Saturday 21st June
Ruvula Sea Safari, Tanzania – Quoinga, Mozambique
We got up early to head into Mtwara again to fix a slow puncture and get a braii grill made up using the Crofton’s as a template. The clever South African circular design sits neatly on the spare wheel, but we got it for a bargain price after commissioning the local welder. While waiting, the locals roped us into helping dig a ditch for the water pipe which was trickier than it looked.
Full of fuel and supplies, we headed for the ferry which would take us over the border to Mozambique. We were greeted by a half sunken landing craft which set the tone for the rest of the day. As we waited on the beach for high tide, another vehicle joined us and four drunken German blokes fell out and proceeded to tell us about how great Scotland was, especially the chief executive of the Bank of Scotland!
Once loaded with vehicles, the ferry was even lower with water lapping around the wheels of the cars. The crew didn’t appear to have a plan as their efforts to bail the water using buckets wasn’t progressing very fast. Luckily, one of the vehicles had a brand new water pump in the boot which was utilised to start bailing out the water from the hold. What they had planned to do without this was anyone’s guess.
The next issue was powering the boat so we got our jump leads out to help get one of the engines going. It took another hour or so of shuffling the vehicles around to help move the weight away from the sinking corner before we were ready to cast off. There were a few nervous glances from the crew as the ropes were thrown away but all went fine until the captain ran aground half way across the river. The captain manhandled the controls for about 15 minutes before we were off the sandbank by which point the sun was setting.
Given the comedy of errors we had been subjected to, the thought of what could transpire on the water in the dark was a scary thought. Luckily we dodged the hippos and breathed again as we reached the other side of the river and Mozambique. The steep sandbank was going to prove tricky for disembarkation, but we followed the lead of the locals who hit it with such speed that one of them nearly got air at the top.
The 20 ton truck was not so lucky and so we got stuck into helping pull it out of the sand. Despite the weight of the Land Rover, it was no match for the loaded truck and so we hooked up our recovery kit to a truck waiting on the shore and directed the recovery operation. Things took longer than expected as someone punctured the truck’s diesel tank with a spade but it all added to the fun and games.
With no word of thanks from the truck, we eventually headed off in the dark to find the immigration and customs office up the road. Luckily they were still awake for us and we paid the various ‘overtime’ charges to get us moving. As we made our way into Mozambique through the back door, as it felt, we realised that the local dialect was Portuguese, and quickly established that neither of us knew how to ask for a couple of beers, far less ‘Are you asking for a bribe you blatantly corrupt Mr Policeman?’
The idea of bush camping crossed our mind but were advised against it due to reports of land mines in the remote border area. Thankfully there was a football pitch in the small village of Quoinga where we set up camp. A local missionary came to say good night to us as we hit the sack after a long day. |