Go! Drive & Camp – September 2019

CAMPING DESTINATION

42 | September 2019 go! Drive & Camp

A

t the Komatipoort entrance (the South African side

of the border) a soldier handed us a permit. Then we

parked outside the customs building (there are extra-

long parking bays for vehicles towning caravans)

and handed our passports over to a customs official inside the

building. The official wanted to see the border letter for our

tow vehicle. (If you have a child with you, they will also ask for

an unabridged birth certificate.) We checked the stamps in our

passports, got into our vehicle and gave the permit to another

soldier as we left South Africa. The first part of the border post

procedure was done and dusted in under five minutes.

At the Ressano Garcia offices (on the Mozambican side) we

parked as close to customs as we could without obstructing

traffic. Here, the parking is more random and your vehicle is

quickly swallowed up by a crowd of hawkers. According to the

South African High Commissioner’s website, we were to receive

a permit here, but nobody gave us one. The website strongly

discourage travellers from using the so-called runners to help

them cross the border, but we wanted to know what their

services entailed and chose an honest face from the crowd.

Emerson was his name, and he immediately wanted to

take our passports and permits. We insisted on carrying our

documentation but nonetheless thanked him for his zeal.

Before Emerson took us to the customs building, we first

wanted to establish his fee. His opening offer of MT5 000 was

unacceptable as it would work out to more than R1 000 (R1 was

equal to 4,3 metical at the time of our visit). We made a counter

offer of MT500 (R116). Emerson was appalled, but we eventually

settled on MT1 000 (R230).

He took us to the building, pushed in front of a group of

confused South Africans who weren’t sure which queue they

should join, and attracted a customs officer’s attention. We

The Internet teems with stories about South

Africans who could only get their passports

back after a hefty ransom was paid

Beware the runners

Various cautionary tales about Mozambique’s notorious Lebombo border post do

the rounds – here’s what we experienced.