Thirty years ago Mozambique was a playground for travel-restricted
South Africans. Then a brutal civil war took it off the map
for even the most intrepid traveller. Today resorts are rapidly
being rebuilt; the southern coast is only a day's drive
from Johannesburg; and the country has Africa's fastest
developing tourism economy.
Mozambique has persevered through
war and the dramatic floods of 2000, and is returning to its
rightful place as one of Africa's most attractive destinations.
The 2 500km coastline is indecently tropical with a superb array of marine life and the most gorgeously tropical
islands you are ever likely to see.
It's a great place
for diving and snorkelling. The pristine reefs are
relatively untampered with and divers can expect to meet mantas
and whale sharks. Those without substitute lungs can try
snorkelling and swimming with the dolphins or go in search of
the elusive prehistoric dugong.
All the usual water paraphernalia
is available to hire from the South African favoured resorts. Game fishing - often on a tag and release system - and the new sport of seawater fly-fishing are hugely
popular.
Maputo is Mozambique's capital. It is only 50km
from South Africa and you will undoubtedly travel through it
en route to the southern resorts.
Shabby, rundown, but oozing
with cosmopolitan charm, it's an African city with a
strong Portuguese influence. Wide Acacia-lined avenues and
tall, increasingly modern buildings overlook
the ocean. The markets and nightlife are vibrant and the restaurants
are full of continental aromas.
Further up the coast, around
the city of Inhambane, are Tofo and many other secluded beaches. Some of them are accessible only by four wheel drive.
These palm-fringed bays are a safe haven for swimmers and
snorkellers.
Travellers to Vilanculos will be tempted to stay by the
laid-back atmosphere and abundant seafood restaurants. Watch the sun sink over the harbour from the steps
of the old Donna Ana Hotel with a cold Manica beer in hand.
One of Mozambique's highlights is the Bazaruto Archipelago: a string of islands nestled in a bank of exquisite
coral reefs on the edge of the deep Mozambique Channel. The
best way to get there is to take a ride on a romantic white-sailed
dhow - ancient sailing boats that have plied the East African
coast for centuries.
On the islands you can walk for miles
on dreamy white sand littered with pansy shells. Here the
driftwood could genuinely have come from a 15th century Portuguese
shipwreck. Declared a World Heritage Site to protect over
250 species of birds, butterflies and crocodiles, the archipelago
offers the pure desert island experience.
You can camp
on the beach or enjoy the luxury of the few upmarket lodges.
Climb giant sand dunes; watch a melting sunset over a deserted
beach; or buy seafood directly from the fishermen wading the
shore who believe everyone eats lobster on a daily basis.
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Mozambique's first inhabitants were San hunters and gatherers. They
were joined by Bantu-speaking people from the south in
the first and fourth centuries AD.
Portuguese explorers reached
Mozambique in 1498. They established trading posts and forts
and plundered the interior for gold, ivory and slaves. The
slave trade was eventually wiped out in 1877, and by 1884
Mozambique had become a Portuguese colony.
In 1891 the Portuguese
shifted the administration of the country to a large private
company, The Mozambique Company, that issued
postage stamps, built railroads to neighbouring countries
and supplied cheap (and often forced) African labour to the
goldmines and plantations of the nearby British colonies and
South Africa. Little attention was paid to the local economic
infrastructure or the skills of its population. Colonial
rule stifled Mozambique's development.
After World War II, while many European nations were granting
independence to their colonies, the Portuguese clung to the
concept that Mozambique was an overseas province of the mother
country. A quarter million Portuguese emigrated to Mozambique. The
nationalist movement began to grow in the early 1960s, and
anti-colonial movements grouped into the Front for the Liberation
of Mozambique (Frelimo).
In 1964 they initiated a ten-year armed
war for feedom against the Portuguese until Mozambique
was finally granted independence in 1975. When the Portuguese
abandoned the country, they did so without preparing Mozambique
for the change. Over 90% of the Portuguese settlers left,
taking everything they could. Of Mozambique's 500
doctors, only 80 remained; there were only 10 teachers
in the entire country. The Frelimo Party came to power
and quickly set about re-building health and education services,
but it had little experience, and even fewer resources.
Democracy had no roots at all in Mozambique. Frelimo hurriedly
established a one-party Marxist state, outlawed rival political
activity, and established close ties with the Soviet Union.
But socialism failed miserably, and a group called Renamo
(Mozambique National Resistance), backed by South Africa and then
Rhodesia, launched a rebellion in 1976.
