20th June

18^th June. Liwonde NP, Malawi

It was a trial entering Mozambique and was the same when we left. The closest border from the Isle of Mozambique was due west, some 58o kms from the Isle. The first 180 were on good asphalt, the gravel started after Nampula and progressively became worse. At one stage we contemplated staying at Nampula then doing the longer distance the next day, as it turned out we made the best decision pushing on but that left us with the problem of where to camp for the night. Camp sites are few and far between in Mozambique and there were none n all that distance. We had decided there was no choice than to bush camp for the one night.

This means a choice of camping somewhere in a town like a park or church ground where you are exposed to more people but hope there is security in numbers. The other alternative was to find a place off the road somewhere in the country where you may or may not be spotted. Usually the former happens especially when there is a continuous flow of people walking along the road and villages are frequent. We chose the countryside and found a quarry where we could get a fair way off the road but, with the roof up, would be seen. It wasn’t long before we had a few kids coming to investigate but stood a good distance away, and took off when I approached to give them something to show the white man was friendly. They came back after a while, and took the biscuits. They must have seen whites drive past in the past but doubt they have had one stop especially for the night nearby. It was a beautiful situation with inselbergs shining in the late afternoon glow. The next morning one of the young boys came back, we gave him an exercise book & pencil which brought a beaming smile to his face.

The road was then fairly bad until 27kms from the border where it turned onto a dirt track. We thought the Garmin was stuffing us up again but the locals confirmed that that was it. The border post was mainly for the trains that went between the two countries, the day we crossed over only one other car had crossed before us. Formalities were straight forward however and we were soon grinding our way over a further 47kms of sand, corrugations and washouts before hitting tar.

We were warned about the police in Mozambique before we went to the country but no one warned us about the ones here. The border where we had crossed had no 3^rd party insurance office from where we could buy the compulsory insurance. We asked the customs officer to write a note confirming we were to get the insurance and Zomba or Blantyre, blow me down the next morning before we could purchase it we were stopped by the cops demanding it. In fact we were stopped three times n the matter of an hour but one of those was for speeding which cost me $25. The guide book said the speed limit was 60 in towns, it was actually 50. I will check next time we cross any border.

A quick trip to Zomba then back to this national park that had been recommended to us by Len & Ria. It is on the Shire River and one of the main parks in Malawi. We took a cruise on the river this morning and meandered past hippos, massive crocs and a herd of elephants as well as the usual antelopes and warthogs. The bird life was prolific with this being the breeding season of the white necked cormorant of which there were hundreds. The lodge is very nice and well run by the efficient staff. Solar is big here with heating panels over most buildings and electricity being generated by solar as well.