Mozambique
Every Mozambican owns a coconut palm. It’s a relic from the 17-year-long skirmish between Frelimo in the south and Renamo in the north. Landmines planted by both sides ripped the country apart. When the country achieved independence in 1975, the local Portuguese people were told to relinquish their passports or leave within 24 hours. To celebrate their victory the Frelimo group gave every Mozambican a coconut tree.
From a country blighted by war, poverty and floods, Mozambique has become one of Africa’s most coveted holiday hotspots. Water-sport enthusiasts relish unspoilt reefs featuring giant moray eels, whale sharks and rare multicoloured nudibrancs. For anglers, the waters teem with marlin, sailfish, and Dorado, while catamarans, windsurfing boards, surf-kites, kayaks and water-skis for hire dot the beachfronts.
Small wonder developers have moved in to build new resorts and Maputo’s palatial Hotel Polana has been restored to its former colonial-style glory amid swaying palms and landscaped gardens. Both the Polana and Polana Mar buildings face the Indian Ocean providing unbroken views of local fishermen launching decrepit dhows in the hope of procuring the freshest piscatorial produce.
The name Mozambique is derived from Musa Mbiki, Sultan of the Ilha de Mozambique, when the Portuguese arrived in the 15th century. In the ninth and 10th centuries, the Arabs and Indians rode the monsoon winds in dhows to trade metals, cloth, glass beads and porcelain for slaves, gold and ivory. Now tourists arrive in light aircraft or traverse bumpy dirt roads by car past coconut groves, nut trees, palm-frond huts, goats, chickens and women carrying stick bundles on their heads and babies on their backs. Hand-painted signs tempt tourists with promises of prawns, calamari and cold white wines. Vendors line dusty pavements selling tomatoes and cashew nuts.
Mozambique’s remoter north offers beautiful beaches and unspoilt coral reefs. Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado province, is a megalopolis of thatched huts with a giant natural lagoon, and the most under-used stretch of dual carriageway in Africa.
Pemba Bay is the world’s third largest inland bay but the main attraction is Wimbe Beach and the reef for diving and snorkeling. Strap on fins to spot that elusive dugong!
An authentic local Souk in central Pemba sells traditional silverware and other crafts; while a modern port, international airport, newly-repaired roads and classy hotels combine with the vibrancy of the locals and their lively Lambada-style dancing, make this a heady destination. From the ancient ruined island of Ibo to Flamingo Bay, one of the few places in the world where you can see the sunrise and sunset from the same place, Mozambique is where it all happens. If you’ve never been, now’s the time to go!
