Beach bumming Mozambique

[Xpat]

There were still settlements here and there, but the area was much less populated than further down south. And the tracks were also more sparse and less used:

Slash and burn is still the preferred local operating procedure for dealing with the indigenous vegetation:

 

[MM]

Thanks for sharing this with us Xpat. It is an awesome ride report ! You are a true inspiration to all of us and especially wannabe adventure riders like myself.  :ricky:

 

[Xpat]

At one point I came across a river/swamp and took a bit of walking around before I found a way across:

I was walking around thinking I'm alone and then I turned and these kids who were not there just a second ago were standing few meters from me. Clever African kids, they have hidden in the reeds when they saw the white devil walking around their laundry room, but their mother I have noticed only now indicated to them that it is OK to show themselves, so they did, giving me a fright:

I eventually found the way across and pushed on towards Vilankulos not far away by this point:

Finally, I came to the outskirts of Vilankulos at about noon and rode leisuredly through the town admiring the turquoise ocean with split mind. On the one hand I was glad I have made it, on the other hand I was a bit bummed that it was over.

I didn't dwell on that for too long, rode right across the town towards my favourite joint in Vilankulos - Smuggler's, where I have spent noicy New Years celebrations 3 years ago. And seems to be way too often the case with my favourite places in Moz - Smuggler's was closed and slowly falling apart. How the f@#$ do these places go out of business when they are usually the favourite hangouts with quite a bit of customer traffic?

So I turned back and headed for another place I spent night of two previously in - a bit more upmarket, but completely emty and therefore surprisingly well priced this time. I have found about another place nearby  with what old man like me can just guess is considered cool name - Zombie Cucumber and something - that became the new favourite backpackers hangout in town, and to my surprise their shittier challets were noticeable more expensive than the lodge I was staying in. But that staff acted way more cool and ironic and stuff - I eat there few times as my place didn't have restaurant.

I settled into my airconditioned chalet just as the midday heat hit, and fell promptly asleep. That kept me busy for the rest of the day - apart for a evening dash to Zombie Cucumber for some animal protein and fermented gluten.


Me casa:

 

[Xpat]

Here is another video of my prior ride in that area between Pomene and Vilankulos. Not the same tracks - I have again chickened out on tar way too eary last time, but still gives good idea about the type of tracks in the area:

[youtube]https://youtu.be/KMDhqUGXdfc[/youtube]​

 

[Xpat]

Thanks for sharing this with us Xpat. It is an awesome ride report ! You are a true inspiration to all of us and especially wannabe adventure riders like myself.  :ricky:

Cheers MM  :thumleft:

 

[Oubones]

Thanks for your inspiration and effort to put these great Rr's together!
Moz is still on my list, but Kaokoland first!

 

[Xpat]

Thanks for your inspiration and effort to put these great Rr's together!
Moz is still on my list, but Kaokoland first!

You are in KZN, which is more or less on Moz border (depending where you live of course). This trip (or most of it) can be done in a week (i.e. 9 days including both weekends). To do Kaokoland properly you need at least 16 days IMO if you factor in commute there and back.

So purely from marginal benefits/marginal costs, Moz is much better deal  and better bang for buck (monetary buck, as well as time buck) - all you need is a week.

 

[Oubones]

Thanks for your inspiration and effort to put these great Rr's together!
Moz is still on my list, but Kaokoland first!

You are in KZN, which is more or less on Moz border (depending where you live of course). This trip (or most of it) can be done in a week (i.e. 9 days including both weekends). To do Kaokoland properly you need at least 16 days IMO if you factor in commute there and back.

So purely from marginal benefits/marginal costs, Moz is much better deal  and better bang for buck (monetary buck, as well as time buck) - all you need is a week.

I agree there as to bang for buck, but I am going to Kaokoland with Hardy in April.
My family do not want me to just disappear into the unreachable!
They do not agree with my view that I have reached my sell by date.
Kids raised, grandkids seen, so if I die falling off a mountain or dying in the bush with a smile on my face, who cares!  :thumleft:
 

 

[uyster]

Great trip report !! thanks for making the effort with pic"s and a well written journal.
Good choice of bike, a big dualsport bike will be challenging big time,

 

[evansv]

:sip:

 

[DikZol]

Your report convinced me that I should go there!  Well written and thanx for all the advice! 

 

[sidetrack]

Awaiting the next installment, would love to visit the turquoise sea and chill under a palm tree !

