The road from the Border to Maputo is a new tollgate road; you can pay with meticais or rands.  When you reach MAPUTO, drive until you reach the first robot, turn left, this is a double road.  There is another tollgate on this road; here you can only pay with meticais.  A couple of km after the tollgate you will get a slipway to turn left, saying Xia Xia.  Turn left and keep on this road, it will take you to Xia Xia and Inhambane.  It is on this road approximately 36 km that you will find Casa Lisa and Blue Anchor Bay on your left hand side. 

The first big town you will find is MASIA, this is the turn – off to Bilene.  Next to the BP Service Station is a thatched roof restaurant where they make a nice breakfast and the service is quick and efficient.  You can have a bite to eat and be on your way in a short time.  If you want to buy cashew nuts, this is the place.  There are plenty at a cheap price.  Please inspect them for quality before buying. 

When you reach XIA XIA you must fill up with fuel.  This will see you through to Inhambane, which is 260 km away.  The first 80 km from Xia Xia to Inhambane is the only bad piece of road left.  Please drive slowly and carefully because you can easily lose a tyre in a pothole.  After 80 km, the road has been rebuild and is in good condition. 

The first big town after XIA XIA is QUISICO. There is a beautiful picnic spot with a view over the lake and the sea.  Fuel is also available in this town.

 The next big town is INHARIME; there is a petrol station 1 km out of town on the left side of the road.  You are now about 100 km from Inhambane.

 From there it is about 60 – 70 km to s small town called LINDELA.  The road splits here; straight you carry on to MAXIXE and BEIRA.  Here you must turn right to Inhambane.  Watch out for the turn off as you can easily miss it.  From here it is approximately 40 km to Inhambane.  As you reach INHAMBANE watch out there are speed humps that are not clearly marked and this can damage your car or trailer.  Carry on straight with this road, go past the hospital and the graveyard; the estuary is on your left side.  Carry on till you get the harbour and the jetty on the left, on the opposite side is a double road.  You must turn right here; carry on the road, which passes the Petromoc Service Station.  If you need to fill up, do it now or other wise carry on till you reach an elongated circle.  Go round it and turn right.  This is the road to Tofo and Barra.  Carry on approximately 16 km till you reach a bar on your right had side called BAR BABALAZA.  The road splits here, the tar road to the right goes to Tofo and the dirt road to Barra.  It is about 8 km when you reach the beach, turn left.  You will pass Palmgrove, Barra Lodge, and Barra Reef and Westwind cottages.  After this you will see big boatshed on the right and the MAKOLO BAY signboard.  Turn up the incline, you have arrived! 

Inhambane:

 It is the oldest port on the Southern African coast.  Interesting places to visit are the museum, the Old Catholic Cathedral, the graveyard and there are some wonderful old houses and buildings.  You can hire and Arabian Dhow to go across the estuary to Maxixe, where there is a nice restaurant on the estuary.  The food is good and tasteful.  Watch out for the peri-peri, it can spoil your meal, it is VERY HOT!!!  You can walk around Maxixe and do some shopping at the market and Indian shops before your trip back to Inhambane.

In Inhambane there are 3 restaurants with good food and clean rest rooms.  The one is called Masaroco and is opposite the Bank Commercial were the ATM is.  The other one is next to the hospital within the ground of Fervario Cottages, next to the waterfront.  The last one is on the waterfront next to the cathedral, called Pachicha.  They serve lovely pizzas.

 Fruit and vegetables as well as fish and prawns can be bought from the local market in town.  Make sure of the freshness of the prawns and fish.  You can also change money at the market at a reasonable rate from the cigarette sellers.  The bottle store is on the corner opposite the market where you can get cool drinks, beer and spirits.  Right opposite the bottle store is a bakery that sells good bread and rolls (Pao).

Tofo:

 In Tofo there is a few restaurants, you can eat at Casa Barry, which is right on the sea.  The other is Albatross.  Albatross has really good food and on Sundays it has a good lunch buffet with lots of seafood.  Please remember to book before hand with Alan at telephone number +25 882 487 1510.

 Makolo Bay:

There is electricity from Inhambane and because we are at the end of peninsula, the electricity is not strong enough for a kettle, hairdryers and other electricity appliances.

Each house / casita has its own servant who will clean your house, do the dishes and wash your clothes.  They are always prepared to clean your fish and prawns.

There is a Makolo Bay Restaurant and Pub, which offers a la carte.  They also have breakfast, lunch and dinner.  There is a DSTV for sport etc.  There are restaurants at Barra Reef, Barra Lodge, Andaca and Palm Grove.

 Quad Bikes:

 At Makolo Bay no quad bikes are allowed to drive in the resort.  The Mozambique authorities have ready banned them in certain districts like Jangamo.  We know that most quad drivers are responsible people but there are elements that have no respect for other people and their properties.

 Barra Reef Divers: (enter for more information)

Clients of Makolo Bay Resort are being serviced by Barra Reef Divers for all water-based activities including Scuba Diving.  The dive instructions are Russell and Dolla.  There is an array of water-based activities for both divers and non-divers to take part in.  For the diver there are a total of 14 reefs to explore from Open Water depths to Advance including the world famous Manta Reef.

