skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Our plan was to get to the Lebombo border post at 6am so that we had plenty of time to navigate the border and find our way to Xai-Xai. We arrived just after 7 (naturally), got into the queue and ate our packed breakfasts from the B&B. In theory it’s quite simple; the big trucks keep to the left hand lane and the passenger cars to the right. This does not allow, however, for the taxis – which drive in the oncoming lane and push in at the front, causing me to use some choice language and fantasise about mounting a missile system on the Jimny. Walter fended off the entrepreneurial street vendors, trying to sell us yellow jackets (required) warning triangles (required) Vodacom SIM cards “that work in Mozambique” and a whole assortment of goodies from their shopping trolleys which they wheel from car to car, doing a thriving business from what I could see. The B&B owners had told us of 18-hour queues over Easter and Christmas, so I was pleased we were going outside the holiday period. Tip: Apparently the Swaziland crossing into Mozambique is a better option during holidays.
Just outside the fence is a whole community catering to the needs of travellers, with plastic-covered “stores” fronted by 40 gallon half drums filled with coals. It is here the travellers can buy tea and food, although I certainly didn’t stop to look (taxis would have pushed in, for sure) A few scrawny chickens peck through the litter and the area would only be improved by the addition of some large refuse bins. As it is the rubbish is merely thrown into a small gulley at the end.
