Nice beaches near Maputo Mozambique that are accessible by 2WD?

Now it was a while ago but I did take a hire car up to Praia do Bilene a few years ago and it was fine. I would imagine its even better now. I was in Maputo last winter (July-August) but didn't go to a beach.

Here is a good place to visit. I took from Indico Magazine:

Situated on the coastal limits of the Maputo Elephant Reserve, Milibangalala’s wild, desert looks are quite appealing. Far from everything, it still has no large-scale tourist venture, something that would only merit authorisation if it matched up to the grandeur of the place.

How to get there: You may follow any of the possible routes to Ponta
Malongana. Whether you go via Catembe or Boane, you have to pass by Bela
Vista, Salamanga and the entrance to the Elephant Reserve. Keep a sharp look
out for the narrow track to your left, which will take you to the coast after 35km.
You are in the Maputo Special Elephant Reserve and you might see hippos and
crocodiles in Lakes Piti, large and small, and Tintim, before reaching the paradise
of Milibangalala. As we have already suggested a lunch break at Bela Vista en
route to Ponta Malongane, we leave you here with the tip to visit a Hindu temple
as you go through Salamanga. It is the most beautiful one in Mozambique.

Where to stay: You can camp in small, purpose-made sites next to the
beach, where there are restroom facilities. A few kilometres before that, you
will have come across signs to the Gala community lodge, which is another
accommodation option. That is, if you do not intend to return to Maputo the
same day.

Here you can download the pdf of the magazine wich talks about he best 10 beaches of mozamboque (in portuguese and english):
http://www.mediamoc.com/arte-e-cultura/estudos/doc_download/6-as-10-melhores-praias-de-mocambique

The beach at Bilene is gorgeous, great for some R&R, though I suggest going there off-season. The road from Maputo to Bilene is fine by 2wd, its just exiting Maputo that takes a while, due to the traffic, annoying cops and potholes. The bit from the Bilene exit from the highway to the sea is newly tarred and a pleasure to drive :D

Please excuse my ignorance, but I was under the impression that you would need a 4x4 to visit the Maputo Elephant reserve as suggested by Mediamoc (#2 above).

So was I - and I was further told by Moz colleagues that these are some of the most aggressive elephants around so you need to know what you're doing.

Looks like the consensus choice is Bilene for a quick beach getaway. I had read about it before but all the descriptions I found spoke of difficult 4x4 trails down to the beach. I see now that they were talking about getting to the sandbar that separates the lagoon from the Indian Ocean, but that one need not go that farto splash around in the water. 180 km is considerably further than I had hoped to drive from Maputo but sometimes you have to do what you have to do.....

Thanks again to everyone who made suggestions or comments....

Nick

Would echo the earlier posts about Bilene. Having just come back from a week in Moz where I was driving around in a tiny, rented 2wd compact, I can confirm that the roads between Bilene and Maputo (and indeed from Maputo to South Africa) are absolutely fine for a normal 2wd. The road from the EN1 to Bilene is smooth tarmac and will take you all the way to the waterfront. You could try Praia da Xai Xai too but that's probably a bit too far for you.

Be careful about going where Mediamoc suggested as you will need a 4 wheel drive to get anywhere in the Maputo Elephant Reserve (unless you deflate your tires a lot and are really good at sand driving).