Three friends, two weeks, one journey. Swaziland – Mozambique 2016

Just a few facts to resume a trip worth tens of thousands of pictures and a million memories: Two weeks on the road from Johannesburg via Swaziland, Maputo, Tofo and Vilankulos up to Beira.

Competitive itinerary for less than 2 weeks. First etape was taken by plane, though (Beira – Johannesburg)

• We met at Johannesburg Tambo Airport on a Friday morning. One came via Paris from Amsterdam. One came via Dubai from Vienna. One came directly from Beira. Two of them had never met before. Then we got on a Minibus that took us to Swaziland. The journey had begun.

• At MTN MTN Bushfire in Swaziland, the biggest music festival in Southern Africa, we danced to Mafikizolo, Native Young, and Nomadic Orchestra, had Caipirinhas with passion fruit, and got to know the fantastic Manu Delago and Christoph Pepe Auer from Living Room.

MTN Bushfire Swaziland. That’s what one would call a perfectly chilled festival

• We travelled with pickups, private cars, ferry boats, Txoupelas (Tuk Tuks), Chapas, overland buses, sail boats, 4×4, and by foot.

• Rhinos, elephants and lions – they were so extremly peaceful and incredibly close at Hlane National Park, Swaziland. 
  

  Hlane Royal National Park – so many wonders of nature on just 22.000 hectares

• We harvested fresh spinach for dinner, watched a breathtaking sunset and sung Austrian songs with orphans at Shewula Mountain Camp, Swaziland.
  

  On top of Swaziland: Shewula Mountain Camp

• In Maputo, we (re-)discovered all the pleasures that Mozambique has to offer: Txoupela, Manica, Capulana and many more. We invented games with three Mozambican friends over fantastic seafood dinner and got an exclusive late-night sightseeing tour through one of the most intersting African capital cities.
  

  Samora Machel and some more impressions from the capital of Mozambique, Maputo

• Further up North, Tofo and Vilankulos spoilt us with some of the most cliché Mozambique images one can imagine: snow white sand, the sea shimmering in 50 shades of Turquoise, black sailing boats with black sails, palm trees that we even try to climb, and fresh seafood everywhere.

Mix of Tofo and Vilankulos, Mozambique. If paradise is half as nice..

• We had taylored Capulana-dresses in Beira and watched the opening game of the EURO 2016 at Biques Restaurante.

Over the next few weeks, I will post more stories, pictures, anecdotes and reviews about our journey through Swaziland and Southern Mozambique. But for now: Thank you so much to the awesome travelling sisters, and to everyone we met along the way for an unforgettable trip!

“Traveling. It leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.”