Two weeks without internet so lots has happened - where to start?
Well, the boys finally got to see a lion kill and I have to say their photos are amazing. A little bit jealous to have missed that one, but you can't do it all. Instead, I went on a lunar horse ride. It is pretty unusual to be riding at night in a game park, especially when there are lions hunting elsewhere in the park. The guide assured me they were at least 3km from where we were riding, but I did remind him that we had lost the lions the previous night! It took quite a while for the moon to actually come up so for the first hour it really was pitch black and you could barely see the horse in front of you. You definitely have to put your faith in the horse but they clearly know the way - to such an extent that I just dropped the reins when we started to head back and my horse led the group home weaving in and out of the long grass and bushes. I don't think he was very impressed by the prospect of a night ride as he was reluctant to leave the stables and then super fast on the way home. It was then back to camp for the best steaks of the trip cooked on the camp fire with everyone buzzing after the various activities we'd done over the past few days.
We left Antelope Park the following morning and headed to Gweru to restock. It is very much back to basics in Zimbabwe in terms of supermarkets. We had been spoilt in the last few countries with big shopping complexes rather than local markets so some adjustment was needed. We then headed to the ruins of Great Zimbabwe and the rain and the cold. It was so miserable (again we have been spoilt recently with fine weather and no rain) that camping seemed a miserable prospect for most of us. There are times when paying for an upgrade to a room is worth every penny and this was one of them. Two nights in a proper bed - fantastic. Admittedly there was no electricity or hot water some of the time so it reminded me of being back in Ethiopia, but it still beat being in a tent in the rain. We were the only guests at the hotel / camp site. Like many places in Zimbabwe, it seemed to have an air of faded grandeur from times gone by. I guess many people have no interest in visiting Zimbabwe so the hotels are empty, but I've loved it and the people have been very welcoming.
After exploring the ruins of Great Zimbabwe (the greatest medieval city in sub saharan Africa apparently), we moved onto the Bvumba mountains. Travelling through Zim is sometimes slow going as they love their police road blocks and seek every opportunity to try and extract money from us with dubious fines (a.k.a. bribes). The mountains were beautiful and in many ways looked like English countryside with forests, valleys and gardens. We spent two very cold nights here. The day time temperatures are very pleasant but by 6pm, you need thermals, fleeces, hat, gloves, etc. Spent a great morning walking and stopping for tea and cake at the Leopard Rock Hotel - once a favourite of the British royalty and boasting the world's second hardest golf course. There was very cheap horse riding on offer at the place where we camped so Claire, Cherie and I as always took the opportunity to explore the area on horseback as well as by foot. The horses were an interesting selection ranging from a one eyed pony to an ex racehorse. There was only one decent horse amongst them which I was fortunate enough to get. My favourite horse in Africa so far - fast, lively but very controllable.
From the Bvumba mountains, we headed to the border and entered Mozambique. A lengthy border crossing as they wanted finger prints and photos. Unlike a number of the countries we have visited recently, Mozambique is not a former British colony or protectorate. It is Portuguese speaking and very tropical with a different vibe but also a great deal of poverty. Great to be warm at night again after freezing in Zim though! Mozambique is also littered with land mines due to two decades of war so no wandering off into the bushes on toilet stops..
After a day travelling across Mozambique, we reached the coast where we are now spending our time beach hopping southwards. First stop was Vilanculos and the islands of the Bazaruto Archipelago. The highlight was taking a dhow (traditional wooden sailing boat) out to one of the islands for the day. After a two hour walk around the island and some snorkelling, a beautiful seafood lunch was awaiting us. Probably the best fish I have ever tasted (grouper) and crab. I am always a little nervous about eating stuff in shells but the crab was incredible albeit very messy to eat on the beach. As always, the boys couldn't resist the opportunity to buy live meat / fish and kill it and cook it themselves so we ended up heading back to camp with a crayfish and cooking it over the fire (also very good I have to say).
We then continued down the coast to Mullangulo beach. This is a new location for Odyssey and it was so peaceful (no other overland trucks) bar a few South Africans on holiday. The coastline of Mozambique is stunning - sandy beaches, waves crashing on the shore, very untouristy and rugged. Just miles upon miles of deserted beach to walk on. I've even been motivated to get up before breakfast on occasions and take a walk along the beach. Did a couple of dives at Mullangulo. On the first dive, the entire group saw a shark except me (I think it must have been behind me as no one could understand how I didn't see it). To everyone's amusement, I also failed to see the shark on the second dive. You can imagine the jokes when we had shark to eat that night (well, at least Zoe got to see a shark today - yes, but it is dead and we're about to cook it - not really the shark experience I was looking for!). On a brighter note, it is humpback whale season and whilst on the dive boat we saw lots of humpbacks and also dolphins. When we were on the dives, you could hear the whales communicating with each other which was quite spooky.
Now we are on our third beach spot in Mozambique at a place called Tofo. For only the second time on the trip, we are spending four nights at the same location. It always flies past though as there are so many activities to cram in. Tofo is famed for whale sharks and manta rays and it is on my list of things to see whilst on my "year out" so I've been looking forward to this for sometime. Bit gutted to arrive and be told that the visibility and sightings have been very poor for the past week due to a big storm coming through. However, we went on a snorkelling trip to try and find whale sharks and we got lucky. Literally within minutes of launching the boat from the beach, the skipper had spotted a whale shark. We all jumped into the water and were able to swim with the whale shark for about ten minutes. These creatures are just huge - up to 10 metres in length - but they really don't seem at all bothered by humans. Just in case you are wondering, whale sharks do not eat meat, only plankton and they don't even have teeth so they are harmless!
We then saw a further two whale sharks so did lots more swimming with them. The third one was literally within touching distance. They ask you to only swim alongside them and not above or in front of them so that they have space but when you jump in the water and look down and find it is swimming straight at you, it is difficult to get out of the way quickly. It was altogether an awesome experience and I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to see them - there are very few places in the world where you can do this.
After the excitement of whale sharks, it was time for yet more horse riding in the afternoon. A lovely ride along the beach then up into the sand dunes and through villages- the most scenic ride of the trip. The horses were very dull though. They did canter but they weren't exactly lively and fun - just typical trekking nags following the horse in front. In fairness, they weren't in the best condition and it was very hot as well. My poor horse looked exhausted by the end of the hour and an half ride.
Day two in Tofo and time for another dive. This time a deep dive (24 metres) as this would give us the best chance of seeing manta rays. Sadly it was not to be but I did see two reef sharks this time! Plus we saw more humpback whales from the dive boat and when I say saw, I do not mean from a distance. As we pulled up at the dive site and were kitting up, one breached within 10 metres of the boat - amazing! But also slightly daunting because we are about to jump in the water and I'm not sure that I fancy coming across a humpback whale whilst diving. They are just too big and lots of them have calves as they come here to breed. The dive operators do not allow people to snorkel with humpbacks but obviously if you are diving and see one, then so be it. Apparently quite a few divers have come across them on dives recently - imagine that for an experience..
Now on our last day in Tofo. A day for chilling as it was Rogan's birthday yesterday (there have been a lot of birthdays this month on the truck). I may stretch to a walk on the beach or a swim in the sea - how tough my life is..
No comments:
Post a Comment