 

[mtr89]

[member=9492]Xpat[/member] , your ride reports are THE **** man!
Thanks for taking the time to post em up :thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft:

 

[Xpat]

Day 11 & 12 - Vilankulos


The next days I spent mostly chilling in my little airconditioned chalet, apart from an early morning dips in the ocean and dinners at Zombie Cucumber. I was feeling a bit sickly so to prevent any nasty surprise I used up the malaria treatment pills I got in Tofo and just be be sure got some more in local farmacy for back-up. The main attraction in Vilankulos is visit to the highly acclaimed Bazaruto islands nearby, but I have been there before and feeling under weather I gave them a miss this time.

I had also a little fright when I noticed that outside of the 500 engine was all covered in oil, with quite a bit of it dripping on the ground. Upon closer inspection I couldn't find any leak and the oil level in the engine was fine, so I assumed that I just overfilled the oil during oil change in Tofo. I still had about 1500 km return leg ahead, and I kept close eye on the oil, which seemed going down a bit, but very slowly without getting below the minimum level. Once back home Runner checked the things and confirmed that the oil was actually leaking around the front sprocket seal, but I'm pretty sure that the initial leak was because of the overfill (though I have no idea where the overflow for oil is on 500).

Here few postcard-ish images of Vilankulos and surrounds:

 

[Xpat]

Thanks again for following and nice comments  :thumleft:

 

[ClimbingTurtle]

Lekker Pics!!

I have extremely bad memories of Vilanculos after a group of hyper-aggressive fisherman demanded compensation for the "damage" i created, resulting in his boat being damaged beyond fixing after i put a foot up against a f@cked up shell of wood he called a boat to tighten the velcro on my slops... Problem was we were way up the beach, walking, my wife & I, with a back-pack full of camera equipment - they were screaming in our faces and going hysterical - we calmly walked away, but it could easily have got nasty... But I suppose its my skewed vision and I think I must rather go back and visit again.... Just shows once again how experiense influences perception!

Looking forward to the ride back - bring it on!!!!  :thumleft:

 

[sidetrack]

The Etrex 20 you use does it have enough memory to store the tracks for the entire trip ? I need to upgrade from my old units and they are seriously limited on memory.

 

[Xpat]

The Etrex 20 you use does it have enough memory to store the tracks for the entire trip ? I need to upgrade from my old units and they are seriously limited on memory.

Yes, no problem with the memory, though now I have Etrex 30 as I'm about to destroy that 20 in the next episode. That said, I rarely use GPS now to navigate (though I have tracks on it and I have it on to record tracks). I use mostly mobile phone applications nowadays to navigate, as they are much more powerfull and user friently than those overpriced Garmin pieces of garbage.

 

[sidetrack]

The Etrex 20 you use does it have enough memory to store the tracks for the entire trip ? I need to upgrade from my old units and they are seriously limited on memory.

Yes, no problem with the memory, though now I have Etrex 30 as I'm about to destroy that 20 in the next episode. That said, I rarely use GPS now to navigate (though I have tracks on it and I have it on to record tracks). I use mostly mobile phone applications nowadays to navigate, as they are much more powerfull and user friently than those overpriced Garmin pieces of garbage.

Yes the phone is an option and so much easier to load and save data and just about anything else you can think off. I have even played with a small 7 inch tablet idea, issue is just always mounting it securely. I played with Locus last time and for me it was much better than OSMmaps (sp)

 

[Xpat]

The Etrex 20 you use does it have enough memory to store the tracks for the entire trip ? I need to upgrade from my old units and they are seriously limited on memory.

Yes, no problem with the memory, though now I have Etrex 30 as I'm about to destroy that 20 in the next episode. That said, I rarely use GPS now to navigate (though I have tracks on it and I have it on to record tracks). I use mostly mobile phone applications nowadays to navigate, as they are much more powerfull and user friently than those overpriced Garmin pieces of garbage.

Yes the phone is an option and so much easier to load and save data and just about anything else you can think off. I have even played with a small 7 inch tablet idea, issue is just always mounting it securely. I played with Locus last time and for me it was much better than OSMmaps (sp)

I don't mount it - have it in my pocket and take it out if I need to check where I am. To be fair, that ETrex probably came a bit handy even when checking if I"m on track in Moz (in Lesotho it is much less needed). The phone in pocket is not great solution if you need to navigate in busy town, but if you just need to check turn off every 10 or so km, I have no problem to stop, take picture and check the map. It is just so much more useable to get your bearings beacuse much faster than GPS.