Life is an Adventure.
Swaziland was great but primarily we were there for one reason. To gain visas to enter Mozambique.
PJ had suggested it way back on the coast and it had stuck firmly in my mind. I had gone from saying that I'd love to get to Mozam 'if' I have time, to saying that we were on our way to Mozam!
A day at the embassy, some bribe money through the railings and a long wait later and we had the visas.
The next morning we hopped on the local bus from Swaziland to Maputo - the capital of Mozambique.
Maputo is famed for being a great city but we weren't interested in big cities - we were off to a beach famed for beauty, whale sharks and backpackers; Tofo.
One night in Maputo and at 5am we boarded the bus for the long journey to Ihambane and on to Tofo.
It was worth the journey.
PJ and I were traveling with a girl called Jo. Jo had done an overland with 2 sisters called Benny and Maddy who were waiting at Tofo for her. Benny and Maddy while working at a Lion Park had met a girl called Anya who was my good friend from volunteering in Tanzania.
To add the icing to the cake and complete the gang Jonny and Simone from our horse adventure in Lesotho also turned up! On top of that I met a great group of South African guys and a few people in my dorm.
It was a fabulous way to spend the last days of my trip away.
The colours of the sarongs blowing in the village were fantastic. I bought two beautiful paintings during my time in Mozambique.
Seeing Anya again in Mozambique was amazing. Spending time with someone that already knew me and not only knew what I had recently been through but had been there. Anya knew Hayden and so being able to talk about him again so normally was wonderful. Anya and I still see each other once a week to this day!
This boy made me the most beautiful shell necklace and bracelet.
With the gang reunited the card game backpacker came back in full swing!
Swimming with Whale Sharks and diving the reef was fantastic.
Leaving the beautiful beach of Tofo and heading for the city of Maputo was quite a shock. It also involved a 10 hour dala dala ride, having our passports taken by the police and various broken down buses!
From Mozambique we got a bus to the border and then on in to South Africa to Pretoria.
My trip was almost up and it was almost time to go home to my family and take stock of the events of the past 5 months.
Before I left I went to spend a day and evening with Izak who had been in the plane with Hayden.
And then it was over. And I flew home.
Lots of things had happened and my trip had turned out very different to how I had planned it.
But I had met Hayden and fallen in love, I had experienced the kindness and support of many local people and fellow travelers, I had learnt how to live in an african country, I had met PJ and had a fantastic time backpacking the coast..... it had been a time of highest highs and lowest lows. A trip that I will never forget.
