Our Trip to Anvil Bay

Treacherous Travel to Overpriced  Priced Glamping

 We left Maputo shortly before 7 a.m. on what was advertised as a 3 hour trip to a fancy (and expensive even for “locals”) beachside resort on the coast of the Maputo Special Elephant Reserve. The reserve is savannah, sprinkled with marshes and lakes that is basically undeveloped and has a spiderweb of sandy tracks as access to a number of small camps and villages.  It’s "The Place" to view elephants in Southern Mozambique and is a biodiversity hotspot for both plants and birds.  

 Park Signage is similar world over...

All the information we read in advance of our trip said 4x4s are essential  to visit the reserve because of the sandy soil combined with inclines and erosion from the vehicles. Fortunately Sierra has one and we felt confident given driving on sand is much like driving on the snowy/icy backroads in the Rockies.  

We we travelled to the reserve on excellent  highways. The Chinese have invested heavily in Mozambique and good highways are the arteries that carry the natural resources out of the country and on to container ships bound for guess where? The other part of the equation is that most people in Mozambique don’t have cars, can’t afford then, so there is almost no traffic on the roads.

This is a suspension bridge over the Maputo River that links the port to a large cement plant and who knows what else.

It was easy driving to the reserve entrance; we arrived around  8 a.m. and after paying the entrance fees we got vague directions of how to get to Anvil Bay.  Vague as in go to Sign #4 but don’t take road  by the lake  because there is quick sand  and keep on the road until #18 and then turn right.  Off we went on the advertised sand tracks looking for giraffes and elephants.  Almost immediately we saw a glimpse of small Steenbok which we initially thought was an impala but is smaller.

After about an hour of driving on sand we saw two female elephants and a baby feeding near the road.  We also came upon a very large Bull and stopped to let him pass. It was magical to see them in the wild. Shortly after we saw a Velvet Monkey (black face with white hair fringe around his face) ,two Dik-Diks and a heard of Waterbucks.  Feeling confident we drove on. 

  

Using Google Maps  to navigate on sand track is imperfect at best but Sierra navigated the increasingly confusing number of tracks . Khi loved the bumps, laughed  and had a running commentary from the back seat.   From my perspective riding shotgun, driving on sand is like driving in blizzard conditions without the snow. Plus, as it turns out, when ruts get too deep in one track, drivers just make a new track.  The trick is to know what track to take  but as a visitor, how is one to know?  Bumpier and bumpier with  softer sand it got but we forged on.  At a crossroads, and not knowing which track to take, we took the one which looked most used and (you guessed it!) got stuck in a deep rut.  

Not a person around, no shovel, Sierra jumped out to inspect the damage.  We were up to the chassis in sand. We found a stick and the good doctor crawled under the 4x4 to dig us out.  Using mats from the car we hoped to get enough traction to move but sadly the rut was simply too deep.  We texted the resort hoping to reach somebody but there was no answer.  Fortunately we saw two trucks in the distance and Sierra jumped on the hood of the car and waved the stick.  We were rescued by some villagers generous in time and spirit!!!! It only took an hour.

Off we continued amid the mass of tracks, stopping before a set of tracks to see which one looked better.  And behold we saw a Black Headed Heron sitting on the road, followed by a bull elephant with huge tusks and ears extended to warn us off.  From that low and then high point we travelled for yet another hour before we finally arrived at the Resort just before noon. 

We were so happy to finally get to the camp we all ran out of the car to the beach!

After we arrived and stuffed our faces with fresh seafood and French fries Sierra received a reply from the owner/manager saying “Sorry to hear you are stuck. Call the Park Entrance. If we send a vehicle to assist we have to charge $200 recovery charge.” so welcoming….. 

All that is left are pickled beets and one very tired driver