Its another stay still and fix websites day. I walked down to a nearby market and got potatoes, bananas and bread rolls.
Tag: road trip
Chimbamo to Chimoio
It was back to the potholed N1. Slow progress up the road to Inchope, which is the intersection with the N6.
After Inchope I turned left onto the N6 which was pretty well a perfect road. It was an easy drive into Chimoio where after some confusion I found the Airbnb of Fernandes. I drove the camper and set up in their front yard.
Inhassaro to near Chimbamo
Well it was a crazy 250km drive up the N1. I loaded up with some more supplies in Inhassaro, in case I never saw them again. I also found a bakery and bought some freshly baked rolls, very nice.
Then after a few km it was onto the N1. Initially not too bad. Then I passed a overturned trailer, that was originally attached to a B-double.
I got stopped at a police road block, but as soon as I got close I got waved on. However as I got further north I got stopped more and more. The Police (or sometimes the Army) were friendly enough, I am sure they pull me over out of boredom than any other reason.
After about 100km I got to the Rio Save. There was an existing bridge, and a new bridge being built, and a temporary bridge next to the new bridge. The new bridge is being built by the Chinese, but construction has been halted for 6 months because the Mozambique Government does not have the money.
The potholes are really bad for long sections of the N1. You dance around the road looking for a smooth patch, as do the trucks and buses.
I was aiming for a wild camp just south of Chibamo, but the potholes slowed me down so much, I only just made it in daylight.
Inhassoro a rest and washing day
Since it was the first day I had been stationary for about ten days there were a few things I needed to do. I did some washing. I continued my search for an old phone I have packed away so well I cannot find it. I threw out even more spare water containers. I walked down to the beach below where I am camped. I cleaned my bike, which had got covered in sand stored on the rear of Clancy. 
After cleaning my bike I rode the 4km into the centre of Inhassoro. I went to a supermarket called Ana which supposedly had the best range, except it was almost bare. I wanted some protein so I bought two cans of “Corned Meat”. Its guesswork what’s in it.
I then rode around some more and found a better supermarket and Bakery that I will visit on Sunday to get some more supplies when I leave. Then I rode to the central market area and wandered amongst the stalls. I found potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, bananas (over ripe) ,onions, peanuts and more.
Lilli’s Quarry to east Machaila to West of Mabote to Inhassoro
The transit of the N222 is over. 380km of ‘road’, mostly at 30kph. Some of it only single lane sand track. It took 3 days from Mapai to Inhassoro.
From Lilli’s Quarry Slow to get moving this morning. I wanted to repack and check things from the chaos of tyre fixing yesterday. I also managed to get the new tyre set on the rim properly. Although it was cool at 6:30am it soon warmed up. I got going at 10:30am and plodded along the N222, at between 25kph and 40kph. I passed several Charcoal trucks going towards Mapai. Lots of Charcoal stacked by the side of the road. It looks like Charcoal burning must be big in this area. It reminds me of Angola where there was also lots of charcoal burning. The scrub either supports Cattle, or Charcoal burning. I passed a few schools, but lots of young kids (who should be at school) herding cattle.
Eventually after lunch I got internet again at Machaila. I stopped and went through the pain of applying for my Malawi e-visa, which I will find out in a few days if I am successful. The hardest part is paying. Every payment requires and SMS from my Australian bank, and sometimes they take many, many minutes to arrive.
I got going after doing my e-visa, and headed though Machaila. It was larger, but not as large as Mapai. However I saw a woman carrying here baby, but clutched in her hand, was a smart phone. The internet reaches even here.
The N222 got dramatically narrower. It became only single lane. My GPS wanted me to go down an even smaller road, but I thought I would stick to the N222. About 25km out of Machaila, I found a spot by the side of the road at 5pm and stopped for the day. The campers temperature inside was 29C.
Next morning I got going before 8am. The sandy single lane N222 continued. About an hour in a little car was coming the other way. I stopped to let them pass, but they got out and chatted. One was a South African who was trying to teach agricultural techniques to Mozambique, the other was his Mozambique assistant. We spent a long time talking about the problems in Mozambique, and how you couldn’t develop a project unless you had extra money to bribe the government officials with.
