In the evening of our successful flight in Zimbabwe we celebrated with a 4 course meal at the Lake View Resort. Norma Jeane tried to persuade us to stay a few more days but we needed to be moving on. We had considered visiting the reputedly beautiful Chimanimani mountains and perhaps exiting into Mozambique through a very quiet border. However the recent heavy rains were likely to have made the roads difficult or impassable. That was lucky for us as when we stopped for shopping in Masvingo a friendly local warned us there had been an army coup in Harare and we should be careful when travelling. This was the first we had heard about it so we hastened back to the border at Mutare. The advantage for us was that we saw no police checkpoints so there were no delays until we approached Mutare when we met the first of 3 army roadblocks. We sent texts to reassure close family that we were OK. It was a bit tense each time we were stopped and searched and a relief to be across the border.
The first leg of our journey towards Maputo along a new Chinese road towards Beira was easy but very busy with heavy traffic. We overnighted in the grounds of a big hotel near Chimoio. When we turned south on the N1 yesterday the going was good until late morning when the road condition deteriorated and it was slow weaving around deep potholes. This continued until we took a small road 15 kms to the coast at Inhassoro to find Goody Villas Campsite, described on IOverlander as a little paradise. It is just that: a grass covered area dotted with palm trees, right beside a white sand beach on the Indian Ocean. The only other 'residents' are a lovely South African couple with 6 year old Oliver. We plan to spend the weekend here when the weather is forecast to improve. We had a lot of rain last night and there is a strong wind thrashing the palm trees.
We plan to be in or close to Maputo before 25th November when we are meeting friend Paul. He will then travel with us back to Johannesburg via Swaziland and Lesotho. We will be flying home to the UK, arriving in Manchester on 6th December.
The first leg of our journey towards Maputo along a new Chinese road towards Beira was easy but very busy with heavy traffic. We overnighted in the grounds of a big hotel near Chimoio. When we turned south on the N1 yesterday the going was good until late morning when the road condition deteriorated and it was slow weaving around deep potholes. This continued until we took a small road 15 kms to the coast at Inhassoro to find Goody Villas Campsite, described on IOverlander as a little paradise. It is just that: a grass covered area dotted with palm trees, right beside a white sand beach on the Indian Ocean. The only other 'residents' are a lovely South African couple with 6 year old Oliver. We plan to spend the weekend here when the weather is forecast to improve. We had a lot of rain last night and there is a strong wind thrashing the palm trees.
We plan to be in or close to Maputo before 25th November when we are meeting friend Paul. He will then travel with us back to Johannesburg via Swaziland and Lesotho. We will be flying home to the UK, arriving in Manchester on 6th December.
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