Mozambique: GLTFP
Posted: 08 Apr 2009 10:54
TRIP: MOZAMBIQUE – GREAT LIMPOPO TRANSFRONTIER PARK
(GLTFP)
Dates: 15‐18 December 2007
People: John Murray, Joseph Murray, Japie Kruger & Rick Lancaster
Vehicles: Nissan Patrol GRX (John) & Jeep Cherokee 3.7 (Japie)
Total Distance: 962 km
Average Speed: 10 km/hr
Weather Forecast: Ominous. Heavy rain expected.
Background: I’ve been to Mozambique a few times, but mostly to the more commercial spots north
and south of Maputo. The idea behind this trip was to adventure along some less travelled ‘roads’
into the unknown and to plan ‘on the fly’. The woman weren’t too excited by the idea and a boys
trip was born ☺.
Plan: With the assistance of some fellow Overlanders (thanx to Jean Visser et al), we put together
the following basic idea. To enter Moz. at Pafuri, cross the Limpopo below Crooks Corner, travel
along the northern embankment of the Limpopo to Mapai where we would cross back and head
south through the GLTP to Massingir/Giriyondo.
Day 1: 15 December 2007 (Kampersrus to Punda Maria)
The drive up north was pretty uneventful, until we passed
Giyani. Here the road condition deteriorates and lack of fences
and the sudden proliferation of other road users such as cattle,
sheep & pedestrians mean sweaty palms and an average speed
of 80 km/hr is advisable. It rains intermittently, a steady drizzle.
We bump into Bruce Turner’s group along the way. At Punda we
book into our rondawels as Bruce drives by – “softies”, I hear
him call . Later that afternoon we go for a drive and warm, fat
droplets of rain pelt the roof of the Patrol, and it doesn’t stop until much later. Tonight I’m happy to
be a softy.
Day 2: 16 December 2007 (Punda Maria to Mamba Camp)
The next morning we head for the Pafuri border gate, but detour
slightly to check out the Luvuvhu River, a tributary of the
Limpopo that connects at Crooks Corner.
Eish, the Luvuvhu is a swirly mass of angry water. We head for the Border post with
grave anticipation. We meet up with Bruce’s crowd again who
have decided to head on for Mapai. We decide to stick to our
original plan and head for the crossing below Crooks Corner.
Thank goodness for T4A, because the ‘road’ to the crossing is
overgrown with dense reeds.
The mud here is black, soft and
slippery and we deflate to 1 bar. After driving approximately 3km
we drive onto the river bank and the mighty Limpopo greats us
with disdain. The river is approximately 200m wide and there’s
no one in sight which is quite daunting. I ask my nephew to wade
and all looks ok (knee height) till the last 50 m, where the flow is strong and the depth approximately
1.2m.
We decide to turn around and head for Mapai.
On route to Mapai the rain increases intensity, until even the smallest river bed is a raging torrent.
We eventually catch up to Bruce’s convoy again and I radio to ask if we can pass. We spot one chap
ahead with a 4x4 trailer that seems to have a life of its own, bouncing 2‐3 foot in the air. Eish,
scrambled eggs for the rest of the week.
We get to Mapai and things don’t look any easier. We can see a land cruiser bakkie on the other
side of the river ‘pumping’ water out of its cylinder heads. The locals tell us the vehicle got flooded
and stalled in the middle of the river. No other vehicle would chance a recovery, too far to winch
from land, and apparently approx. 30 locals pushed/pulled it out. My nephew, Ricky, did another
wade crossing and once again depths appeared ok, except for the last 50m. The rain was coming
down again, in buckets, and we knew there wouldn’t be any more sensible crossings for the next few
days.
We stocked up at the bakery in the local village and headed off to one of the main camp sites in the
GLTP, close to the entrance. It was quite late when we arrived there, only to find a group of well
oiled, noisy, quad bikers had already ‘taken over’ the site. We decided to drive on another 20 km to
the Mamba camp site. The bad news was that it took us 2 hours of
driving. There were some sections of road, or was it river, were my
exhaust was submerged for 100 – 200m.
