Dhow Safari Mtwara to Pemba, Mozambique
One of Martin’s Pied Piper photographs!
Leaving Mtwara for the Mozambique border was something everybody was looking forward to. Most of our crew had decided to try and at least get into Mozambique, as some of their flights back to Europe were fast approaching and they realised they would not make the end of the trip ie Pemba. They also all had expensive visas for Mozambique which they were loath to forgo! We had seen from the Mozambique coast and a Lonely Planet Guide that we could get them transport back from Mocimboa da Praia to Dar es Salaam and Mikadi, so this is where we decided they would leave us (Jess, Sandro, Michelle, Jesse, & James).
When we passed around Palma (border) we decided to push onto Mocimboa da Praia to do the passport thing rather than do it at Palma! Palma has a very nice lighthouse see pic below.
Farol de Cabo delgado (Palma) lighthouse Mozambique
Our first night in Mozambique was spent mooring off Vamizi island, this island also has a luxury lodge: http://www.vamizi.com/ which we did not get to see! We did see its fabulous fishing boat though! The island looked stunning and very green. Next day we set sail for Mocimboa da Praia again hoping to avoid the harbour and any fees charged.
Mocimboa da Praia was a very large harbour but very shallow in places so we headed towards what looked like a large fishing village away from the main harbour and any officials! We moored and put down the legs – these keep the dhow upright when the tide goes out- and a few of us went ashore for a recce. We created a big stir amongst the fishing village, with every kid for miles coming to watch the Muzungu’s and their dhow! The novelty soon wore off although they still came every day and just stared for hours! They even jumped on board small fishing dhows to get a better view….
“Vagabundo fan club” – Mocimboa da Praia
One thing the Portuguese did well was town planning in Mozambique. Mocimboa da Praia was very well laid out and even now after a civil war you could make out how the town must have looked under the Portuguese. The trees are painted at their base and the villas, once occupied by the Portuguese, can still be seen, some having been restored and others waiting restoration. Wide avenues with trees and kerb stones and in places tarmac could also be found. We found an Indian store that did amazing samosas which we all tucked into over a cold Mozambique beer - 2M (see pic below). We were also able to get some supplies for the dhow from here mostly imported from South Africa, although we did find some Portuguese sardines much to Joe’s disgust! We also managed to find a temperamental ATM machine attached to a Barclay’s Bank that seemed to be closed more than open!
Mozambique beer 2M – a good beer!
Just as we were all organising to go ashore for dinner (chicken & chips), we were boarded by some gentlemen with an AK47! They introduced themselves as Marine Police I think and asked to see everybody’s passport. By this time half of us were already ashore and egging the rest to just come and leave Joe to sort out the visitors, which is what we did! It was clear they were angling for a bribe – very common in Mozambique unfortunately. We ignored them and continued on until we found a local & traditional restaurant with the Bongo Bongo music blaring from every door way and half lit streets with surprised faces everywhere. We were all seated and ordered beers and then the haggling began. It is normal to haggle for everything. Group dinner price etc etc….by now, as was usual, we had a local lad who had nominated himself to be our guide- of course we neither needed or wanted him – but still they insist on helping, hoping to get a meal or some money from you! There is always an angle, nothing is ever done because they want to in Africa. Poverty driven some of them for sure, although this place seemed very prosperous and nobody was starving! The chicken & chips after a fish fish diet was a welcome sight I can tell you even if the chickens were road runners (thin) and chips soaked in oil and our local lad scored a meal and beer from us. We took a takeaway chicken & chips back to Joe on the dhow. He told us that he refused to give the Marine Police anything bribe wise and eventually they got fed up and left. He did offer to strip the AK47 for them!! The next day we noticed that the spear gun was missing and the only people to come near the dhow were these Marine Police and a local fisherman who brought them to the dhow in a fishing dugout canoe. So Joe & I went to find the office of these Marine Police to report the theft and tell them that it was something to do with their visit to our dhow! We put on a “big” performance and the next day got the spear gun back….this is a first in Africa….
The local guide had been engaged to help Jess and the others organise transport to get them to the border with Tanzania and then they planned to stay in Mikindani (Tanzania) for a night and then proceed to Dar es Salaam and Mikadi before their flights home. They found a minibus driver willing to take them the next morning at 4am and collect them from where we were moored. Saying goodbye to these guys was very hard as we had all grown to depend on each other and here were the majority of our crew leaving! This left Joe, Beau, Martin and myself to sail the rest of the way to Pemba! An SOS was sent out and we had a call back to say that one of Joe’s school mates Mook and his business partner Nico, both from Pretoria in South Africa would join us but only from Pangane. We still needed to get to Pangane! We contemplated trying to find some locals to help us to sail but in the end decided to continue on our own with the engine until we got the other two guys from Pangane. We would have struggled to sail with only 4 of us as crew.
