Put Foot Rally Day 14 – Tete, Mozambique’s New York Posted on 10 July 2012 Day 14 Senga Bay, Lake Malawi to Campismo Jesus e Bom, Tete Distance: 410 kilometres In Africa, sometimes it takes a really long time to do a really short distance. This was the case on Day 14 of the rally: a day riddled with potholes, road taxes and opportunistic officials … welcome to Mozambique. ‘This better be worth it’, I thought. It was, but more on that later. HQ Taxi at the Dedza Border We crossed the border at Dedza, the most shambolic farce of a border post I’d ever encountered. First we got slapped with a hefty road tax. Then our driver (above, holding the paperwork), who’d not yet had his Yellow Fever shot, got poked in the back room. I stood outside on the dusty road and watched as locals strolled through the gates from Malawi to Mozambique and vice versa without so much as entering an office. After that, we played a little dodgem with pedestrians, taught a few policeman how to read a South African driver’s licence and wove wildly between crater-sized potholes. The irony of paying that massive road tax didn’t escape Kim, our on-board video editor. In hindsight (I am writing this a few days later), this section of Mozambique would be the perfect setting for the next instalment of Grand Theft Auto, no concept team needed: there’s enough real-world chaos to perpetuate hours of gaming fun. Tete, from across the Zambezi We made it to Tete at around 22h00 that evening and checked into Campismo Jesus e Bom on the banks of the Zambezi River. It’s as much a campsite as I am a crocodile, but there’s something wildly romantic about setting up your tent next to a rubble heap, showering under a builder’s faucet and taking in the inexorable buzz of a city that never rests from across a river that never sleeps. Tete is Mozambique’s New York … but dirtier, more frantic and inundated with a flaming sense of warped city dynamism that makes you feel uneasy but excited at the same time. Mozambique’s New York The next morning we crossed the Tete Bridge, got the hell out of dodge and made the long drive to Inhambane, the final checkpoint of the rally. As always, more of that in the next post. Related Posts Cape Town’s sustainability: Leading the way in environmental initiatives 1 June 2023 As National Environmental Month commences in South Africa, Cape Town stands proudly at the forefront... read more Kapama to host Safari Guide of the Year Awards 2023 1 June 2023 Kapama Private Game Reserve near Hoedspruit will host this year’s Safari Guide of the Year... read more Blood Lions relaunches for public viewing on YouTube 1 June 2023 Award-winning documentary feature film Blood Lions has been relaunched on YouTube for public viewing, creating... read more PREV ARTICLE NEXT ARTICLE
Cape Town’s sustainability: Leading the way in environmental initiatives 1 June 2023 As National Environmental Month commences in South Africa, Cape Town stands proudly at the forefront... read more
Kapama to host Safari Guide of the Year Awards 2023 1 June 2023 Kapama Private Game Reserve near Hoedspruit will host this year’s Safari Guide of the Year... read more
Blood Lions relaunches for public viewing on YouTube 1 June 2023 Award-winning documentary feature film Blood Lions has been relaunched on YouTube for public viewing, creating... read more