Bribery and corruption is prevalent in Mozambique. We got just a wee taster at the border. All along the roads were police checks, stopping minivans that were being used by locals as taxis. Every stop usually resulted in the police pocketing a small sum - to the point where taxi-drivers actually incorporate bribe costs into passengers fares. Turns out the Toyota Quantum is the most popular minivan choice of local taxi-drivers. Ergo we were briefly stopped at every check-point, but once the official saw a minivan of white people we were waved on.
Other plots to gain money are employed by the traffic police. In quite a few towns the speed would drop from 80kmph to 60kmph when passing through towns or populated areas. Exiting the 80kmph zone proved interesting in places as in quite a number of towns the 60kmph entrance sign had been removed and all that was left was a pole where you were supposed to know a speed limit had been.
This ensured that police met their official (and unofficial) quotas of offenders. Reason I mention it is because Pete got pulled over by a cheery officer for doing 83km in a 60km zone. Pay up 4,000 metical please (approx €100) - hmm that sounds quite excessive, especially since the Lonely Planet guide says that the usual fine is 1,000 metical. Obviously there is an inflated fine for tourists. Pete hopped out of the truck and had a word with the official, turned out that for no receipt the fine dropped down to 2,000 metical. We're still being completely fleeced, but that's a wee bit more acceptable. It's just frustrating when you know that you've been set-up and you just gotta bite the bullet.
On arrival into the camp we are greeted at the gate by a security guard with an Uzi slung over his shoulder. In hushed tones we all deliberated whether the gun actually worked or was just for show. Signs are plastered up all along the drive into camp: "Mozzys ahead", "Be aware", "Mozzys sting", "Spray up", "Maleria". Yikes!!! Okay, I'm guessing they had an outbreak at some stage and are now hammering home warnings to naive guests. The restaurant is surrounded by mosquito-screens, with little gekkos crawling all over them. I'm staying in a tiny, but cute, cabin that contains two twin beds pushed together, mosquito netting and a fan and that's it. The room is warm but once the fan starts it gives the impression of a breeze, even though there is not. Pete hands me a mosquito plug with raid which I should run in my room to kill any would be vampire mosquitoes. I am the most prone in the bunch to being munched, getting a wee bit apprehensive now...
Chilling at the restaurant there is a sign at the counter that states "Preparation time can take up to 1hr - plz be patient!". Africa time is in full swing here. Dinner orders go in, beers are sorted and we sit back and watch a few African football matches as we wait. At nine o' clock the restaurant closed and we felt bad for the staff who were hanging about waiting for us to leave, so shock horror, we called it a night. Rooms were too small to have a get-together, mozzies were supposedly lurking outside and the fear of maleria was higher than my need to stay up late outside. Sadly the camp did not have any other hang-out area. Went back to my room, sorted through photos, made a few notes to remind me of all we'd done to date, and then at the only slightly more respectable hour of 10pm I had an early night.
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