Once we left Mocimboa da Praia we all noticed we struggled to get any cellphone connections, this continued for most of our trip until we reached Pemba. Certainly from the islands off the Mozambique coast we had no cellphone signal – the longest we went without comms was 13 days. This made it very difficult to hook up with Mook & Nico. Andri was also acting as the go between from Pretoria but somehow we managed to find each other in Pangane. We used the only land line in Pangane (no cellphone signal) to ring Andri who told us that Mook & Nico had managed to get to a small village just before Pangane and would arrive that day. We found the only bar with cold beer and waited! Eventually word got round that two Muzungu’s (white people) had arrived and Joe went to find them whilst Martin & I went back to the dhow and Beau who was on dhow duty.
Pangane is a traditional fishing village and would be absolutely perfect if it was not for the rape of the sea by the fishermen to supply Chinese & Indian markets with dried stingrays. We saw rack after rack of drying stingrays some far too small to be caught. This is happening all the way from Dar es Salaam to Pemba we came across it time and again. Marine parks with more fishing boats than you would see in a Cowes regatta! So much for marine parks and so called protection of this magnificent coast. I know that Joe is keen to start highlighting some of the poaching activities we saw on this trip.
Pangane beach
The minute Mook & Nico boarded Vagabundo we all knew we were heading for more adventures! Firstly, they re supplied the rum much to the Captains delight! We had resorted to making our cocktails with the local fire water, which Martin seemed to enjoy far too much to be healthy for him! I think it came in a plastic bottle and was called Rhino Gin! This mixed with coconut juice, lime and sugar became a lethal cocktail guaranteed to knock out anyone crazy enough to drink it – of course we all did!
Our next island was Matemo which also has a Luxury Lodge run by Rani Resorts and owned by a wealthy Arab dude. As we sailed into Matemo bay we saw the local dive master heading towards us. Joe & Martin swam ashore and spoke to him after which we all went ashore and had a few cold beers. The place was very quiet when we visited and we were able to have a good look around and whilst it was nice I preferred its Sister Lodge Medjumbe which I thought was amazing. We spent the night at Medjumbe and this was a highlight for everybody to sleep in such a beautiful bay (see pic below). Medjumbe is a true paradise island and I had a few gin & tonics with a couple from South Africa.
Vagabundo moored in the pristine bay at Medjumbe Island Luxury Lodge
The next highlight was Ibo island. We arrived in the dark and heard a disco on shore which a few people decided to check out! Beau was excited as this was where his girlfriend Aislinn would join us. Joe & he set off to try and find her; I stayed behind on dhow duty. This was the night that Tanzania were playing Tunisia at football so the local bar with a TV was packed. Eventually Joe, Beau & Aislinn returned with another English girl so I was able to go ashore in search of the others. I found them at Elder’s place Miti Miwire which was really buzzing and the best bar we found on Ibo island, he also has lovely accommodation which is highly recommended and reasonably priced. Sarah who we had met earlier and runs Fim do Mundo Safaris was also at the bar. She runs a fantastic dhow doing diving and charter cruises: www.fimdomundosafaris.com
Ibo Island – Catholic Church
The following morning Sarah had offered to take Nico & I on a tour of the island. She collected us from our blissful alcohol induced slumber and we staggered off the dhow for our “walk” around Ibo Island. 5 hours later we came back absolutely exhausted! We had virtually walked around the whole island and whilst this was a breeze for Sarah, Nico & I were not prepared for anything more than a stroll! I had like a pair of crocsand whilst these are great for walking on coral they are useless in mangrove swamps! Still it was something we would never have done if Sarah had not volunteered to be our guide. So I can honestly say I have seen just about every inch of Ibo Island!
Ibo Island deserves a bigger mention so here is some blurb from Ibo Island Lodge’s website:
Ibo Island – Fort of St Jao Baptista
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Ibo Island is part of the beautiful Quirimbas Archipelago. Ibo Island supports one of the oldest towns in Mozambique, and is definitely one of the most interesting and atmospheric towns in the whole country. Ibo Island is regarded as one of Africa’s best-kept secrets, and many people tell us that Ibo Island was the highlight of their Mozambique holiday.
