19/01/2020
So the recce of the LoE is done and we are back in Johannesburg.
It did not start off well with the Magnette blowing a diff near Piggs Peak, the replacement MGB refusing to run and finally the GPS with which we were plotting the route called it a day.
However. Day one was a very pleasant ride via Ermelo into Eswatini for the first night stop at the Foresters Arms Hotel. Day 2 was interesting taking in a couple of places in the Malkerns area followed by a run up to Ingwenya Glass, the Magagu Dam and finally to the over night at the Piggs Peak Hotel.An interesting day and the scenery is stunning!
From Piggs Peak it is a short run (they all are in Eswatini) to the overnight at Simunye. We visit a sugar museum and the Hlane National Park where one can enjoy sun downers at a waterhole.
At this point we had run out of places to visit and see in Eswatini so we moved on to Maputo where we have added a night stop.The hustle and bustle and the growth in Maputo is phenomenal.The Costa de Sol is still there and we enjoyed the prawns and the 2M beer. Very pleasant stop over.
The next day we took the new bridge over the harbour which is quite something.Amazing piece of engineering. From here we continued down south on a new highway to Ponto de Ouro. The road at one point travels through a National Park with no fencing and we came across Zebra, giraffe and a few others.Once in Ponto we promptly got stuck in the sand and out with the help of a Jeep.
The venue at Ponto is an old beach resort much like what we used to have on the South Coast of Natal.Very casual, cold beer, very basic but with WiFi and air con! Not a Radissun Blue but very pleasant for where it is.
We have decided to have our last night at Ponto due to it being central to those who want to get back to Natal and south and also west to Gauteng so we will spend the extra night here and all being well the 70s Rock and Roll party will happen the previous night.
The in South Africa in and out of Eswatini all tar and as we know them including their pot holes. In Eswatini it is much the same except they have the joy of $* #$f@ # speed humps every where! Its all tar but some of the tar roads are a bit patchwork quilt like with their repairs. Mozambique much like RSA except the new highway from Maputo to Ponto and KZN which is great.
The only road problem is the last 150 meters into the hotel in Ponto where we got stuck. Having driven an MGB across the Sahara in the Sudan you would think we would have learnt something so as the lights came on upstairs I let the tyres down to about .9 bar and hey presto just k**e a Lad Rover! Seriously, the last 150/200 meters will require tyres letting down or the hotel has a yard near the market where cars can be left under guard and people shuttled to the hotel. I will be going the tyres down route and we will also have our largish compressor to re pump the tyres when we leave and any one can make use of it. The total distance Joburg/Joburg is 1650km.
We crossed three border posts and they were all simple and quick. Road Tax in Eswatini cost R100.00 and 3rd party in Mozambique was R180.00.
We did not change SA Rands into Eswatini and the rand was accepted everywhere. The same applies in Moz but we changed into Meticals at the border to be sure. Credit Cards were accepted at all the fuel stops we made in Eswatini and Moz. We had no hassles with traffic police and in fact I was sent on my way with a warning after posting 94kph in a 60 zone!
We have done Laps of all southern African countries except this one and despite being mall we were taken back by the vistas, the scenery and the people.
The roads are good to fair tar except for one little 200 meter excitement.
Accommodation is very limited around Eswatini so we wont be able to take much more than 20 entries if we are all to stay in the same place.
We are looking forward to this trip and now we head back to Piggs Peak with a spare diff to try and recover Maggie from the Piggs Peak Hotel car park!
