Early Start for the 300km Ride to Maputo
New day, March 26th. With about 300 kilometers to go to reach Maputo in Mozambique and knowing that border crossings take time, I opted for an early start. The restaurant accommodated me with an early breakfast, so I was able to leave close to 8 o’clock in the morning.
The Scenic Route Through Piggs Peak
I chose a longer route through a place called Piggs Peak because it sounded intriguing. Looking at the map, the scenery promised to be quite rewarding — and by golly, so it was. I cannot get enough of all the beautiful scenery I’m passing through. Piggs Peak itself is a nicely appealing town. I wouldn’t necessarily go there just for the town, but the scenery before and after is spectacular.
Sugarcane Country and Unpaved Roads
The route turned into sugarcane country, and about 60 kilometers ahead, a sign announced a sugarcane museum. Shortly after, the paved road ended. It slowed things down, but the roads were still good enough to maintain 30-40 kilometers per hour. The hills and scenery were absolutely astounding.
Pine Trees and Building Materials in Eswatini
Eswatini has a lot of pine trees and is heavily involved in producing building materials. There are lots of processing operations with wood being cut to specific sizes for efficient truck loads. I saw many of these trucks on the road.
Visiting the Sugarcane Museum
At the museum, I met an interesting gentleman who had been working there for 8 years. My main takeaway was learning about two methods of processing sugarcane: one where it gets burned first, then cut and transported to the processing facility, and another where it’s cut green. I didn’t realize they would burn it first — the motivation being that there’s less material to transport.
Leaving Eswatini and the Carnet de Passage
Getting out of Eswatini was easy, but since I was heading to Mozambique rather than back to South Africa, I had to ensure my Carnet de Passage was properly signed off. The border official didn’t seem to have done this many times before and was unsure where to sign, but I was able to help — not a big deal.
Entering Mozambique: Insurance, Taxes, and Currency
Getting into Mozambique was a different story. I had to buy insurance for 1,700 meticals — the local currency, which trades at roughly 4 meticals to 1 South African rand. I also had to pay a road tax of 100 rand, though it ended up being 200 rand. That’s only about 3 extra dollars, so not the end of the world. You always have to stay on your toes with currency and fees at border crossings.
Navigating the Big City of Maputo
Finding the road to Maputo and navigating the city was slow going, especially later in the day. Maputo is a really, really big place. I had accommodation booked close to the center, which I had to pre-book as a condition for entry into Mozambique. You cannot enter without a first-day reservation, and it has to be for that specific day. I had booked two nights based on my plans once I arrived.
Another Great Day on the Road
It turned out to be another good day. I’ve had so many of them — they just keep coming. Thanks for coming along.