Mozambique’s recorded history goes back many centuries and the country has been subject to conquest and exploitation since time immemorial. As early as AD600 Arab traders had established contact with the local inhabitants and subsequently established fortified trading posts along the coastline. Via these trading posts slaves, gold and ivory were shipped to the Arab world. Ibo Island is one of the most ancient settlements in Mozambique, after Ilha do Moçambique (usually just known as ‘Ilha’ in Mozambique) The specific history of Ibo can be dated back to at least the 1600 and on Ibo Chinese grave stones still bear their readable dates, although Arab influence dates earlier. The Fort of Forma de Cisterna was constructed by the Arabs on the same site even before the Portuguese occupation. Ibo Island and all the Quirimbas islands that had water have always supported human habitation, and at the time of the first Portuguese contact these islands were called the Maluane Islands because the local population designed woven cloth- bothin silk and cotton and dyed withlocalindigo. This cloth was called Maluane, and was much sought after on the mainland. |
 When the Portuguese first arrived in the Quirimbas, the main trading centre in the archipelago was on the large Quirimba Island (situated south of Ibo Island). The Portuguese attacked Quirimba Island in 1522, because the trading Muslims of Quirimba Refusedto trade withthePortugueseChristians who they probably intended to eliminate as trading rivals. The town was set alight and destroyed, dhows sunk, some 60 Muslims traders killed and much looting took place with large amountsofivory and other trade goods seized. By 1590 seven of the nine biggest islands were ruled by a Portuguese lord, and just two by the local Muslim traders. Ibo Island traded in amber, jet, ivory, ambergris and turtle shell. The locals had to pay 5% of their produce to the islands lord - as well as a contribution to the church. On Ibo the Portuguese built large rainwater cisterns that enabled them to raise cattle, pigs and goats. Meat, millet, rice, beans and palm products were all exported and even the mighty Ilha deMozambiqueseemsto have been supplied with goods from Ibo Island. By this time Ibo Island had become the most important trading centre of all the islands and in the mid 17th century the Archipelago was ruled by two main families - the Morues and the Meneses. At this time the slave tradealsobecame significant, with the French needing labour for their plantations in Mauritius and Reunion. The Portuguese tried to control this trade, for monetary, not humanitarian, reasons but the QuirimbasIslandswereideal for clandestine pursuits and the trade brought more prosperity to Ibo even after the market switched to Brazil and indeed, even after it was illegal. |
 Of this period Newitt writes:After the government of Mocambique was separated from that of Goa in 1752 the governor-general began building a fort at Ibo, which was raised to the status of municipality. In 1770 the new district of CaboDelgadowascreated (on Ibo Island) with its own governor. A church and warehouses were built and in 1786 the island acquired a customs house. In 1791 Antonio de MeloeCastrobeganworkona new fort. This fine star shaped building rose on the mudflats guarding the narrow shipping channel through the reefs into Ibo Islands harbour. The slave trade bought Ibo great prosperity. Streets of houses were laid out and fine public buildings were erected around the plaza. By the beginning of the nineteenth century Ibo had become a very established trading centre. Ibo Island gained municipal status in 1763 and by the end of the 18th century, Ibo is regarded to have been the second most important Portuguese trading centre Ilha do Mozambique. Throughout the 18th and 19th century the population of Ibo Island and the adjacent regions were consistently under attack from Dutch and Madagascar forces. As a result of the attacks the Fort of São JoãoBatista(St. John Baptist) was completed in 1791. The little chapel housed inside of the fort was built in 1795, followed by the Fort Santo Antonio (St. Anthony) and Fort of the Bairro de Rituto built in 1847. It wasn’t until 1897, when Ibo Island was integrated into the administration of the Niassa Company that the island and population enjoyed relative safety and peace. In 1902 the capital District of Cabo Delgado was transferred from Ibo Island to Port Amelia, currently the city of Pemba, which remains the capital until today. This signalled the slow demise of the island, which eventually led to is total abandonment as a formal trading centre some years later. |
Hope you enjoyed that! After our route march around Ibo I decided to check into Miti Miwire and have a siesta. Nico & I also ordered chicken & chips for later from Elder’s mate on the island to be delivered at 6pm. At about 2pm Joe woke me from my wonderful slumber to tell me we had to leave Ibo due to the tides being too low the following day for us to safely navigate out! He had been talking to one of the “old” sea dogs on Ibo who had told him that the tide would not be right for a couple of days for us to leave. You need to navigate through mangrove swamps. The Portuguese had cut a channel but its overgrown now and hard to find. We had to get Martin to Pemba in time for him to get his flight back to Cape Town and Nico & Mook also, who needed to catch flights back to Johannesburg. So we left in quite a hurry and did not get chance to say goodbye to Sarah, although we did try and shout to her as we passed her Dhow and she did wave! It was too quick to leave Ibo and I would definitely like to go back one day.
