Ponta Do Ouro
Exploring the far south of Mozambique
Ponta Do Ouro is a place I have heard about since first stepping foot in Mozambique but never had the chance to visit, until recently.
We traveled out from Maputo, renting a car and driving straight down for almost two hours. The drive was easy, flat and with very little traffic. Driving this way necessitates passing through the Maputo National Park, connected to the Maputo Elephant Reserve - another place I had heard much about but never been to. When we went to Zinave National Park, which you can read about in one of my past posts here, we were charged by an elephant who had been translocated out of the Maputo Elephant Reserve because she kept charging cars and flipping them.
Though we didn’t actually venture into the reserve - we were on a schedule and meeting friends - we did pass some wildlife as we drove through: a couple wildebeest, a small family of warthogs, some lone impala, and a few giraffe.
This giraffe was especially unique to look at because of all the wounds on his neck and chest. I was not sure what they were from, but our speculation was that the cause was fighting with other giraffes - they use their necks to pummel each other.
The Maputo National Park is of particular interest to me, and a place I would love to explore further, because of its role in the Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Area, which was established to open borders between conservation areas to allow elephants to travel along routes they used to travel before the fences were put up. This would allow elephant populations to follow their traditional migration and walking routes, some of which have been blocked. The park is also expanding, with more and more species thriving, and looks like it would be a wonderful place to visit. It is on my list, and when I finally do make the trip, you will hear about it here! In the meantime, if you want to know more about the park, information can be found on their website here: https://www.peaceparks.org/parks/maputo-special-reserve/.
After looking at the giraffe for a while, we carried on, arriving at the beach at around 10am. Ponta Do Ouro is a coastal holiday town only 10 kilometers from the South African border, and is thus a major holiday destination for many South Africans. In Portuguese, the name translates to “Tip of Gold”. The area is famous for the semi-tame wild dolphins tourists can swim with, deep sea fishing, and diving, but we were only there for a day so stuck to lounging on the beach.
Ponta Do Ouro is also known for its beaches, and as soon as we got out of the car I could see why. Beautiful clear water with waves spattered with surfers and swimmers as far as the eye could see, bracketed on either side by green hills dotted with houses. It reminded me of Pacifica in California, but a little less rugged. The water was perfect temperature so we swam in the waves all afternoon before heading over to one of the many beachfront restaurants for a pizza.
After finishing our pizzas we took a long walk along the beach, where we ran into a friend of a friend who strongly recommended a key lime pie from a nearby cafe of unknown name. This sounded good, and resulted in a sadly fruitless trek up, down, and around the town, asking at every turn, ‘Does anyone knew where to get a key lime pie?’ We were most often met with confused looks, so eventually had to abandon the search. It probably would have helped if one of use knew how to say ‘key lime pie’ in Portuguese…Then, back to the car to start the drive home, slightly sunburned, salty, sandy, and happy.
This is an easily doable day trip from Maputo which I would recommend to all.