READER STORY
The Mozambican coast south of Vilanculos is familiar to many South Africans: Ponta do Ouro, Xai-Xai, Inhambane, Tofo… But what about the north? Johan Wahl and his wife Jana shouldered their backpacks and ventured into the unknown.
Johan Wahl and his wife Jana backpacked around northern Mozambique and discovered beguiling landscapes and deserted beaches.
We made our way towards the train station through the back alleys of Lichinga, a small town near Lake Nyasa – what Lake Malawi is called in Mozambique. We were carrying our heavy backpacks and a stone in each hand, just in case. My stomach was rumbling and so was Jana’s – last night’s instant pap had barely touched sides. I wasn’t too worried though, because I knew there would be hawkers at the station selling bread, eggs and mielies. Jana and I had got married a few months previously. We resigned from our jobs and departed on an open-ended honeymoon around the world. Africa was first on the list: We wanted to travel on public transport from Cape Town to Uganda. This story starts six weeks into that adventure, in the town of Cobué. Cobué is in the far north-western corner of Mozambique, on the shores of Lake Nyasa. We arrived on board a ferry called the MV Chambo – the cheaper and less reliable of the two passenger vessels that ply their trade up and down the lake. (The other is the MV Ilala.) On the ferry, we realised that we were in for the adventure of a lifetime: From the deck we had a view of the Mozambican side of Lake
Malawi, which was sparsely populated with almost no roads. From Cobué, the ferry took us further south to Metangula. People typically get off at Cobué, but we decided to stay on board and continue to Metangula. There is very limited transport available from Cobué to Metangula over land so we figured the ferry would be easier. From Metangula we caught a chapa to Lichinga, a junction town with a railway station. (A chapa is a minibus taxi and the only way to get around in the remote parts of Mozambique – see page 57.) We stocked up on snacks at the station and jumped onto a train to Nampula, 700 km away to the east. We were lucky: The first section of railway line, from Lichinga to Cuamba, had only just been completed after a 10-year build. Being on the train felt like being in a limousine after all the chapa rides we’d endured. That leg of the train journey took us through the most beautiful mountainous landscape. Giant granite outcrops towered over everything. In places, it looked like Yosemite National Park in the USA. Eventually we got to the busy town of Nampula and caught another chapa to Mozambique Island (Ilha de Moçambique), 200 km away on the coast. The island is crescent-shaped, about 3 km long and 500 m wide, connected to the mainland by a 2,5 kmlong bridge. Mozambique Island has a long and storied history, with some buildings dating from the 16th century. It was once the capital of Portuguese East Africa and the town flourished as a trade port on the spice route. The island’s fortune waned after the Suez Canal was opened in the late 19th century, and the capital was moved to Lourenço Marques (now Maputo). These days it is home to about 14 000 people, many of whom are subsistence fishermen. Many of the old buildings still remain and the town has a classic European feel, with cobblestone streets and the smell of fresh bread in the air. Children run up and down, women wash their laundry at public taps and men play board games in the markets.
Island hopping
Our next destination was the Quirimbas Archipelago, about 200 km further north as the crow flies. If only we could also get there as the crow flies! The terrestrial route involved a chapa ride from Mozambique Island to the coastal city of Pemba. From there, we hitched a lift on the back of a double-cab bakkie to the village of Tandanhangue – an eight-hour journey that took years off my life. There were