 With whale sharks and dolphins pretty much all year round in the Barra / Tofo area, the possibility for both divers and non-divers to have an unforgettable experience, is excellent.  We have Whale Shark trips; weather permitting, for families and friends to

 

The Border:

 Normally the Border is open from 6h00 – 22h00.  In the Christmas and Easter holidays the border is open 24 hours a day.  South African passports do not require visas but foreign passports do require visas.  On the Swaziland side the border only open at 7h00 and close at 20h00.

Documentation:

1.  Vehicle registration papers if not registered in your name.  Obtain a letter of authorization from the owner of the vehicle to drive the vehicle and to
     take it into Mozambique.
2.  If your vehicle is still being financed, get a letter from your bank allowing your vehicle to cross the border.
3.  A valid driver’s license must be carried at all times while driving.

South African Side:

 On the South African side you must fill in a vehicle temporary export form, in which you fill in the particulars of the vehicle you are driving.  There is also space for trailers, boats, camera’s, fridges, generators etc.  All the items you want to bring back to South Africa, list them in order to prevent any problems at departure and entry.  You must also enter the amount of days you want to spent in Mozambique on this form, put a couple of extra days for anything unforeseen, like a breakdown.  As you will be fined 500 meticais per day for days exceeding the days indicated on the Import Document.

 Mozambican Side:

1.  You will first of all have your passport stamped where you will pay R12.00 per person tourism tax.
2.  Then you will proceed to the center were you must have the form with your vehicle particulars and your temporary imports.  They will stamp this and
     your gate pass.  This will cost you 30 meticais, approximately R10.00.
3.  Next you will have to go to one of the insurance agents operating on the outside of the main building.  We use Global and find them the fast and
     effective.  You MUST buy the insurance, which is R150.00 per vehicle and an additional amount of R80.00 for any trailer linked to your vehicle. 
    Attach the insurance form, the registration form of you car and the temporary import form.  If you are stopped in a roadblock they will ask you for
     these forms.

The road and sleeping over:

Please do not drive after dark, as it can be extremely dangerous.  There are a lot of unroad worthy vehicles on the road without lights or reflectors.  They also tend to stop on / in the road.  Pedestrians can also be a problem as most of the people live on the side of the road.

 If traffic officials on the road stop you, be courteous and polite.  If you are in the wrong, pay the fine but insist for a receipt.  If you are sure you are not guilty ask to go with them to their office and speak with their commander.  Remember only the police in the white uniforms are allowed to stop and fine you for traffic violations. 

Prepare yourself a picnic hamper but there are also a lot of restaurants on the way.  Fill your car at the border (Komatipoort) or in Swaziland at Siteki.  The petrol is cheaper in South Africa and Swaziland.  Unleaded petrol is available in Maputo, Xai Xai and Inhambane.

Exchanging of money:

 If you want to change money, change it on the South African side of the border or the Swaziland side.  The current rate of the rand exchange is about 340 meticais for R1.  Do not exchange money on the Mozambique side of the border.  The locals will fleece you, they are expert con men.  It is advisable to change enough for your trip and to fill up with petrol at Xai Xai and if you want to buy anything on the road. 

At Inhambane you can change money at the bank at the official rate.  There is also ATM at all the banks, for example Bank Austral and B.C.I. Bank, they only take Visa Cards.  The Millennium Bank takes Master and Visa cards.  You can draw 3000 meticais at a time.  Remember that the meticais has changed, the government has taken 3 zeros of the money values, instead of 3 500 000 meticais (R1000.00) you receive 3500 meticais.  Take a calculator with you to do your calculations.

 To sleep over makes the trip easier.  You can sleep in Komatipoort; there are nice guesthouses and the hotel, the Border Inn.  It is clean and is good value for money, however, we would suggest that you go through the border and sleep on the Mozambican side.  The reason being that during the night the traffic piles up and when the border opens at 6 am, there is already a long queue of cars and trucks, which can hold you up for an hour or two.  From the Swaziland side you can sleep at CASA LISA 36km past Maputo or HONEY POT 15km before Xai Xai.

 About 8 km from the border on the Mozambique side is a guesthouse, CAMPO DO CASA.  They have nice clean rooms and a restaurant, which serves real Portuguese piri – piri chicken.  The owner is Colin Smith and his South African number is: +27 82 439 6531 and his Mozambique number is:  +25 824 905 520.  If you sleep over here, you can leave Pretoria or Johannesburg at 13h00 – 14h00.  It is approximately 4 – 5 hours drive to the border, which means you go through the Border between 18h00 – 19h00.  You can go through until 22h00.

The Border is not so busy after 17h00.  If you leave earlier you can pass through Maputo and sleep at any of the two overnights stops situated about 36 km from Maputo on the Xai Xai road.  They are CASA LISA and BLUE ANCHOR BAY.  Both have nice clean chalets with showers and hot water, both have restaurants with good food.  The contact at Casa Lisa is +25 882 304 1990.  These two stops are situated next to each other.  Be sure to make a reservation, as they can be full at times.  If you enter from the Swaziland side be at the border at 7h00 don't leave later than 10h00 from Golela Border Post.