Our trip to Monte Binga had been a thought in the back of my mind for a long time, but finally, we were going there and we boarded the plane from Maputo bound for Beira, Mozambique’s second city and biggest port. Goods come in here for many of Southern Africa’s landlocked countries and head out on the road through to Zimbabwe and Zambia. We were also heading in that direction through to Chimanimani national park, a cross-frontier park in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Chimanimani park has recently been listed by Time magazine as one of the top 100 places to visit in the world. We were hoping to climb Monte Binga, Mozambique’s highest mountain, on the Mozambique / Zimbabwe border.
The drive to the park from Beira was not quick, taking us through Chimoio, another of Mozambique’s city, then out onto dirt roads and finally onto the park’s rough tracks, filled with very rough fords and equally rough bridges. After stopping at the visitor centre to sign in to the Park and pick up Monique, who was to be our cook for the trip, we crawled for another hour through the rough tracks of the park until we reached our initial destination; an area of ground set out for camping a couple of hundred meters from the village in the park. Many parks in Mozambique have people living in them, as this area has always been their home.
We arrived mid-afternoon and soon the site was a hive of activity setting up tents, unloading the truck and meeting a few of the villagers. We were soon introduced to the village chief. He spoke English as well as Manican (we were in Manica province) and Shona, although there seems to be very little difference between these two local languages. The chief had been educated in Zimbabwe so spoke English rather than Portuguese (the official language of Mozambique). The villagers could easily cross between the countries. In the past, Zimbabwe was a place many Mozambicans went to work. Now with the decline of Zimbabwe, labour tends to move more in the other direction.
We took a stroll from the campsite through the village and down to the river where we paddled a little to cool. It wasn’t deep enough to swim, but it was nice to cool off after the long car ride. On the other side of the river was one of the villages Machambas (fields / smallholding). There was some corn growing (as there always is in Mozambique), and a couple of teenage boys guiding two oxen around a field that were yoked together and pulling a simple plough.
The next morning we were up early(ish) and the site was a hive of activity, with tents coming down, breakfast being cooked and porters and guides from the village being arranged. Tourism was now one of the main sources of income for the village and looking after us and showing off their home in the park was really important to them.
After a large breakfast and a fair amount of organising we were good to go. The number of porters and guides we had seemed to bear little relationship to the number of things that needed carrying and it felt like we were leaving with half the village as we set off on our way. We all went together in a long snake with the villagers happily yelling at each other along the line and playing music over a very tinny speaker as we went. Harriett was sure there was only one song and it lasted about 3 seconds on endless repeat.
The day was already getting warm as we set off with our merry crew. The path initially took us along the side of a river. We walked above the river, dropping periodically to cross tributaries. It was rapidly getting hotter and the going got steeper as we turned away from the river and headed up a steep slope, quickly gaining lots of height. The girls were pleased to learn that the trip leader had a treat bag that seemed to be near us at all times with Mars bars, apples, sweets and a seemingly endless supply of other goodies. We stopped regularly to drink and rest. The trees kept us in the shade, which was welcome protection from the sun. But as we climbed further, the trees started to thin out and we were moving onto more exposed ground.
By lunchtime, we arrived at another river and stopped by a beautiful waterfall. Monique set about preparing lunch while we changed into our swimming things and headed for the pool below the waterfall. The water was refreshing without being freezing and felt amazing after our hot morning walk. We swam in the pool and stood under the waterfall with the water pounding down on us.
As we got out and sat down to lunch it became a little cooler with some clouds coming and going. And when we looked over at Monte Binga, we could see clouds gathering and swirling around the summit. Only a couple for now, but something to keep an eye on. It was slightly reminiscent of the weather when Zoe and I were trekking in Nepal. There, the weather changed from pleasant and sunny to a snowstorm and below minus twenty in just a couple of hours. Although it was never going to get that cold, it was certainly worth keeping an eye on.
After lunch, we all headed towards the badly named Mosquito camp, where we would stop for the night. As we walked on, the clouds gathered and it started to lightly rain. By the time the tents were up, we were glad to get inside to shelter from the weather and gather our warmer clothes. Had the trip been in the UK we would have had piles of waterproofs, warm clothes and woolly hats. But, being in Mozambique, we didn’t have the piles of cold and wet weather gear we have in the UK. Soon we were wearing most of the warm weather gear we had with us. The tents were designed to keep you cool, rather than warm, with the inner being mainly a mesh where the wind and rain could work their way in.
The evening and dinner were quite subdued, dodging the showers and trying to keep warm. The villagers had little with them, but the campsite had a good few rocky overhangs around it which they build a fire in and sheltered under, staying close to the fire for warmth.
Part two will follow next week.
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