Mozambique was a favourite destination for us in the early 1990s. It had just started opening up after the war that had been going on for 20 years since the early 70s. The last time we had been beach camping in Mozambique had been one of the first trips ever in our new Land Rover Series IIA in February 1974. I was just a little kid of 5 years old and Brian was 4 at the time.
Overland to Mozambique
This was one of the first overland trips that we had done by ourselves after spending the last 20 years overlanding with our parents. We returned in April 1995 and it was a special trip for us because now 21 years later in our mid twenties we were driving in our own Land Rovers.
I was driving my Series 2 SWB. Brian was driving his new Series III 109 camper that he had just built up. We were joined by Big AL in his 109 pickup that he had just got and it still had a few issues, but more about that later.
The destination was Praia da Barra in Inhambane. The trip was just over 1000km that we broke in 2 by stopping over at my Grans house in the Marloth park area. This was always a nice stop as it was close to the border so we could get an early start the next day. The second day took us via Maputo and then onto Inhambane. The roads were pretty good being tarred although there were a few potholes and many villages along the way.
Beach Camping in Mozambique
What we found at Barra was like a tropical paradise. As we drove the sandy tracks through the Palm groves the magnificent sea view greeted us. Besides the locals who were few and far between there was nobody else and no real facilities. We practically had the whole place to ourselves.
We camped on the beach right up against the dunes in the shade of the trees. For the next two weeks we spent the most amazing time fishing swimming snorkelling and exploring the area. We had taken along an inflatable boat that allowed us to get out on the bay. We went out to the reefs and had some fantastic snorkelling.
The Road Home
The road home was a bit more eventful. On our way out Brian saw his oil pressure drop and realised that one of his oil cooler pipes had come off the 2.5 Turbo Diesel. But it was quickly fixed and oil topped up. Albert on the other hand had his exahust was properly off at the manifold so the noise, heat and fumes into the cab were something else for a 15 hour trip home. I was not spared in my Series 2 that had smoke billowing out the bonnet. Only to find that the hooter had come loose and caused a short circuit and started melting the wires. Luckily we caught it in time and no major damage was done.
This overland adventure beach camping in Mozambique was unforgettable. Catch all the action in the video at The Overland Legend Channel