After my chat stop, its was onwards, with eventually the N222 getting better as I closer to Mabote. There was internet in Mabote, but it was Vodacom, and I had a Movitel sim.
Onwards through town and about 40km out I stopped to pump some water into the hot water container on the roof, so I could have my first shower in 3 days. 50 minutes later it was about get get dark fast, and I am desperately looking for a campsite. The scrub was too thick, and at the last minute I found an overgrown track into the scrub. I squezzed down it, and I has pretty hard to see from the road.
The morning was pretty damp, lots of condensation. I am closer to the coast so maybe the nights are colder. I was only 50km from the N1. I got to the N1 at Mapinhane. I then started looking for a seller to sell me a Vodacom sim. Lots of stuffing around, but an hour later I had a working Vodacom sim and some internet. I headed up the road aiming to get to a campsite about 82km away at Inhassoro.
About 4pm I arrived at the campsite “Star of Mozambique”. Looks nice so far. I am going to stay for at least 3 nights. Weather is great Max 27C Min 13C.
Escape from South Africa, or Nthakeni to roadside north of Mapai
It was a bit of a cool morning. I think I have become to used to having power and turning on the heater in the morning. I thus shamefully started the diesel heater for a while. I got moving a bit after 9am, visited the office for payment and a chat. Then it was off to Pafuri entrance to Kruger National Park. So after paying $A47 for the privilege of driving through 35km of the park to get to the Pafuri border gate, I arrived at the border.
I was very, very nervous. My TIP (temporary import permit) had expired 18 months ago. so I had specially chosen Pafuri because I didn’t think they had customs, who would question me on my expired TIP.
I was right. No problems getting my passport processed, and the Police gave a cursory inspection of Clancy, and I was on my way to Mozambique! At the Moz side I paid 1000 rand for a visa ( Facebook said 550R or 850R but who was I to argue). Then 200R for a TIP, and 100R for some other piece of paper from the Police. Then it was the cursory inspection of Clancy plus the request for soft drinks, to which I provided 3 cans of coke that I had prepared earlier for this very request.
Onwards towards Mapai. It is a rough slow road, barely a 4wd track in places. 25kmh most of the time. I was looking for places to stop for the night when I suddenly arrived on the hand operated ferry across the Limpopo. Another chance to be very, very nervous. I asked the guy in charge about shifting the diesel drums of the roof, to lower the centre of gravity, but he thought it unnecessary. So 700R (Facebook said 500R) I gingerly drove Clancy on the boat that did not seem big enough to support the 3+ tonnes of Clancy. However all went well and they poled it across the Limpopo and I reversed off the other side.
It was getting dark and I was driving down tracks in the growing gloom. I got completely lost and ended up parked by the side of a track between a couple of villages. I would have to figure it out tomorrow in the light.
The Tale We Didn’t Tell at the Time
It happened a few days after we left Jo’burg, when we were heading for Botswana. We didn’t tell anyone at the time because we didn’t want our parents to freak out, but we did tell them as soon as we got home. And have been dining out on the tale ever since! Ha!
We weren’t laughing about it at the time, but nothing was taken and Greg was okay, so we’re regarding it as a lesson we needed to learn.
I did write a short post the day it happened, and have just added it to the blog
So … we were in Kuruman which is south west of Jo’burg. Not far from Kimberley where there are diamond mines. We wanted to get a spare tyre and were told about a place, but were warned to be careful. It was a pretty dodgy part of town with lots of people and cars. Another guy who was working in the car park also warned us to be careful.
I stayed in the car, Greg went and got the tyre and while I was momentarily distracted as he was walking back to the car with the tyre, some little bastard tried to reach in through the open car window on the driver’s side and grab whatever he could. He didn’t get anything and I then made sure both windows were up and both doors were locked while Greg went to another shop to see if he could get some inner tubes.
