SOUTHERN AFRICA 2023: DAY 45 — MOZ/SA

We’re in a Country We Didn’t Want to Visit

And it is still raining

We’re in South Africa. A country we wanted to avoid on this trip due to its enormous high crime rate. It is getting dark and we still don’t have a place to sleep. We certainly do not want to drive here in the dark.

What a day it has been. We left the town of Xai-Xai this morning. In the rain. We drove for hours. In the rain. Sometimes it was raining so much we couldn’t see the car right in front of us. Sometimes the rain came a bit slower. But it was raining all day long.

Even toilet breaks had to happen in the rain. You do what you have to do.

We got to the border around lunchtime and I don’t know what to say about this crossing. We were inside South Africa before we knew it and didn’t even have our passports stamped.

After turning around, getting back and actually standing in a queue for a bit, we were through this border in less than half an hour. It felt so un-African.

Nobody spoke to us. Not even a "Hello, how are you". They took our passports. Stamped us out of Mozambique without questions asked. And on the other side the same. I got a 90-day entry into South Africa. The officer never asked what, how and why.

Maybe it was because we crossed on a Sunday and none of them were happy about having to work on a Sunday. I don't know.

We were just happy we didn't have to experience another border disaster spending hours in the rain.

We stopped at the first fuel station and supermarket to refill. The car and our stomachs. We hadn't found small restaurants or stalls open for hours. Because of the rain. So supermarket food it is for lunch.

I'm saying lunch but it is 3 pm. Or wait, the one phone says it's 4 pm. I guess South Africa is an hour ahead. And that is how we ran into the dilemma of twilight around the corner and without a place to stay.

We hadn’t picked a destination for the day. It would have been useless anyway. We wanted to see how fast we can drive in the rain, and how long we take at the border and then decide on a place before 5 pm.

I had a campsite in mind but it was raining without a break and sleeping in a backpackers in Nelspruit (that isn't called Nelspruit anymore but Mbombela) for cheaper than camping sounded like a better idea.

We entered the city just around 5:30 pm and the backpacker was nowhere to be found. Probably another casualty of covid. Closed due to lack of tourism.

What now? There's another guesthouse around the corner but we don't feel like paying private room prices as we went last night already over budget.

Let's get back on the road and get to that campsite. It's only 30 minutes and we should still have about an hour of sunlight left.

I’m saying that laughing because I haven’t seen the sun in days. It’s raining and already getting dark.

We are taking the turn-off and facing the 3,5 kilometers of the dirt road in this rainy weather. Just after a few hundred meters, we see the rushing river. We hope there is a bridge, otherwise, we have to turn around. That river is impassable.

Around the corner, there she is. The bridge. We quickly analyze the situation as the water is about as high as the bridge and the river is strong. If that bridge collapses, we're gone. In the water. Somewhere in South Africa. In the dark.

Let's take it.

David hits the petrol and drives a lot faster than usual across bridges. We usually slow down as they are filled with potholes or holes that go all the way to the ground of the river.

Not this time.

It's now or never.

We made it. We're on the other side wondering if we'll be able to get back the following day. Only later are we told that this bridge was impassable for the past two weeks and only opened up again yesterday morning.

Maybe we need to extend our holiday.

A few minutes later we're in front of the locked gate. There's a number written you should call to get the access key for entering.

We do not have a sim card for South Africa. We try to call with our German, Namibian and Mozambican sim cards but none of them get us through.

What now? It's past 6 pm. It's still raining and almost dark.

I tell David to turn around and stop quickly at that mansion 50 meters down the path. He's asking what I want to do. Well, find someone who can call the number. His words were, we need to get back to Nelspruit or whatever it is called and find a hotel or whatever to sleep the night.

Not yet.

I’m getting out of the car, pressing the bell and getting the gate guy down. He’s wearing a bulletproof vest which doesn’t make me feel any safer in this country I didn’t want to be in.

Of course, we're in Africa. The man says he doesn't have credit on his phone. However, he's willing to help and goes back up to ask his colleague for assistance.

We wait in the car. In the rain. In the dark.

He comes back after what felt like an eternity. With good news. He got the gate access key from the owner. We thank him and go back to the gate.

Before we can type in the said numbers, someone is opening the gate already. We made it.

David is still skeptical. What if there are no campsites?

"Because of being fully booked? Certainly not. We're in low season."

He referred to the floods. Maybe they are washed away. I responded saying, then I'll sleep right here. On the grass next to the path. It's safe. We're inside one of South Africa's fenced up properties.

And then we see the owner approaching us from one of the houses. After a quick greeting, he says he'll give us a chalet for the price of camping so we don't need to pitch the tent now.

Thank you.

What a relief. We made it. Our first night in South Africa.

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