The result was
a devastating civil war during which Renamo destroyed a tremendous
number of roads, schools, telephone lines and other elements
of the nation's infrastructure, as well as killing or injuring
tens of thousands of civilians. When a peace treaty was finally
signed in 1992, there was almost nothing left of the country.
In 1990, with apartheid crumbling in South Africa, and support
for Renamo drying up, the first direct talks between the Frelimo
government and Renamo were held. A new constitution for a
multi- party democracy was adopted, and a UN-negotiated peace
agreement was signed in 1992. A UN Peacekeeping Force oversaw
the two year transition to multi-party elections.
By mid-1995
over 1.7 million refugees who had sought asylum in neighboring
countries as a result of the war had returned to Mozambique: one
of the largest repatriations witnessed in Africa. A further
4 million internally displaced people found their way home.
The rebuilding process got off to a good start. The country
held its first free elections in 1994. Frelimo, under Joaquim
Chissano won; Renamo, led by Afonso Dhalkama, was the official
opposition. Mozambique joined the Commonwealth, becoming the
only member nation that was never a British colony. A free-market
economy replaced the old socialist one, and foreign aid has
been generous. In 2000, Mozambique held elections for a second
time, which were again won by Frelimo.
Despite these successes, Mozambique remains one of the poorest
countries in the world and is still struggling to repair the
damage caused by the war. Efforts have been hampered by drought,
famine and, more recently, floods. The devastating
flood in 2000 destroyed the homes and livelihoods of
hundreds of thousands of people.
One of its successes, however,
has been the growth of the tourism industry. New lodges and
resorts are springing up along Mozambique's beautiful
coastline and the infrastructure is improving. It's
still one of Africa's best kept secrets: if you go,
you're likely to have an entire pristine beach to yourself.
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Mozambique is a land of cashew nut trees, sugar cane and coconut
palms. Mozambique's 800 000 sq km landscape is made
up of dense forest, open woodland and savannahs. Mangrove
swamps can be found in limited areas.
Although 45% of the
land is suitable for agriculture, only about 5% is actually
cultivated. It should be able to produce enough food to feed
the whole country and even export, but the country's natural
wealth has not been fully exploited.
Mozambique lies beside
the Indian Ocean. It borders South Africa and Zimbabwe to
the south, and Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania to the north. About
half the country is made up of flat coastal plain.
Heading
inland, the land rises to a dry savannah plateau, and then to
mountains on the western and northern borders. These remote
mountainous areas in the interior, ranging in height from
1 000 to 2 000 metres above sea level, cover about 13% of
the territory. Very few people live here.
Many sizeable rivers,
including the Zambezi and Limpopo, flow through Mozambique
to the sea. Africa's largest hydro-electric power dam,
the Cabora Bassa, lies in the north-west.
The 2 500km coastline
is fringed by idyllic white sandy beaches, interspersed with
lagoons, coral reefs and strings of islands. The warm and
inviting Indian Ocean produces an abundance of Mozambique
prawns, the country's largest single export.
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The average temperature for Mozambique is around 25-30ºC
all year round. Most of the coast is tropical and it can get
very humid. The mountains in the west are always about 10
degrees cooler than the rest of the country.
Generally, the
hot rainy season is from October to March and cyclones routinely batter the coast around
January and February. This is not the best time to visit Mozambique
as roads easily get washed away in severe flooding. Most provinces
have some rain seven to nine months of the year, with the exception
of the south of the country, where periods of drought occur.
From April to September the coast has warm, mainly dry weather
tempered by sea breezes. Although it is warm in the evenings,
you still need to take long clothes to protect against malaria.
Rainwear is advisable all year round.
Mozambique-Portuguese is the official language. It is spoken
by 25% of the population, but only a little over 1% call it
their primary language. The majority of the population
speak a number of indigenous languages.
Mozambique-Portuguese
is very close to the original primitive Portuguese without
the more modern influences from the regional dialects of Portugal.
It's more similar to the Portuguese spoken
in Brazil, than that spoken in Portugal.
Very few people in Mozambique
speak English so you will need to know a few Portuguese words
to get by:
• Hello - Alô
• Good morning - Bom dia
• Good afternoon - Boa tarde
• Good night/evening - Boa noite
• Thank you - Obrigado
• You're welcome - De nada
• Please - Por favor
• How are you? - Como vai?
• I am fine, and you? - Vou bem, e você?
• All's good - Tudo bem?
• Bye - Tchau
• See you later - Até logo
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