Mozambique - Vilanculos

We finally made it to Barra after a drive through Inhambane, the first real town north of Maputo. The last part of the road to Barra is a sandy 4x4 track, our first of this trip. I managed to get us well and truly stuck at the start even after we did everything that we were taught - turn on the diff lock on the front wheels, let some air out of the tires and get the revs up. Now we are Hunt men so we do not panic, but speaking for myself there was maybe a slight moment of anxiety. This was short lived and replaced by embarrassment when a local poked his head in the window and told us that we hadn't engaged 4x4 mode. Luckily he didn't laugh too hard at the rich white idiots. After that it was much easier.

Camping on the beach was great. A huge expanse of sand with very few people and good waves to swim in. We did however notice a slight electrical storm in the distance in the evening, but it was far away, and again we are Hunt men, so although we might pack up slightly faster, this in no way means that we are at all anxious. The storm ended up passing right overhead and we got no sleep as the winds buffeted the tent and the lightning lit up the entire sky, once striking quite close. I had to run out to tie down a flap and it looked something like the coming of the apocalypse outside.

In the morning it had thankfully stopped and we headed up the coast to Vilanculos. Here we are staying at the wonderfully named Zombie Cucumber Backpackers. So named after a book about post war Mozambique. We did a dhow safari today, heading out in the crystal clear water on a small dhow and snorkeling off one of the islands. Lots of fish and very clear water. We also circumnavigated the tiny island by foot, which took about two hours. Very much an island paradise. Along the walk Nicky demonstrated that, if necessary, with a lot of mad running around, he can capture beach crabs in his hat, and he further demonstrated that they will claw his hands to escape. I have some great pictures of this and he has some nice hand wounds.

Tomorrow we leave for Gorongosa park in the central west part of Mozambique. Theoretically a 6 hour drive from Mozambiqans that we have talked to.
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Conor