Me Gustas Tu: Mozambique --> Zim/Zam/Bots --> Namibia

Our ride from Durban to Maputo -- 10 hours in a mini bus through Swaziland

MOZAMBIQUE:

We arrived in Maputo and took a very sketchy bakkie ride to our backpackers, where we just spent the night and then headed out at 5 am on the Fatima's Shuttle to Tofo. This shuttle, run by Fatima's Backpackers, is the WORST bus I've ever been on. It's like an old-school school bus, where the backs come up to right underneath your shoulder blades, just the right spot where you can't lie/sit/do anything comfortably. AND, the best part is they overbook the shuttle and people sit on the luggage in the middle of the aisle, for 9 HOURS. However "authentic" this might be, it's quite the ripoff monopoly, but it's Mozambique, so what do you do? The ride was very beautiful and sad at the same time. Mozambique is a rough country, the most recent civil war ending in 1999. Maputo looks like it was bombed yesterday, and the roads are rough, and the police are even rougher. Whenever we'd pass through town, the bus would stop and we'd buy things like oranges (which are green), cashews, and other sustenance.

Maputo -- not much has been repaired since the civil war in the 90s

Tofo, world-renown for it's diving (whale sharks!! which I didn't see), but it's also an amazing little coastal town, the perfect spot to stop and chill for a few days. We stayed for a week and mostly lounged on the beach. I did dive once, to Chimney Reef, with Peri-Peri Dive Center. Unfortunately, when I went on the dive, it was one of the roughest swells of the season, over 15 feet. From taking off from shore through the waves and then the 10 minute boat ride, it was just rough enough for me to get extremely sea sick. I got in the water just in time to have a great dive, but upon resurfacing and getting on the boat, all the sickness returned and I was one sick puppy for about 15 minutes. I'd still recommend the diving to anyone, but definitely pop a Dramamine before heading out if it's a rough day!

The boat launches through the waves and off into the rough sea!

Thoughts on Mozambique Travel:

- Don't go over school children's Easter break or you'll be hassled to buy cashews and bracelets on the beach all day.

There's always something you can buy!

- It's so expensive!! I judge the cost of southern African countries by cost of cider. Cider in Cape Town is about R12 to R18 ( $1.50- $2). A cider in Tofo was R35!!! (~$5!!!) But, given the conditions of the roads and the cost of transportation of the imported goods (because as a developing country, it's imports are way too high and costly!), I guess it's reasonable.

- The diving was beautiful and if you're a diver, head to Mozambique ASAP.

- The fruit is SO BIG. Katie and I were in heaven over the size of the avocados!

Katie picking out fruit -- some of the best I've had in my life!

On to the next leg of the journey: Katie and I bused from Tofo to Maputo (8 hours) then caught an overnight bus from Maputo to Johannesburg (10 hours). From there, we separated, and I flew up to Livingstone, Zambia to quickly catch Victoria Falls!

Zambia: What a friendly country! I think that Livingstone, in terms of quality of people that I met, both on the street and in the backpackers, was by far the friendliest place I visited. I loved that it was a real African city that just happened to be set up by a famous waterfall, and it looked like a real African city. It's a little grunge, super dusty, and blue taxis line the streets!! Although there are still the tourist crafts to be found, it's not nearly to the extent as it is on the Zimbabwean side of the falls. Plus, there was a Mexican restaurant in Livingstone which I obviously had to check out-- Zambians did Mexican pretty well!

Fresh produce on the streets of Zam

The blue cabs of Livingstone-- ready to take you anywhere!

One of my favorite meals in Africa-- peri peri crocodile bites with a Mosi beer

I spent three days in Zambia and was able to check out Victoria Falls (breathtaking), and go on a day trip to Botswana for a game drive through Chobe National Park (very cool as well!!).

Zambian side of the falls-- much closer and more powerful than Zim side!

Boiling pot of the Zambezi, bridge connects Zambia to Zimbabwe

Zimbabwean side of the Falls-- a wider view of the falls

Stay away from the baboons!

Crossing the Zambezi to Botswana-- these guys are transferring goods from the barge to their dugout canoes to avoid customs at the border!

Elephants galore in Chobe National Park, Botswana

The giraffes of Chobe love to pose for a picture

Because I was heading to Namibia, and public transport was not an option for me due to time scheduling, I had to catch a flight from Victoria Falls (Zimbabwean side). So I decided to save money (in the end, MAYBE $10) and walk from Livingstone side of the border to the Vic Falls side, WITH MY PACK. Needless to say, this 10k trek almost broke me and I was sobbing by the time I got to border control on the Zim side. Thankfully, there were plenty of taxis waiting from there to take me to my backpackers, and it all worked out, minus a very sore back!

Zimbabwe was great. Victoria Falls is much more touristy than Livingstone, and you definitely get hassled to buy crafts much harder, but seeing as all the ATMs in Victoria Falls were broken, I could honestly say, "I have NO money" because for the two days I was in Zim, I had about $15 (only a little stressed out about that!) I did love seeing the Zim side of the Falls, which is set a little further back, and has a more panoramic view.

Thoughts on Zim/Zam: I wish I had more time to explore deeper into the countries, but at least I got to see the Falls and meet a few people!

NAMIBIA

I arrived in Windhoek (a bustling Namibian city) a day before meeting my friends, Holly and Tegan, for our coastal drive. I thought that renting a 4x4 shouldn't have been a problem, but given the Holly and I can't drive manual, and Tegan (from London) can't drive, it proved to be quite the dilemma. In the end, after much stress and calling over 30 car hire agencies, we found the perfect AUTOMATIC 4X4 TRUCK. It was a monster!! But it suited us perfect, because it included all the kitchen equipment we needed so we didn't starve on our camping adventure! After getting the car and all of our groceries for our week long camping/driving excursion, we set off!

Our huge truck getting all packed up for the big coastal drive

The first day we headed up north to near the entrance of the Skeleton Coast. Here we went to the Petrified Forest (bust!), some burnt mountains (BUST!), and generally explored lots of nothingness that is the Namibian Desert. Thanks, Lonely Planet, for making us think this was worth it, haha.

The Petrified Forest-- kind of a bust

The next day, we drove the Skeleton Coast (sounds like what it is, a lot of barren dessert coastline). This part of our trip could've been missed, but now we've seen it and now we know to tell all of you planning Namibian trips, you can skip the skeleton coast!

Skeleton Coast -- DESOLATE

Then we arrived in Swakopmund, this bizarre German coastal town. Here we were able to refuel and get organized, and DUNEBOARD!! (side note: sandboarding is hard. We all fell, a lot!)

View from atop our dune in Swakopmund

Sandboarding! (I fell HARD after this jump and cried in solitude at the bottom of the dune... yes, I cried.)

The next day, we headed to Sessrium to check out the largest Namibian dunes. We spent two days exploring, not using our 4x4 (too scared to off road!) and not finding the sunsets (because dunes are HUGE) but overall, a great few days of dune and canyon hiking!