Mozambique Self-Drive

There are numerous border crossings from other neighbouring African crossings including Zimbabwe and Malawi. In fact one of the busiest crossings into Mozambique is at the Mutare border post from Zimababwe.

Rules of the road

As I was writing this article a piece of travellers information arrived in my inbox. It seems that the Mozambique authorities are getting serious. A comment from friend when told about the new laws was “now the police have more to harass drivers with”. It is true that there have been incidents where the police have hassled tourists to elicit a bribe but this seems to be happening less and less.

Some of the new laws, as of April 1st, state that seat belts are now compulsory for all passengers, use of a mobile phone is not permitted while driving, speed control: maximum speed authorized inside towns: 60 Km/h, drunk driving: alcohol level limited, 0.6 g/l of blood, insurance certificate of the vehicle is compulsory and in addition all motor vehicles should be equipped with 2 warning hazard triangle and a reflective jacket. It would be wise to adhere to these new laws as the police in Mozambique can be very stubborn.

Damage to new frontiers

An unfortunate side to this new frontier for self-drive holiday visitors is the desecration of some of the beaches along the Mozambique coast. The strict enforcement of a ban on 4x4 vehicles on South African beaches has resulted in the beach raiders seeking new dunes to conquer – and Mozambique fits the requirements perfectly.

Ponto do Ouro is perhaps the hardest hit. A mere ten kilometres from the South African Border at Kosi Bay the South African 4x4 junkies are streaming in and unfortunately nothing is sacred.

Beach driving is illegal in Mozambique but many people choose to disregard this law as it is not well policed. Unfortunately this has had many damaging results. The total disregard for the law in places such as Ponto do Ouro has resulted in turtle nesting sites being damaged and dolphin behaviour altered.

Off road driving is not recommended in many areas due the incidents of land mines. A big push was put in place to rid the country of the scourge, but over time, and with the big floods that have lashed Mozambique in the past few years, some of the mines have shifted, making it difficult for mine retrievers to find them all.

Mozambique self drive

The country of Mozambique is almost 3000km long in a north / south direction, making it an impossible mission to cover the whole country on a single self drive holiday. The furthest north the majority of self drivers go is to Vilanculos – 750km north of Maputo.

Mozambique is ideal for a self drive holiday, providing a mix of new infrastructure and wild and remote areas. This allows for two wheel drive and 4x4 travellers to experience the best of what the country offers.