When we finally arrived,
good news, we had the camp to ourselves. Great ablutions and a
shower, all open air, but clean. We had just enough time to put up
our tents and have a braai before the heavens opened again.
Day 3: 15 December 2007 (Mamba Camp to Aquia Perqueira Camp)
The next morning we woke up wet and muddy, but a shower and hot
coffee lifted the spirits and we quickly packed up and headed south.
This was a testing day as we drove approximately 150km in 15 hours
(we only came across 1 vehicle that day). Mud, mud & more mud,
and water of course. Most of the roads were now raging torrents.
The road tyres on the Patrol made some sections tricky and the Jeep
with ATs didn’t grip much better. We got to one muddy section that was almost impossible to cross
and I decided to make a new road. All was fine until I stopped to pick
up my co‐pilot and we couldn’t get going again. With the aid of the
little Jeep and a snatch, we were recovered half an hour later we
celebrated with a beer, drenched in mud.
We eventually arrived at the Shingwedzi river were the deepest water depth was about 0.8m
but with a hard gravel base which made the crossing a breeze. I think
we crossed just in time. At this point the Jeep ran low on fuel and we split the fuel between the
vehicles and headed for Massingir. Here we stocked up on fuel and tinned goodies from the spaza.
We considered buying some meat from the butcher, but his chest freezer wasn’t plugged in and flies
were guarding the ‘air vents’. We headed for the Aquia Perqueira Camp where we selected the
overlander camp site (normally just for bigger groups). From here you have awesome views of the
Massingir Dam and great facilities.
Day 4: 15 December 2007 (Aquia Perqueira Camp to Kampersrus)
The last day was uneventful and we were impressed by the good quality roads closer to Giriyondo.
Mind you, look out for the speed bumps, they’re the size of mine dumps. Once through Giriyondo
we had an awesome breakfast at Letaba camps and were very happy to be back in SA.
For the 4 day duration of the trip, Shingwedzi recorded 180mm of rain.
A week later we did a 7 day, family trip to Barra, but that’s a story for another time!
Highlights: Extreme conditions, great company.
Lowlights: Extreme conditions, the GLTP (we saw 1 rooibok), the quad bikers.
(GLTFP)
Dates: 15‐18 December 2007
People: John Murray, Joseph Murray, Japie Kruger & Rick Lancaster
Vehicles: Nissan Patrol GRX (John) & Jeep Cherokee 3.7 (Japie)
Total Distance: 962 km
Average Speed: 10 km/hr
Weather Forecast: Ominous. Heavy rain expected.
Background: I’ve been to Mozambique a few times, but mostly to the more commercial spots north
and south of Maputo. The idea behind this trip was to adventure along some less travelled ‘roads’
into the unknown and to plan ‘on the fly’. The woman weren’t too excited by the idea and a boys
trip was born ☺.
Plan: With the assistance of some fellow Overlanders (thanx to Jean Visser et al), we put together
the following basic idea. To enter Moz. at Pafuri, cross the Limpopo below Crooks Corner, travel
along the northern embankment of the Limpopo to Mapai where we would cross back and head
south through the GLTP to Massingir/Giriyondo.
Day 1: 15 December 2007 (Kampersrus to Punda Maria)
The drive up north was pretty uneventful, until we passed
Giyani. Here the road condition deteriorates and lack of fences
and the sudden proliferation of other road users such as cattle,
sheep & pedestrians mean sweaty palms and an average speed
of 80 km/hr is advisable. It rains intermittently, a steady drizzle.
We bump into Bruce Turner’s group along the way. At Punda we
book into our rondawels as Bruce drives by – “softies”, I hear
him call . Later that afternoon we go for a drive and warm, fat
droplets of rain pelt the roof of the Patrol, and it doesn’t stop until much later. Tonight I’m happy to
be a softy.
Day 2: 16 December 2007 (Punda Maria to Mamba Camp)
The next morning we head for the Pafuri border gate, but detour
slightly to check out the Luvuvhu River, a tributary of the
Limpopo that connects at Crooks Corner.
