction was fine but with the car’s low clearance we were dragging our belly the whole way.

Ponto de Ouro wasn’t quite what we were expecting.  It’s suppose to have one of the best waves in Mozambique but it can be quite fickle.  After scoping out the tiny town we decided to find a place to stay for the night and if the conditions improved we would stay another day, if not we would move on.  All the roads in the town were made of sand and it gave the town a mellow vibe.  We spent a while searching for a place to stay because the places right in front of the break were real (excuse my french) shit holes.  Dirty, grungy, dark, and moldy, plus they were asking for $100 a night.  Totally not worth the asking price.  It was a shame that these places were so run down.

Before we left Ponto de Ouro someone told us that we were suppose to get Third Party Insurance at the border and that you can get into a lot of trouble if you don’t have it.  We weren’t 100% sure if this was true or not.  So Kahi asked Todd to walk down to the police station to ask them rather than driving and stopping in front.  It was a good thing we didn’t drive over there because they would have busted us and tried to get some money from us.  When Todd asked them, they replied, “Did you drive here?  Where’s your car?”  He told them he didn’t and he was just inquiring  Our only choice was to drive all the way back to the border to get it.  When we got there and told them we entered the country without it they were pretty mad at us and thought we came back to get it because we had hit someone or something.  They searched our car for any damage and after a few minutes of convincing them nothing was wrong we finally got the Third Party Insurance.

The bridge leading to the ferry port that crossed over to Maputo

The road north was sandy for a while then switched to a nice sturdy tar road, not as much fun but way faster.  A few hours later we arrived at the ferry that crossed the bay to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.  We got there just in time and were in Maputo in less than 30 minutes.  The city was much bigger than I was expecting it to be but we wanted to get out of there A.S.A.P.  Mostly because we didn’t want to get lost and second of all we didn’t want to get into trouble.

On our way to the ATM we got pulled over by the local police.  Our car screamed tourist, surfboards on the roof and a Durban license plate, it was just a matter of time before we got pulled over.  One of the guys walked up to the drivers window and the other holding an AK47 stepped out of their truck as well.  They wanted us to pay 1000 Rand or $130 for crossing over a solid line that didn’t exist.  Luckily we didn’t have much money on us and after some hard bargaining they only got away with 200 Rand or $25.

Locals swimming at a beach just outside of Maputo

Our plan was to keep heading north until we passed a decent place to stay.  There weren’t as many B&Bs or guest houses as in South Africa so we decided to stay at the first within our price range, which we had to negotiate down still.  The last thing we wanted was to be driving around at night looking for a place to stay.  Roger’s was the name of the little hotel we stayed at right out side of Maputo.  Our noses led us to their braai where the cook was barbecuing chicken.  It smelt wonderful so we put in an order for half a chicken each.  It was so tasty we ordered more and were permanently hooked!   We needed to figure out how they made this tender, juicy, tangy, spicy chicken.

Our first glimpse of a tropical beach setting in Tofino, Mozambique

Tiny village just out side of Tofino, the homes are made out of coconut frawns

The next morning we continued our way to the sea side town of Tofino in search of the surf break Tofo.  Our first night we stayed at Turtle Cove a backpackers about 5 minutes walk from the beach.  The food was good but the room we were in was a little grungy.  We only stayed there for one night then moved into our own house closer to the beach.  It was a nice house with two bedrooms, two baths, a large kitchen. and two decks over looking the ocean.

One of the beautiful beaches in Tofino

The next week we spent fishing, surfing and touring the area.  The surf wasn’t anything amazing but was pretty fun.  At Turtle Cove they showed us a video of Tofino Point when it was firing.  It was double over head but the curent was sweeping.  It looked fun but they said it was very difficult to surf when it gets that size because of the current.  The waves we surfed were only about head high but it was fun and it was so nice to be back in the water and to be surfing without a wetsuit.  Most of the time it was relativly uncrowded and even when there was a small crowd everyone was pretty mellow.

Todd cruisin’ on a quad in front of the surf break in Tofo

There was a tiny open market in town where you could get bread and fresh vegetables but if you wanted meat and more variety you would have to drive 20k into Inhambane.  One day while Kim and I were wandering around the large market in Inhambane picking up fresh produce for our meal, Kahi went to find us some chicken we could cook up too.  He came back with a local who told us he could get us a fresh chicken and would kill and clean it for us.  We were all quite curious to learn about the process and followed him out of the market and to the local street side chicken farm.

Our soon to be dinner

We picked the chicken, paid for it and no sooner its neck was broken and it was dead.  Then he lead us back into the market to the back of a tiny local restaurant where he plucked and clean the chicken.  It was a messy process, but now we know how to do it ourselves if we ever need to.  That night we grilled the chicken but it wasn’t very good.  Not too sure why, but it was some of the nastiest chicken I’ve ever eaten.  It was tough and didn’t have much flavor.  Maybe it had something to do with experiencing the whole process, but I think I’ll stick to grocery store or butcher shop chicken from now on.

The process of cleaning a chicken

Our not so tasty but very fresh chicken

My favorite dinner was when Kahi and Todd went fishing at high tide near the surf break and brought back a nice fish.  On Kahi’s second cast he caught his fish.  Then Todd gave it a go and landed one on his sixth cast.  A few locals nearby couldn’t believe it.  They had been out there much longer and caught nothing.  The two fishes would have been too much for us so they gave them Todds fish.  The locals were so stoked.

