Visiting Mozambique

Last weekend I got the opportunity to visit one of the most beautiful yet war-torn country's in Africa. Mozambique, once a Portuguese colony, now a recovering victim of civil clashes is still as magnificent to eye as it is off a travel brochure.

Being from Johannesburg, South Africa, it isn't easy to let down one's guard when you're in foreign territory, but during my long weekend in Mozambique I thought best to let down my hair and just soak in the scenery.

I visited Mozambique as part of my 10th anniversary celebrations with my boyfriend, and we decided to treat ourselves to an tropical getaway. I've always wanted to visit Mozambique and the favorable exchange rate from South African currency to the new Mozambican meticais (MT) made it all the more irresistible.

Mozambique has kept its heavy Portuguese influence and really embraced it as their own. I got the feeling that colonization did not leave quite such a bad taste in one's mouth in this country as it has had in South Africa, for example. This was a refreshing and somewhat cathartic experience as being a South African visiting a country that is more Third World than ours, was a real eye opener as well as a good lesson learnt.

In South Africa, it is not so much that our youth want to take on and adopt every facet of Western culture as it is the fact that we,as a nation were conditioned to, and that is why there is a lot of resentment and hard feelings towards the changes that need to be made in order for our country to truly feel like "home" to all of us.

Most of the Mozambican population speak Portuguese or dialects of the language so European travelers will not have difficulty trying to communicate. Being an English speaker did mean that I had to listen carefully and carry along a translation book in order to correctly understand what people were saying, which also adds to the fun of traveling to a foreign destination.

Be sure to practice key phrases before your visit as it will help orient you better when you arrive. Just remember it is always nice to embrace some of the culture of the place you're visiting as it is a positive sign in the sharing that will happen on your trip. You're bound to pick up some new things just as the locals are bound to learn a lot of new habits from you too so enjoy it and embrace it ;-)

In my next posts, I'll go into more detail on the two places I visited on my trip, the Inhaca Island and the Polana Hotel in Maputo.

Vic Falls

Found this in a Travelstart email and thought I should share as there are some awesome specials and deals to Victoria Waterfalls right now so go check them out.

Mosi-oa-Tunya or the Smoke that Thunders.

Victoria Falls has been mesmerizing visitors for centuries. Dr. David Livingstone, during his journey from the upper Zambezi to the mouth of the river, was the first recorded European to see the Falls back in 1855. The Falls were so breathtakingly beautiful Livingstone felt compelled to name the Falls after his beloved Queen Victoria.

The region boosts a UNESCO World Heritage Site with abundant wildlife & exotic vegetation. The Falls also forms a border between Zambia & Zimbabwe, each having fantastic facilities & accommodation.

In recent years, the Falls have been a mecca for adrenaline junkies offering array of extreme sports, including bungie jumping from the Victoria Falls Bridge.

The best time to view the falls is while they're in full flood, between November & April. During this time the Fall's spray can reach over 600 metres & can be seen over 50 kms away.

Info courtesy of Travelstart SA

A Virtual holiday

Have you ever thought of taking a virtual holiday?

Well I was looking through some fantastic travel blogs within the south African blogosphere and I came across 123listentome.com. This is a fantastic kids site by the way and also their latest podcast is what got me thinking about virtual holidays.

The podcast is narrated by kids between the ages of 4-10 years old and it is actually really great to listen to Sarah and Nina's trip to the Golden Gate Highlands National Park in South Africa

So if you have kids and are looking for an affordable holiday, why not put out those feelers for great ideas on fantastic sites, like 123listentome! You could learn a lot from the gang as to what kids actually like doing on holiday and also get tips on how to spot wildlife when you're in Africa, for example ;-).

Also Note: The South African Blog Awards 2008 has currently opened for nominations and voting so the race is on to find the best Travel blog for 2007. If you want to nominate the Travelstart blog, please do so here.