Preparation Phase 3

We have had a couple of busy days getting parts from Front Runner to secure the ammo boxes on the roof rack, connections for the cooler, certyified copies of vehicle registration papers, but the time consumer was cancelling bookings at Gorongosa National Park , Ugezi Tiger Lodge, Archipelego Resort, and Casa John in Mozambique due to warnings about unrest and clashes between Renamo and Frelimo (Government Ruling Party), see the following warnings, although surprise! surprise! nothing on official Government web sites:-

" We have been receiving increased enquiries of this situation in Mozambique, and according to the information received, would highly discourage travel in this area until the situation has been neutralised.

There is a high level of violent political unrest in the central provincial area of Mozambique, and there are several articles reporting tourists being fired upon" and-:

A warning on 4x4 Community web site gave a similar warning about attacks on an weapons depot south of Beira by rebels thought to be from the Renamo party killing 6 soldiers. There is no road traffic on the EN1 between Save and Muxungwe. The impact on tourism and investment if the Government does not get it under control will be severe. 

The first was from a travel agency in whose interest is not to spread alarm and I am grateful to them for their transparency.

So what now? The option is either back through Zambia and Botswana or Zambia and Zimbabwe and with the elections timed for end July in Zimbabwe we will have to see if they are free and fair and without violence. Decisions, decisions.

Sinead had her yellow fever inoculation today and we were advised she could get headaches and possibly a fever over the next week.