Kahi fishing and his beautiful Jack.

The fish and us chowing down

While we were staying at Turtle Cove we met a guy named Shaun who operated an Ocean Safari.  It was a little expensive so we were a little hesitant to commit to the signing up but the idea of swimming with whale sharks was very tempting.  Todd and Kim scoped out the other resorts that offered similar safaris but we decided to go with Shaun because he’d let us take beer on the boat and he told us there would only be 7 of us on the boat.  His description of the safari went like this: we’ll cruise out to this deserted beach where you can surf and fish then we’ll set up a nice braai for lunch.  One the way out to the beach we’ll go fishing and swim with whale sharks, whales and dolphins.  We were sold!  He told us to be at Turtle Cove at 9:30 am.

Kahi, Pierre, Louise and Kim on the boat

We invited our new buddy Pierre, who was just staying down the road from us, to join us on our safari adventure.  The next morning we all met up and there were about 13 people waiting to go on this safari.  No worries, the more the merrier.  We just asked for a little discount and he agreed.  They explained to us how we were going to launch the boat, which sounded a little hectic but manageable.  In the process Kahi’s Maui Jims fell of his head into the beach break.  Everyone jumped on the boat and we stayed back searching for them.  Miraculously he found them with his toes.  Those MJs are gold when traveling!

Kim and I modeling our extremely stylish life saving gear

Kahi and Todd enjoying an ice cold beer

Less than 20 minutes from shore we spotted a whale shark.  We slowly got in the water and swam along side it for a while.  The thing was huge around 5 meter or 15 feet.  It was such a beautiful mellow creature.  On our way to the beach we saw a bunch of whales and a pod of dolphins.  The amount of sea life was incredible.

A whale tail

The whale shark and I

A stunning view of the beach we arrived at from one of the new luxury homes they were building on the hill side

Double hanapa’a!  Both lines were taken by large King Fish at the same time.

While on the boat Shaun told us that you’re not actually allowed to fish on the Ocean Safaris though so on our way back we had to put the fishing poles, fish, and hooks into a surfboard bag.  I had brought my pole and the rangers saw me put it in the boat.  Shaun got a call from the bossman who had warned him when we got back the boat would be searched.  So Todd and Pierre saved our asses and swam in with the bags into a bay around the corner and almost drowned in the process.  The police were waiting for us on the beach when we got in.  There were no poles on the boat and no fish, so everything should have gone as planned, but they saw us taking poles on the boat and were quite suspicious.  All in all the trip was a shady deal but we still had a great time.

Later that evening Pierre’s buddies had just arrived from Mossel Bay in South Africa.  It was a long 18 hour road trip in a VW bus with 8 guys.  These aren’t little guys either.  Crazy!  They were rested up and ready to party by the time we got back.  Their house was stocked with all sorts of beer and liquor and tons of food.  They cooked us up a beautiful spread of lobster, prawns, and calamari.  It was unreal.  A lot of drinking went down and we had such a good time getting to know these guys.

Another round of Shake-Face

Todd won this round, check out this pic

We had a great time in Tofo.  The surf wasn’t amazing but it was fun and the water was warm.  It was so nice to be surfing in a bikini and not a 4/3 wetsuit for a change.  Our tans were looking good and we had made some really good friends but a swell was about to hit and we heard about a better surf spot a couple few hours away that we wanted to hit up so we packed up and headed north to Pomene.

Pomene City

Pomene is a gorgeous little seaside village.  We stayed at Pomene Lodge about 6k or 4 miles from the actual surf spot.  There’s an old abandoned hotel overlooking the break but you can’t stay there.  Its a shame because it really does have the best location.  Pomene Lodge was special in its own way and we were more than stoked to be staying there.  It has a estuary on one side and the ocean on the other.  The water was turquoise blue and crystal clear which reminded us so much of home.

Pomene Lodge pool and bar overlooking the estuary

A gorgeous picture of the Pomene Lodge pool

Honeymoon bungalows at Pomene Lodge

Old abandoned hotel at Pomeme

Local girls at the old hotel

A baptism at the lagoon near the hotel.  Kim and I saw another baptism and weren’t quite sure what was going on.  Everyone was singing and celebrating but we didn’t know why.  Then we saw a priest lead a 2 year old child into the water and dunk him a bunch of times.  Later we asked some locals and they told us it was a baptism.

Kim and I going Hawaiian Style in Pomene

Pomene surf set up.  Lots of potential not enough swell.

The swell never hit and the waves never got bigger than waist high.  Only Kahi decided to get in the water and he managed to catch a couple meager waves out of desperation.  No worries though.  Todd and Kim went on one of the world class dives that they offer in the area.  Kahi and I opted for the cheaper option of snorkeling in the estuary.  We also spent a lot of time fishing and working on our tans.

Snorkeling in the estuary.  An artificial reef created out of an old quad bike and tires attract a variety of fish

Kahi and I trying to catch lunch and Kim working on her tan

Lunch!

A cool dead tree

Kahi taught these kids the “pull my finger” joke.  They were hanging out down by the surf break and Kahi was trying to talk to them in Portuguese.  He asked one of the boys to pull his finger, and when they did he let out a giant fart.  The all started laughing hysterically.

Before we left Pomene City we styled out a few of the local groms with some boardshorts that were donated by Quicksilver.  The little boys were so cute in their little boardies!