While he was gone, someone came up and begged for money, and someone else told me there was something wrong with the back of Clancy but I just ignored both of them and waited for Greg to get back so we could get going. When he got back to the car, there were a few guys near him and I thought I’d just wait until they went past and then unlock his door. But they were after his little backpack and tried to grab it. It had his passport, credit cards and wallet in it and there was no way he was letting his passport go!
If it had just been cash he might have. So he held on, got pushed to the ground and ended up rolling under the car and started yelling out ‘Help! Help!’. Good move – that got rid of the guys and got people to come and see what was going on. Meanwhile, I’m sitting in the car too scared to unlock the door because I thought if I did that, the guys would grab whatever they could out of the car.
So Greg rolled right under the car and came out on my side. Few scratches but that was all the damage, apart from a broken strap on his backpack. About 20 people came to see what was happening. In hindsight, I should have just leant on the car horn and made loads of noise. That would have either scared the guys off, or got people to us faster, so see what all the noise was about.
Lesson learnt – now when we’re in a town or village, we don’t carry a bag, we keep our passports hidden inside the camper, and keep our drivers licences hidden near the drivers seat because cops want to see them when they pull us over. We only carry enough cash for whatever we’re planning to buy, or take one credit card if we’re buying groceries or other large purchases.
We were really lucky.
Heading home
We’re on our way home. Currently sitting in our favourite airport, Changi
We’ve discarded stuff, cleaned up, packed up and left Clancy locked up in storage until we go back to Joburg in 5 or 6 months. We’ll be sure to bring keys with us next time.
Compared with the 90-ish kgs of stuff we took over with us, we are bringing a mere 10kgs home, plus our laptops. No checked bags, just one very light 5kg travel pack each.
We were very lucky that on this trip, our problems were minimal. 5 punctures compared with 12 on our last trip, and we had none for the last 4 weeks. Last time, we got our final puncture 2 kms from our final destination! A minor radiator problem that a bottle of Bars Leaks fixed. Inevitable wear and tear on our dear Clancy, but that’s always going to be a feature of overland travel.
Here are a few random stats –
Nights we have spent in Clancy since Greg finished building him – 100, over our 2 African trips and the 2 trial runs we did at home.
Kms driven since we left Cape Town in mid-February – 13,800
Number of punctures in 14 weeks of travelling in Southern Africa – 17
Kgs of bread flour used to make our (almost) daily bread on this trip – 10
Number of butane gas cartridges used on this trip – 8. We were able to use our electric hotplate a lot more than we thought we would.
Thanks for travelling with us, it’s been a really great trip. See you next time!
Manyeleti Game Reserve
Leon at African Bush Backpackers told us about Manyeleti and recommended it as a good place to spent a couple of days. It’s just west of Kruger’s Orpen Gate, but can also be accessed from the south via the R40 and some side roads. Our host at Hippo Waterfront Lodge recommended that we avoid the R538 between White River and Hazyview as it’s busy, may have a lot of livestock wandering across the road and can take long time to drive a short distance . We’ve learnt to listen to advice from locals!
After we left Marloth Park, we spent a night at Panorama Rest Camp, a lovely campground near Graskop. It had a horizon pool overlooking the kloof gorge, good facilities including coin-operated washing machines and dryers (which we made very good use of) AND beautiful azalea hedges that were in flower when we visited. Some were 3+ metres high! We were planning on driving north to Blyde River Canyon, then to Manyeleti, but when we got up the next morning it was so foggy we could barely see a car length in front of us. So going sightseeing seemed a bit pointless, and we’ll add Blyde River to our ‘to do’ list.
We crawled down the R533 and heaved a quiet sigh of relief when we were low enough to be able to see a decent distance in front. Headed north on the R40 to Acornhoek where we stopped at a shopping mall and stretched our legs and met a very dapper Car Guard … bow tie, shiny shoes and a lovely man. When we got back to Clancy, he was standing close by, talking to a young Austrian woman. She took a photo of us with the guard, his son and his son’s friend.
Then along the R531 to Orpin Gate. The entrance to Manyeleti is on the right, just before the gate. We paid the day fee of R55 per person, got a map of the reserve and drove south to Main Camp. Manyeleti Gate is about 4kms south of Main Camp.
