Johannesburg Maputo - The Lebombo Border pass

I am used to passing borders, as I cme from a small country. What you do is, you drive along a road, and then there is asign that you entered another country, and that's it. The road signs are a bit different, and in my case when I enter Germany I do not have to worry about speed limits any more (grin).

But this is Africa! And in the true spirit of administration, you have to get everything done by queing, stamping, presenting passports, presenting registration, TIP, and much more. So I thought I went prepared. I printed out the list from the AA of South Africa (LINK) and went for it. But not before I went to the AA in Nelspruit to buy insurance, a country sticker and some reflective vests. And off we went.

All was well, we drove off at half past two for a 200 km drive after Nelspruit. The adress of the AA, y the way, is Tel: +27 (013) 753 3571 Address: Shop 12 The Crossings Cnr N4 and General Dan Pienaar, Coordinates: S 25.47346°, E 30.96768°. If you get there, there is Gas, Food and a Pharmacy as well. If you do not have enough Malarone, they sell it here as Malanil at roughly the same price (ok, a little cheaper but not much) and without the need for a prescription.

But, to the border we went. Arriving at the border was ok, I just passed the SA side and went on to Mozabique. There we were stopped by some friendly guys that asked for all the papers and stuff. Then they explained they wanted to help me clear customs and to get insurance and road tax and temporary import permit and and and. I did not want to wait in the really big line, so I went with them. They did do it all! Someone even went with me back to the SA side to get me stamped OUT of the country (I did not know...) before I could get stamped IN to Mozambique. 

They overcharged me, offcourse. I had no Meticals (please bring them if you go!) so I had to pay in Euro. I got a lousy exchange rate on the street as there are no banks there... And then I had to pay the gus for service. They asked 50 Euro, I gave them 20. They took change from me for the passport stamps, another 20 Euro. For getting first in line they said, for not to be checked upon entering. At last I got fed up, did not want to buy a SIM anymore and drove off. It was getting dark soon, and I dreaded the idea of driving into Maputo in the dark.

But it turned out not to be so bad. The road was ok, so I could really do 120, and toll was cheap. Driving in Maputo was ok, it was relatively quiet, and I found the adress where we are staying right away. It is so god not to have to search for accomodation when arriving in a big city! Thanks Adrivana and Christian for hosting us! And thanks for taking us to dinnen right away at a place with a playground for the kids!

And many, many thanks for letting me have this wonderful bed for a good night's sleep!

I am a lucky man!