Day 12: 3 July
Mozambique – Tete campsite
Malawi was a bit of a dash-in dash-out trip for us. We arrived late and had to leave Senga Bay early. Our plan was to push through as far as we could for the next few days so that we’d be able to spend some time on the beach in Mozambique.
Before leaving Senga Bay I explored a Malawian market with the #shoesonfeet team. We were taken through the market by a lovely local lady who led us into a dark dilapidated building with fabric hanging from the ceiling. We bargained for a few metres of fabric, ordered some ice cream from the local restaurant and set off for the Dedza border. A man in Chipata had suggested we take a shortcut through Masasa which took us up a pass and spat us out on the M1 a few kilometres short of the border. The road took us through the Dedza mountains and we climbed straight up the western side of the great African Rift Valley to over 2000 m above sea level in a very short amount of time. From Salima, drive south along the road towards Golomoti. It isn’t sign posted but it’s a pretty major road on your right and you’ll see a sign for Dedza a couple of hundred metres along that road.
I picked up more fabric from a little shop at the border and Evan, Stu and the #shoesonfeet crew grabbed some goat-flavoured slap chips from the little market. Lunch: dry roll with goat-flavoured chips and left over fillet. My little kitchen was pumping in the back of the VW Amarok!
We couldn’t believe it – Malawi for one day! It was far too quick but we all agreed it was somewhere we’d definitely come back to. The border crossing was fairly effortless and we drove onto Tete.
Tete was my most unexpected favourite town on the trip. We arrived at dusk. The streets were lined with stalls and hundreds of people shopping, chatting, drinking and eating. African tunes filled the air. It was raw. It was real. After a few wrong turns we found our campsite. If you’re ever trying to find it, take the last left turn onto a dirt road before the main one-kilometer-long Tete bridge (confused us a little!) it’s the second bridge if you’re coming from Malawi. There’s a little signpost but you’d easily miss it if you’re not looking carefully. It takes you along a road running parallel to the Zambezi River. There are two rows of houses and it’s about 400m from the turnoff on your right. There’s a large metal gate in the heart of a suburb. It’s basic but I loved it. The lights reflected off the Zambezi River and illuminated the bridge. The Bobs for Good team arrived, we made a little fire and I climbed into my rooftop tent early in preparation for another early start and long drive to Vilanculos.
The Getaway team would like to thank:
4×4 Mega World for their fully kitted out VW Amarok
K-Way – the official gear partner to the Getaway team on the Put Foot challenge
MapStudio for their Southern and East Africa map
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