Maputo has a terrible reputation as a cruise port.  In 2017 a cruise ship experienced delays in Immigration processing and left the port after a few hours.  We visited in 2018, and the Immigration was fine, but there were still many warnings about people being accosted on the streets and extorted for valuables.

Before our arrival, we received the standard Africa Warning Letter.  Everything here is pretty common sense for almost any port, but getting this letter does tend to place you on a higher alert.

The cost of getting a Mozambique Visa if you wanted to go ashore was $85 USD, and many people elected to stay on the ship, primarily based on the warning letter, the price of the Visa, and past passenger experiences.

This time we booked our second Across Africa Tour, where we would visit the Maputo Special Reserve of Maputo National Park, followed by lunch back in the city.  The Maputo National Park is 82 miles south of Maputo, where we would transfer to a 4 x 4 vehicle for a two-hour game drive.

Here was the tour description from the Across Africa Website

“We leave from Maputo Port in a shuttle at 8:30 am and drive for about 1.5 hrs to the Maputo Special Reserve where we will hop in an open sided vehicle for a 2 hour game drive.  Have an up-close moment with wildlife and the stunning wilderness views.  Visit the freshwater lakes, marshlands, riverine woodlands, lagoons among many more just show how diverse the nature of the reserve is.  Maputo Special Reserve is home to about 334 bird species that have been spotted so far.  Some of the birds you should expect to see include:  Thrush, Neergaard’s Sunbird, Pink-throated Twinspot, African Broadbill, Livingstone’s Turaco, Eastern Nicator, Southern Banded Snake-Eagle, Black-rumped Buttonquail, Rosy-throated Longclaw, Denham’s Bustard and Chestnut-banded Plover among more.

After the spectacular game drive, you will stop at Zambi restaurant for lunch.  After Lunch you will relax at the beach for a while before driving back to the port, where you will be dropped at 4:15 pm”.

Based on the above description, we expected we would only see birds.  As it turned out, we would see birds plus plenty more.

We were warned that Immigration might take as long as 15 minutes per passenger, but this never happened.  Mozambique didn’t require a face-to-face meeting, and we were cleared in a couple of hours with the ship. Mozambique Immigration officials huddled in the main dining room where each of our passports received a full-page sticker visa in addition to an entry and exit stamp.

The HAL overland tours started to leave the ship around 8 am, so I knew we were cleared, but the ship hadn’t announced to the rest of the passengers.  I went down to the gangway, and they said we could go ashore now if we weren’t relying on the ship shuttle buses, which weren’t ready.  The ship didn’t want people milling around the pier waiting for shuttle buses that hadn’t arrived.  This always results in mass confusion when the first bus arrives as an organized queue usually won’t be established at first.  Waiting on the ship is preferred for all concerned.

Our group left the ship around 8:30 am in search of our driver.  In 2018 we walked directly toward the train station, where there was a port gate, and the drivers waited outside.  This year, there was a new passenger terminal with a large open room at one end of a warehouse-type building.  At the top of the steps, we were greeted by a group of smiling school-age residents who cheerfully welcomed us to Maputo and handed out maps.

Inside the terminal was a staffed tourist information kiosk and several vendors selling local wares.  We passed through quickly into a side street where we found all the HAL tour buses and the HAL shuttle buses.  It wasn’t clear if our driver would be permitted inside, but after one of our group walked out the gate he discovered our bus was waiting on a nearby street.  Some tour operators will pay the extra fees required to get closer, but most don’t – so there is a chance your private tour may be inside with the HAL busses but probably not.

We were soon out the gate and onto the main street where our bus and driver were waiting.  We were surrounded by street vendors hawking their wares, but they were politely persistent, and we never felt threatened.  Once on our bus, we all received personalized leather key chains in the shape of Africa, with our names etched on the reverse side.

Crossing over the Maputo–Katembe bridge, we sped down a nicely paved highway for about 90 minutes until we reached the gated entrance to the Maputo National Park, where restrooms were available, and two safari game drive vehicles were waiting.

The vehicles were modified pick-up trucks with safari viewing seats inserted in the truck bed.  There was a roof and higher sides which was typical for vehicles that operate in the National Parks.

Our group was divided into two groups, with five people in one vehicle and 6 in the other.

We were off!  Our drive was on established dirt roads, and we never deviated from these tracks, again typical of safari drives on public lands.  We spent about 2 1/2 hours and completed a large loop.  Much to our surprise, based on the description, we saw giraffes, Wildebeest, Hippos, and several types of antelope in addition to birds.  Most animals were over 200 yards distant, but a few were within 50 yards.

Our guide, Stan, was very knowledgeable, and he helped point out animals we might have missed and described many of their characteristics and behaviors.

A little after 1 pm, we were back at the entrance and transferred back to our van.  Stan heard that there might have been some elephants down the road, but away from Maputo.  After about 15 minutes heading away from Maputo, we spotted about 6 elephants over 1/4 mile away.  We stopped to take a few pictures and enjoyed them from a distance before turning around and heading back to Maputo.

A little before 3 pm, we entered Maputo and spent about 10 minutes driving thru the city en route to our lunch stop at the Zambi restaurant.  Our group was seated at a long table, and the food was served on several large platters.  We enjoyed Shrimp, Grilled Chicken, Red Snapper, mashed sweet potatoes, and a variety of vegetables and rice.

As we left, our guide recommended Costa Do Sol Restaurant and Campo di Mare as other good choices the next time we visit Maputo.

We were back on the bus at 4 pm and chose to skip the beach and go back to the terminal, where we had time to browse some of the vendors’ wares before heading back to the ship.

During the sail away, I spoke with a half dozen passengers who all took the shuttle to the FEIMA Market and remarked that it was a lovely experience and far exceeded their expectations.  I spoke with a few crew members who took the shuttle to the market, a taxi to a restaurant on the coast, and another cab back to the ship.  They negotiated the price in dollars and felt they reached a good value, and the ride seemed very safe.

Maputo exceeded my expectations, and I didn’t talk to anyone with a bad experience.  Maputo has turned the corner and should be a port you look forward to visiting the next time you are in Mozambique.