4 times a year the MH3 arranges hash-away weekends to some resort outside Maputo, either to Swaziland, South-Africa or to some place in Mozambique. The previous trip we joined was to Marloth Game Reserve (found in thispost), and in September last year we also we joined the Ponta d’Ouro trip in incredible nice conditions. This time, it had been raining 4 days in a row before departure, and the big challenge would be to manage the 100 km drive on terrible road conditions. Reports from the guys who left on Thursday were terrifying: Up to 40 cm deep wet and slimy clay was waiting for us!
Would our little blue Pajero IO manage, and bring us safely to our destination and return?
We had agreed to pick up two more passengers (can’t Swedes ever manage themselves ;-)), and we headed for the 6 o’clock ferry to Catembe Friday morning. Crossing the Maputo Bay to Catembe with the ferry is rather quick – a 15 min lift takes you over the bay. The challenge is the queue and line-up before you are safely (?) onboard. The ferry carries 12 cars in one go, but there are normally more than that waiting in the line, and the departure intervals vary from 45 minutes to an hour and a half. Better show up early! The agreement was to wait for the others at Catembe, and from there on form a convoy and assist each other as required.
The normal conditions of the road change from hard, packed, “red African soil”, to very bad asphalt, then sandy roads and finally sand dunes. Actually, the latter two are the most comfortable – and fun! — driving conditions. And, the rumours were true enough: The roads were really bad! Red, slimy clay, deep tracks, holes, crevices and huge water ponds, splashing and shaking the cars continuously. Being the driver was actually quite fun, however I do understand those complaining a bit in the back seat! I even heard one of the passengers a couple of days later complain about stiff and sore arms resulting from having been BOTH shaken and stirred…! But yes, our Pajero made it without trouble, not getting stuck – it’s a tough little bastard! But the brakes took their toll and I was on my back under the car for quite a few days the week after! But that’s another story…
It is just so unfortunate: The photos don’t really justify the bad road conditions… Ponta d’Ouro is located at the southernmost point of Mozambique, and it is a small village often used by the South-Africans and Maputo residents for recreation. Ponta d’Ouro can get quite crowded in week-ends and peak seasons. But if you avoid the peaks, and book early for weekends, it is never very difficult to find a place to stay or to find a spot on the beach for yourself. Ponta d’Ouro offers first of all beautiful endless beaches. Waves gets huge, and it is a paradise for surfing, kiting, scuba diving and watersports – and you can swim with the dolphins. If you prefer land-based activities, the beach is nice for walks, and you can make a trip to the local light house. It also turned out that the place actually works quite well for the hashers’ favorite activities; beer drinking, running and party;-) We stayed at the place Kaya Kweru (check it out!), located only 50 m from the beach (actually closer, as sand erosion is a severe problem undermining the buildings). The Friday’s hash run was set in the village of Ponta d’Ouro, however as it was quite short and the beer stop was after only 4 k, the two of us decided to extend the run a bit. We made a nice tour crossing over some hills and populated areas outside the main routes, and we got a nice glance of the rural areas in the north-west of the village. Recommended! A group of hashers can be quite intense for non-experienced, shy and introvert Norwegians ;-), so we decided to take mid-day Saturday off for ourselves, and instead of joining “Beach Olympics” we went for a long beach walk towards south, and explored the ‘suburbs’ of Ponta and visited some shops before the Saturday hash-run started. The run was great and took us to the view-point of the Light House (Farol Ponta do Ouro) with its magnificent view, and all the way along the beach and the cliffs at the Ponta itself. We even crossed the boarder to South-Africa. Attached, please see some more photos/videos from our trip to Ponta d’Ouro. Some of the photos are from last year, but the place hasn’t changed much!
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