Be the change you want to see in the world: A weekend in Mozambique

The one thing I had really wanted to get the chance to do while there was go on a weekend excursion to Mozambique to swim with the dolphins. At the volunteer house they have a whole book of day and weekend trip you can do and I had seen this one first thing. When planning the trip I had come across an internet offering of one such trip and you went out into a shallow bay (no swimming necessary) and once a day the dolphins would come in and greet you. Sounded so wonderful, something that had always been on my bucket list. Well let me tell you, this was nothing like that. I'm sure I wouldn't have gone had I known you went out in a big inflatable raft type boat into the oh so vast and choppy ocean, and then were expected to jump over the side if dolphins were spotted! The next step would be getting back in to the damn boat. Not for me I'm afraid. I'm sure I would have drowned, as one of the girls almost did, when she had a panic attack from the water splashing into her snorkel that she wasn't sure how to use. We went out twice, once when we arrived and again in the morning and only spotted 1 small pod (I actually didn't even see them!) which was when the few daring souls went over the sides. Was a disappointing experience for me. The boat rides were lovely though and oh my, the Mozambique roads were an experience not to be missed. You travel on the nicely paved roads of South Africa to the border crossing, once through things change! There are no REAL roads in Mozambique...you are driving through desert. Up and down sand dunes on well worn tracks of other travellers, hoping not to slide down an embankment or get stuck in a dune, because who knew when the next traveller would come along! Sitting in the back of the vehicle was literally equivalent to doing the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland. Holding on was a must. We did actually run into a group of folks in just the predicament I mentioned, stuck in a dune waiting for anyone to help. We did of course. When we had arrived at the border crossing someone made a comment about the design on the Mozambique flag - a gun, a shovel and a bible. She said perhaps it represented the gun they would shoot you with, the shovel to bury you and the bible to pray over your body...I wonder?

We arrived in the small beach front town of Maputo a little late and had to rush like mad to catch the boat that was going out almost immediately. Everyone was trying to change into their bathing suits and get outfitted with flippers, snorkels and masks. A short orientation and we're off! That was exactly when I learned what kind of boat we were to go on and what was expected of us. Nuh uh, not me thanks, I'd just go along for the ride and enjoy the view, thank you very much. We all had to help to push the boat off the sand into the water and then jump on board, that was hard enough in the waves, with sand under my feet, wasn't going to do that out in the open ocean. The little beach area was literally packed with vehicles and people, a real tourist spot for South Africans. I couldn't quite fathom that, as there are so many beautiful beaches in South Africa, why would people come all the up here and crowd into this tiny little town? Beyond me, and to top it off, everyone speaks French at the restaurants and bars. I had forgotten that Mozambique was colonized by the French. Me, I only had 1 year of French in school and failed miserably so I was very happy everyone spoke English too, dieu merci.

After a delightful, but uneventful hour and a half on the water (no dolphins spotted) we were taken to our - what would you call it? Not a hotel, not a motel, not really a B & B, well you see and decide -

I had the bottom floor - well sort of - I shared space with their storage (and again no ensuite)

Our illustrious group, 2 of the Dutchies' and a couple from Durban with their daughter, Charl our driver from Extreme Nature Tours back left side. He was great making sure we were well looked after and very informative on the drive there and back. When it was time for us to be dropped off, I waited at the gate as he ran home to get some business cards for me. "Have you seen a hippo yet", he asked - "No" I said, "hop in there's one just up the street grazing on a lawn". Amazing - There it was just moseying along, and me without my camera yet again!
After another morning tour out on the boat we headed back to the border. There was actually a pod of dolphins spotted by one of the divers while we were out and a few brave souls jumped overboard to try and catch a glimpse, no luck though, the pod moved through so fast. This is when the Dutchy went over the side and had the panic attack. I was so happy I hadn't decided to be brave and give it a try, sure as anything I would have drowned!

After arriving back in SA we found out that the couple from Durban had booked a safari drive through Tembe National Park, so we had this extra bonus. Tembe is a small park and only took a couple of hours to drive around.