Adventures – Mozambique

• Day 1 : On the road from Cobue to Lichinga
• Day 2 : On the road from Lichinga to Cuamba and visit of Cuamba
• Day 3 : Train Cuamba to Nampula
• Day 4,5 & 6 : Mozambique Island
• Day 6 : Boat to Likoma 72km, 10h
• Day 7,8 & 9 : Chocas
• Day 10 : Mozambique Island

Train from cuamba to nampula

Take the railway to reach the city of Nampula. The scenery is quite magic: you will cross green countryside, uphill mountains and villages. You will enjoy as well the stops in stations where locals sell food, drinks and pretty much any grocery you might need. Try the chicken sticks, cheap and tasty 😉 It will take you 10 hours (for us about 14 hours) to run the 342 km. You can choose the fist class and air con for 14 euros. Buy the tickets in cuamba the day before departure (at the time ticket office opened at 3pm but check when you arrive there). Beware that the train doesn’t run every day.

Mozambique island

Spend a few days on the island… The city in itself is interesting – wander about the colorful and colonial streets of the town, visit the old and abandoned fortress with breathtaking sea view, the hospital  and marvel at the Portuguese churches. Go as far as the most southern and full of life part of the island (where the main part of the population lives). Share a sunset with the fishermen on the beaches. If you are kin of outdoors activities, go for a kayak excursion. From 1-2 h up to 4-5h paddling around the island, you will see it from a different angle!     

Chocas

Go for a 3 days / 2 nights stay on the island. Take a small boat from Mozambique island to the beach. Relax and swim on the beautiful and wide beach. It may seem to be paradise, warm and turquoise water, desert stretch of white sand beach, few « pescadores » (fishermen) at early morning. At night, stargazing on the beach is a common activity, we can spot easily the Milky Way! If you like to walk around, visit the village of Chocas, and Cabeiceira pequena and Cabeiceira grande with their old and abandoned colonial monuments.

Population

24,0 millions

Urbanization

31 %

Life expectancy

52,3 YO

Literacy

56,1 %

GDP / capita

1200 $

Exports

Aluminium, prawns, cashnew

1. Beautiful white sand and deserted beaches of Chocas
2. the cheap and delicious seafood on the shore (lobster and clams)

1. Expensive and uneasy way of transport in Northern Mozambique
2. Time of transport announced vs the efficient time taken by transport (either boat or train)

Loud music (even if that’s fun for some hours …) don’t sleep next to a night club – the windows might vibrate!

• Withdrawing money in Nkhata Bay might be a nightmare. All the ATMs of the city weren’t working with all our 4 credit cards and the payment terminal in the hostal was off. We had to lend money from 2 friendly tourists… This seems to happen a lot, so take this as an advice, withdraw money in Mzuzu before heading to Nkhata Bay.
• Mushroom farm near Livingstonia is a wonderful place to stay and rest. You will sleep in a tent or wooden cottages, all with breathtaking views over the valley and lake Malawi. The 2 american owners really make the difference: an ecological touch, delicious veggie food and a nice touch of vintage decor. Some tips: book ahead because capacity is limited, and be patient to wait for a car that will bring you up to the farm (10 km of steep road) for some kwachas.
• The boat adventure. A good but expensive option to reach either Chizumulu or Likoma islands is to buy a ticket from Ilhala ferries. At the time, the boat was not running, but the service was supposed to start again soon. We took the local ferry from Nhkatay Bay to Likoma, make sure to ask for the days and time of service. The trip lengh was almost 10 hours – do not believe anyone telling you it will last 4-5 hours.