We are a family of 4 (children aged 9 and 13) from the UK, thinking ahead about a second visit to South Africa, this time to Kruger. I am looking for something afterwards to provide a contrast from Kruger and surrounding areas of South Africa which is suitable for a family visit. If we had (say) a week to 10 days to head into Moz, could someone please answer these questions:
1) will it be beach weather in August in Inhambane and around? Good, easy snorkelling for the kids straight from the beach? Can you recommend accommodation options for families (e.g. Paindane)?
2) is it culturally and geographically VERY different from South Africa, offering us a great contrast?
3) your views on whether we should drive in rental car from South Africa up to Inhambane and back, or fly there instead? Is 2WD car ok for the trip?
4) is it safe? E.g. would a rental car left whilst having lunch somewhere have its wheels nicked? Could we be held up by 'bandits'? We were happy enough self-driving around South Africa, so interested if we're more likely to run into crime in Moz where, presumably, there isn't a local wealthy white population for whom it is normal to drive their own car and eat out in restaurants etc? i.e. are we, as tourists, more of a target in Moz than South Africa?
5) is the malaria risk higher than the lowvelt of South Africa in August? We will have tablets anyway for Kruger, but is the risk higher in Moz?
Our other option is Swaziland and KZN instead . . .
My 2ps worth...
1) Beach yes, sunny - sea may be a bit cold. I swam in Pemba last July, lovely but the pool in the Club Nauticale in Maputo was absolutely freezing!
2) Culturally different because of the Portuguese influence
3) 2wd would be fine
4) Yes
5) Probably slightly -I'd stay on the prophylaxis for Moz after Kruger
You can easily do Swaziland as well on your way through to Mozambique - I went to Malandellas (in the Ezulwini valley) for lunch from Maputo one sunday.
Broadly agree with Mrs T. A couple of other angles might help you:
1) Couldn't tell you about the weather but other family-friendly venues could include Bilene, Xai-Xai Beach or Tofu.
2) Yes, it's different. It has a definite Portuguese feel. In most tourist areas though there will be plenty of English spoken so don't worry too much about not being fluent (although a little would help if you could master some of the basics).
3) 2wd is fine for driving to Inhambane. I drove from Johannesburg to there and back in October and had no problems at all. The EN1 is fine.
4) Safe as houses, as far as I can tell. In Maputo, you might want to be a little careful at night but out of the city, no problem at all. As for bandits, forget it. There may be a few left in the far, far north or in some of the border areas but nowhere that you are likely to want to go to. As a tourist, I would say that you are at much less risk in Mozambique than you would be in some parts of South Africa. I walked all around Maputo on my own and it didn't fell dangerous at all. I'd advise a taxi at night but by day you would have to be very,very unlucky indeed so long as you observed all the standard precautions. if you don't, then you're probably asking for it anyway. You can certainly walk on the beach at Tofu after dark and not be in any danger at all.
5) Malaria risk is about the same.
To sum up: we're a family of 4 too (kids are 13 and 11) and we'd go en famille like a shot....
def take medication for malaria in Mozambique as it's a lot more populated than Kruger. There are many people with malaria there & it's easily transmitted especially if you're staying in towns. I contracted malaria in Maputo a couple of years ago & ended up in hospital in Nelspruit. Not a nice experience ..... but it hasn't stopped me visiting since. So don't be put off , just be prepared.
Sounds you haven’t got a clue about how malaria is transmitted! Do you know that, for instance, one could be locked in, say with a thousand of people, all of them suffering from malaria and still cannot contract malaria!
My family and I drove down through Moz last July in a Landrover. Absolutely loved Inhambane and Tofo/Tofinho - the water temp was perfect, the sea was clean and clear, in fact some of the nicest beaches I've been to. That area has a great feel to it, history, seafood, surfies, snorkelling, diving and swimming.
As far as the drive down to Maputo goes, potholes like you've never seen before, at times speeds of more than 20kmh are bone jarring. Aside from that quite an interesting drive although all the small villages you pass through the speed limit drops to 50 which really adds a lot to your travel time and thats where the speed traps are positioned also. I'd probably fly if I was visiting the Inhambane/Tofo area and didn't need a vehicle.
Quite enjoyed Maputo, it's starting to show signs of being revitalised and has a real Portugese influence.
so what is your advice african explorer on whether mediation should be taken for malaria ? The info by the way came from the doc that treated me but you are also correct in saying you may not contract it amongst many people.
Hmmm, #4: Is this what you are getting at? You will not catch malaria in that room unless there are female Anopheles mosquitoes in there with you? Agreed you cannot catch it directly from those people (although malaria transmission may occur through contact with infected blood).
I guess the two usual fundamental pre-requisites for contracting malaria are:
- the right kind of mosquitoes, AND
- people who already have the disease
And #3 is saying Moz has both these things, so whats your point exactly?
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