Mozambique and South Africa with Big 5 2018 Part 1

I attended an event last year in London learning about Africa and safaris. I was one of the lucky winners and won a prize for two which included two nights at Camp Jabulani on full board basis in South Africa, two nights at Simbavati Safari Lodge on full board basis in South Africa and two nights at Machangulo Beach Lodge on full board basis in Mozambique.

Although the prize excluded flights, these were kindly donated by Loné at African Synergy. I was over the moon when I won this prize, as I had never been to Mozambique or Greater Kruger park. I decided that 29 June 2018 should be the date when my wife and I should take this trip for seven nights. We flew with Qatar Airways via Doha to Johannesburg in economy class then South Africa airways to Maputo in Mozambique.

Once we arrived at Maputo airport, a rep from Machangulo Beach Lodge was waiting for us to take us on a short car drive to the marina. We then had to take a speed boat from Maputo Marina to Machangulo Beach Lodge, where we stayed for two nights in a lovely ocean view with great private deck on full board basis. The view from our private deck was amazing as we could see the ocean.

When we arrived by speed boat, which took 60 minutes, we were greeted by the management team on the beach and given a welcome drink on arrival. Getting up to the room we had to climb up 80 stairs from the beach which takes several minutes so unfortunately this hotel would not be suitable for disabled people, and there were more stairs around the property.

Dinner is a three-course meal served by a waiter and is pre-ordered at lunch time. Breakfast is buffet choice, but hot breakfasts can be ordered. Lunch is one meal and must be ordered at breakfast time. The food at the hotel was fantastic and the staff are lovely and helpful. We met the manager Jacques, who meets all the guest during their stay.

This hotel offers great activities including fishing, diving, kayaking, birding, snorkelling etc. It’s right on the beach which is great for relaxing with plenty of space to sunbathe. Our large and spacious room had a private deck, en suite bathroom, air conditioning, mini bar, ceiling fan, hairdryer and a room safe. We had evening turndown service and a complimentary bottle of water daily as you are advised not to drink from the taps.

Machangulo Beach Lodge has 17 rooms which are all luxurious rooms and a great bar area where you can see the sun set. We treated ourselves to a lovely massage, which was reasonably priced, and overlooked the ocean. The hotel gives you a surprise treat on the last evening of your stay, which is a lovely touch. I would recommend this hotel for honeymooners, couples and families. We would suggest road transport to this hotel, as although it takes longer, our experience on a speed boat was very rough seas.

This hotel offers a personal touch service which fits with Travel Counsellors. We would love to go back to this hotel in the future. Mozambique is an interesting country where most people speak Portuguese with very little English spoken. The currency used is South African Rand or US dollars.

After two nights we flew back to Johannesburg where we stayed for one night at Peermont D’oreale Grand Machangulo Beach Lodge hotel in a classic room on bed and breakfast basis. We were given a lovely surprise - a free upgrade to lounge access.

During our stay we had a site inspection with Junese to see the other hotels within the group which were Peermont Mondor 4* hotel, Peermont Metcourt 3* hotel and Peermont Metcourt suites - all good hotels and suitable for everyone’s budgets. We had a chance to experience the lounge at our hotel which offers complimentary drinks during the day and snacks for two hours in the evening.

The hotel has a lovely indoor pool plus a great spa including gym. The hotel also offers complimentary transfers from the OR Tambo International airport to all the hotels within the group every 20 minutes from 6am until 11pm. There is also a service to Johannesburg downtown from the hotel taking 15 minutes by train costing around ZAR 100 per person. The hotel has a lovely restaurant called Aurelia’s which serves dinner and breakfast. We were able to sample the breakfast in the morning, which consisted of buffet breakfast plus cooked eggs and a pancake station. The breakfast was lovely with a great choice of breakfast items plus Asian and Indian dishes too, fruit juices and smoothies. The hotel is next door to the casino with several restaurants to suit everyone’s taste. This hotel is suitable for couples and honeymooners. We would love to stay at this hotel again but for longer next time, so we can explore Johannesburg.

The next day we flew to Hoedspruit with Cemair. We were impressed with Cemair as they served free snacks and drinks on the short flight, around 50 minutes. When we arrived at the airport, it had a different feel to many other airports we have been around the world. This airport is very small and used to be an old army base, it opened to the public in 1996. You could see your luggage coming off the plane and as there is no luggage belt, you simply collect the luggage from the van.