Eish, the Luvuvhu is a swirly mass of angry water. We head for the Border post with
grave anticipation. We meet up with Bruce’s crowd again who
have decided to head on for Mapai. We decide to stick to our
original plan and head for the crossing below Crooks Corner.
Thank goodness for T4A, because the ‘road’ to the crossing is
overgrown with dense reeds.
The mud here is black, soft and
slippery and we deflate to 1 bar. After driving approximately 3km
we drive onto the river bank and the mighty Limpopo greats us
with disdain. The river is approximately 200m wide and there’s
no one in sight which is quite daunting. I ask my nephew to wade
and all looks ok (knee height) till the last 50 m, where the flow is strong and the depth approximately
1.2m.
We decide to turn around and head for Mapai.
On route to Mapai the rain increases intensity, until even the smallest river bed is a raging torrent.
We eventually catch up to Bruce’s convoy again and I radio to ask if we can pass. We spot one chap
ahead with a 4x4 trailer that seems to have a life of its own, bouncing 2‐3 foot in the air. Eish,
scrambled eggs for the rest of the week.
We get to Mapai and things don’t look any easier. We can see a land cruiser bakkie on the other
side of the river ‘pumping’ water out of its cylinder heads. The locals tell us the vehicle got flooded
and stalled in the middle of the river. No other vehicle would chance a recovery, too far to winch
from land, and apparently approx. 30 locals pushed/pulled it out. My nephew, Ricky, did another
wade crossing and once again depths appeared ok, except for the last 50m. The rain was coming
down again, in buckets, and we knew there wouldn’t be any more sensible crossings for the next few
days.
We stocked up at the bakery in the local village and headed off to one of the main camp sites in the
GLTP, close to the entrance. It was quite late when we arrived there, only to find a group of well
oiled, noisy, quad bikers had already ‘taken over’ the site. We decided to drive on another 20 km to
the Mamba camp site. The bad news was that it took us 2 hours of
driving. There were some sections of road, or was it river, were my
exhaust was submerged for 100 – 200m.
When we finally arrived,
good news, we had the camp to ourselves. Great ablutions and a
shower, all open air, but clean. We had just enough time to put up
our tents and have a braai before the heavens opened again.
Day 3: 15 December 2007 (Mamba Camp to Aquia Perqueira Camp)
The next morning we woke up wet and muddy, but a shower and hot
coffee lifted the spirits and we quickly packed up and headed south.
This was a testing day as we drove approximately 150km in 15 hours
(we only came across 1 vehicle that day). Mud, mud & more mud,
and water of course. Most of the roads were now raging torrents.
The road tyres on the Patrol made some sections tricky and the Jeep
with ATs didn’t grip much better. We got to one muddy section that was almost impossible to cross
and I decided to make a new road. All was fine until I stopped to pick
up my co‐pilot and we couldn’t get going again. With the aid of the
little Jeep and a snatch, we were recovered half an hour later we
celebrated with a beer, drenched in mud.
We eventually arrived at the Shingwedzi river were the deepest water depth was about 0.8m
but with a hard gravel base which made the crossing a breeze. I think
we crossed just in time. At this point the Jeep ran low on fuel and we split the fuel between the
vehicles and headed for Massingir. Here we stocked up on fuel and tinned goodies from the spaza.
We considered buying some meat from the butcher, but his chest freezer wasn’t plugged in and flies
were guarding the ‘air vents’. We headed for the Aquia Perqueira Camp where we selected the
overlander camp site (normally just for bigger groups). From here you have awesome views of the
Massingir Dam and great facilities.
Day 4: 15 December 2007 (Aquia Perqueira Camp to Kampersrus)
The last day was uneventful and we were impressed by the good quality roads closer to Giriyondo.
Mind you, look out for the speed bumps, they’re the size of mine dumps. Once through Giriyondo
we had an awesome breakfast at Letaba camps and were very happy to be back in SA.
For the 4 day duration of the trip, Shingwedzi recorded 180mm of rain.
A week later we did a 7 day, family trip to Barra, but that’s a story for another time!
Highlights: Extreme conditions, great company.
Lowlights: Extreme conditions, the GLTP (we saw 1 rooibok), the quad bikers.