2019-09-01 Woolworths Taste

112 TASTE SEPTEMBER 2019

Visiting

Maputo

is a bitlikedrivingoverseasforthe
weekend.Suddenlyyou’reina very
differentplace,bothfamiliarand
strange,withlittleculturalcuesfrom
a contradictorycolonialhistory.It is
a mellow,slightlyshabbyLatino-African
capitalwitha penchantforintricately
castconcretefaçadesanda vibethat
suggestsyou’llbefinewalkingaround
thecitylateintothenight.
ThenewKatembesuspension
bridge, which spans the Umbuluzi

TRAVEL

RiverEstuary,connectsthecitytothe

adjacentsuburbof Katembe,previously

onlyreachablebya rustyferryora long

detour.BuiltbytheChinaRoadand

BridgeCorporation,andlargelyfinanced

byloansfromtheChineseEximBank,

thebridgeopenedinNovember2018.

It’snotentirelyclearwhatkindof surety

theMozambicangovernmentoffered

againsttheseloans,butit is thelargest

suspensionbridgeinAfrica.Andmore

importantlyforus,it connectsthecity

of MaputotoDurbanina relatively

straight 540 kmline,makingthe

Mozambicancapitalas accessibleto

Durbsas Johannesburg.Suddenly,a

weekend in Maputo is a viable prospect.

Thisrouteis sofreshthatif you

plugit intoGooglemaps,you’llstill

bedirectedviatheoldroad,addingan

unnecessaryhour-and-a-halftoyour

trip.Worse,you’llmissoutonthethrill

of crossingthismonumental 60 metre-

high,three-kilometre-longmodern

marvelandgetstuckinthetraffic

cominginfromMatola.Don’tdothat.

LeavingDurban,theroadtoRichards

Bayis easyanduneventful.Thingsget

interestingwhenyoupeelofftheN2

at Hluhluweanddrivethroughthe

iSimangalisoWetlandPark.Among

thethickscrubandfevertreesyoumay

spotrhino,elephant,hippo,giraffeor

leopard,butsomeitinerantcattleare

more likely. Pick your way through the

sandysoilandilalapalmsof Makhathini

Flats,watchingoutforcattle,dogs,goats

andthemanyspeedbumpsas youpass

throughthecollectionof ruralvillages,

endingwithManguzi,whichis your

laststopforpetrol,snacks or groceries

beforetheborder.

Unlessyouhitit at thestartof a

holidayorlongweekend,crossingthe

KosiBayborderis a verymellowaffair.

If youdon’tstopfora surfinPonta

d’Ouro,you’llbeinMaputoinaboutan

hour.Wetimedit perfectly,arrivingat

sunsetona Thursday,slippingoverthe

bridgeandintothecityagainsttheflow

of lateafternoontraffic,straighttothe

HotelJacaranda,ourchosenlodgings

fortheweekend:a central,comfortable

ArtDeco-stylehotelwithparquetfloors,

tropicalplantsandveryfewpretensions.

Aftermeetingupwitholdfriends,

wewalkedtotheNucleodeArte

(144RuadaArgélia)a kindof gallery

andworkshopspace,wherewecracked

ourfirstbottleof DosMbeerand

plannedthenight.Firststop:thenew

Deal Espaço Criativo(265 Rua

Welcometo

Katembeviathe

largestsuspension

bridge in Africa.

“It’smorecultural

immersionthan

a meal– timeand

spacetravelviathe

tastebudsthrough

themediumof

barbequed chicken”