Nico & I were also planning on popping over to Quirimbas Island, which could only be reached 2 hours before low tide, when you walk across the mudflats through the mangroves where the German Gestner family have been living, owning and running a huge coconut plantation for 3 generations. We had heard from Sarah that the family also had a prize beef herd and did good steaks! Steak at this time would have been worth another 5 hour route march! Just a dream we had to leave behind in Ibo…..hate tides!
After Ibo Joe knew of a great place called Situ that we would stay the night before crossing the notorious Ponto do Diabo (Devil’s Point). When we arrived in the beautiful bay at Situ Tessa came canoeing out to plead with us not to drop anchor in her Marine Park in front of her Lodge. Of course we moved further out and she then sent somebody to collect us all in a motor boat. Our stay and night here will be remembered by everybody as a real treat and highlight. Tessa went out of her way to make us all welcome and as Situ was not yet open I think she enjoyed our company also, as her husband Craig was in East London (South Africa) visiting family and friends and getting things for the Lodge. Tessa & Craig are passionate about their “bit” of Africa and deserve all the support they can get. After a sumptuous braai (barbecue) of flat chicken and copious amounts of the nectar amber we staggered back to the dhow for a fitful sleep! Next day we would face the Devil!
The wonderful Tessa with her boatman Captain
It’s Devil day. We departed after a good breakfast of porridge and sailed out of the harbour and around the beautiful lighthouse whereupon we spied the cliffs! Once we entered the channel the currents kicked in and then we really started to understand why this place was called Devil’s Point! The swell was quite bad and dark clouds all around threatened rain and it was the first time I had reservations about our abilities to get through. I could see Joe fighting with the rudder and the engine was also whining, the only thing was for the sail to come down, as the wind had changed and now the sail was helping the currents to drift us towards the deadly cliffs. We had two fishing rods out trawling so Joe ordered they be brought in, we struggled to bring the sail down if we had rods out, and then we all went to our stations to bring the sail down. Mook was making good the fishing rods when he got a Rapala hook straight through his finger, you must remember you are being thrown about by the swell and keeping a sound footing is difficult, Aislinn as quick as a flash cut the line on the rod, so that Mook could come away from the boom coming down and remove the hook, which he did by pushing it through his finger! Sus. Whilst all this was happening we had started to drop the sail and the rigging got caught at the top of the mast. By now Joe was going mental, we were drifting and the half up down sail was causing us to even change direction, Beau had to shin up the mast to release the sail, a very scary and dangerous manoeuvre, but at last we got the sail down and secured. Life changing stuff indeed. Mook was put onto a rum diet and his finger survived amputation! That people was Ponto do Diabo (Devil’s Point).
Wimbe Beach Pemba
I was unable to find a picture of the lighthouse near the Devil’s Point (yes I like lighthouses) so if anybody ever finds one please let me know. Arriving in Pemba was another highlight despite Mook’s obvious discomfort he managed to prepare himself for an assault on the bar on Wimbe Beach called The Dolphin where we decided to moor! (see pic of Wimbe Beach). Pemba is like a holiday resort caught in a time warp, the 1960′s to be precise. It has a quality of a bygone era trying to bounce back! Bounce back I am sure it will if the local people can get a work ethic going. Communism has affected the mind set of the local people badly as they are now unable to do anything but dare I say steal for themselves! This will hamper progress as even now black Zimbabweans and other foreign workers are disliked just because they work hard and make something of themselves. We came across a black Zimbabwean working on an island in the middle of nowhere controlling a work force of 20 people building a Lodge. He was unable to find work in Zimbabwe so took himself off to Mozambique learnt Portuguese and hey presto! This is the difference between Mozambique and a country like Zimbabwe. We came across another guy from Mali, West Africa trying to start a tuk tuk business who could not find Mozambicans prepared to drive for him! Not interested in working. So whilst in Pemba here are my must do’s:
- Have a steak or peri peri prawns at The Dolpin on Wimbe Beach
- Visit Il Pirates on Murrebue Beach – www.murrebue.com
- Stay with Pete & Michelle @ Pete’s Place, best value place I found and really lovely www.cidivers.com
- Go and have lunch at Starfish overlooking Pemba Harbour
So that’s the end of our dhow odyssey, what can I say was my highlight? Well it has to be Jesse’s calamari & chips followed by the antics of our Captain!
Captain Joe giving me (Graham) a piggy back ashore (note him cleaning his teeth & me holding the six pack!)
Keep checking back for our trips from Mikadi to Mozambique by overland truck & dhow!