There are several private lodges/tented camps/other accommodation in the Reserve in addition to Main Camp, which offers cabins, rondevals, campsites and Senate, a tented camp area. We parked Clancy on one of the campsites, which is a large area with a cold water sink, braai and paved area. Ablutions nearby were okay and people staying at Senate share those. We paid R250 per campsite per night – they charge per campsite, not per person. We only paid the day fee for our first day there.
The day we arrived, we went on an afternoon game drive, being very mindful that the camp’s gate closes at 6pm. Saw a huge herd of cape buffalo and wildebeest, antelopes, a couple of elephants. Next day we went out earlier in the afternoon and found a big group of elephants in some scrub. Largest group we’ve seen! There were 4 or 5 babies including one very tiny one, and I guess the rest of the females are pregnant. They weren’t too bothered by us, or rather, by Clancy, and we sat and watched them for ages.
Poor Clancy has had a bit of radiator trouble, a small leak, nothing too serious, but we’ll be bringing a replacement radiator to add to the spare parts collection. Greg bought a bottle of Bars Leaks when we were in Malalane, just out of Marloth Park, so he added the contents to the radiator …. problem solved. Magic stuff.
We spent our second-last night at Elangeni Holiday Resort, just off the N4 west of Nelspruit, then drove the 250ish kms back to Joburg to the place where we store Clancy and camp when we’re here.
Meeting new friends
Or: A Series of Very Fortunate Events
I’m sure that we will both remember our day with Lilli and Christa as one of the highlights of this trip.
Christa lives in Marloth Park and Lilli has been staying with her for the last week or so, having a break from camping, enjoying some home comforts and making a lifelong friend. We visited them at Christa’s on Thursday morning and spent several hours swapping stories and getting to know more about each other.
Christa’s place is a beautiful bush haven and she has so much wildife on her doorstep, it’s incredible. At this time of the year, before the rains start, getting enough to eat is very hard for herbivores, so she feeds them pellets which are approved by wildlife experts. They smell like grass, and probably have added extra goodies in them too. Many of the animals come right up to Christa’s back verandah and she hand-feeds some of them. The smaller antelopes are shy and hang back, but some of the larger varieties can become very friendly when there’s food involved!
Christa invited us back later in the afternoon to have ‘sundowners’ overlooking Crocodile River and Kruger, then back to her place for a braai. Fantastic, we’d love to! The previous day, they had seen some lions across the river, so we were hopeful that we might see some too. Christa belongs to a local Whatsapp wildlife spotting group that shares information about what is where. No messages that afternoon and we didn’t get to see any lions, but it was lovely to sit with our drinks and snacks and watch the sun go down. On our way back to Christa’s, we saw giraffes, and then so many different animals visited the back verandah, I’m sure I won’t remember them all. At one stage there were 4 different types of antelope there all at once. I even hand-fed a young Nyala buck! He’s the only one in Marloth Park and likes to hang out with the Impala girls. We saw tiny bushbabies, zebras, a genet (small nocturnal cat that we had never seen before), and warthogs which Christa chases away as they are already fat and don’t need extra feeding. She makes a noise like a leopard and the warthogs run away!
We shared a lovely braai, more stories and left feeling like we now have 2 more like-minded friends. Lucky us!
I left a bag there and we had to go back and collect it the next morning. As we were leaving, Christa had a message from her Whatsapp group, letting people know that there had been a lion kill near the lookout. We had been there the day before, so headed back there to find a large crowd looking across the river at a group of 5 lions lying on some sand in the shade. Earlier in the morning, the lions had killed a kudu right on the fenceline separating Kruger from Marloth Park. The electric fence was wrecked and the dead kudu was lying just on the Kruger side. Because of the cars and people, the lions had gone back across the river, but would return to the kudu later. And then the scavengers would come when the lions had finished.
I am beginning to think that Greg and I are the opposite of lion whisperers – we just don’t have much luck seeing lions. The day after our sundowners with Lilli and Christa, they saw 7 lions!
