Author Archive | Heidi Sequenz

Soweto 2012

By Heidi Sequenz on 2. August 2012 in South Africa

Soweto

A huge mountain-like dump of toxic soil taken from mines right in Soweto is symbolic for what it was and still is: a synonym for poverty, struggle and racial discrimination, to this very day. Would anybody dream of littering the wealthy northern suburbs of Johannesburg with dangerous substances? The half-hearted attempts to keep the toxic dust from spreading in the neighborhood by planting trees, grass and sprinkling water on it is painfully revealing how little progress has been made so far…

Chico, a former resident of Soweto, took me around in his car for hours, telling me about the history, the people, the living conditions and problems that people still face here. Nevertheless, he also pointed out the signs of progress.

SOuth-WEstern-TOwnship

By Heidi Sequenz on 2. August 2012 in South Africa

Soweto, this exotic sounding name, labels nothing else but the location and the former status of the very place: a township, southwest of Johannesburg. Initially these townships had one function: to keep the black population, to be more precise black men, away from towns where the white folks lived. The living conditions were appalling. The barracks offered no privacy (beds were separated by curtains), there was no electricity, no sanitary facilities, no transport, nothing. And the men were coming in great numbers to find work in the mines surrounding Johannesburg.

Freezing Johannesburg

By Heidi Sequenz on 1. August 2012 in South Africa

Soweto,- Picture by Helen Rempel

Visitors just breezing through may find it difficult to discover the charm of this city. Moving around Johannesburg is either costly or difficult: cabs are ridiculously expensive and the public transport system can be tough for newly arrivals: which minibus to take; on top of that you need to know the correct sign for flagging down the right minibus: a raised index finger stands for “center”, just to give an example.

Melville International Backpackers is where I checked in, located in a peaceful, middle class neighborhood of the same name. It looked the most attractive one after browsing the various website and most important, it advertised that walking around the neighborhood was safe and easy.

Mozambique – Budget 2012

By Heidi Sequenz on 31. July 2012 in Mozambique, Travel Budget

Southern Mozambique July 2012 Highlights

By Heidi Sequenz on 31. July 2012 in Mozambique

I had a very rough start. Within hours of my arrival in Chimoio I was cheated by moneychangers, had my laptop stolen in a hostel, had to abandon a horrid bus where we were squashed like sardines with stereo blasting. To top things off I was unable to get cash since ATMs very randomly accept cards in Mozambique. So if my first entries give the impression of Mozambique better being avoided - this is certainly not my message! But even travellers with less traumatic experiences often feel overwhelmed on their first day in the country, especially women travelling on their own.

Beaches of Vilankulo

The rest was a great trip that took me from Chimoio to Vilankulo, Tofo and Maputo. In this part of the country, roads are just fine and tourist facilities very developed. Speaking Spanish gave me an advantage in buses and at local markets. In hostels on the “Backpacker Trail”, English is the main language of communication. The most striking bit was the difference to Zimbabwe, with its Anglophone, well organized and orderly touch. I loved Mozambique for being different, the Africa I knew from previous trips, the colorful Africa, the crowded one, with markets, loud and full of smiles and a capital like nowhere else.

Bussing Maputo to Johannesburg

By Heidi Sequenz on 31. July 2012 in Mozambique

Maputo - Picture by Gerti Brindlmayer

By the time the Intercape Bus left Maputo behind, I had finished most of my food ration. Knowing the border was only one hour away, I figured I could get new supplies there for this nine-hour trip to Johannesburg.

What comfort! I had the front seat, upstairs on a double-decker bus with toilets, staff serving drinks and collecting the litter, no blasting music and a reclining seat. It was heaven! Leaving Maputo, I noticed the first traffic jam in five weeks, commuters driving into the city. Very disturbing to watch was that only single occupancy was the rule: bad habits are spreading fast.

At the border, I lost sight of my bus and quickly tagged on to a passenger from my bus, since borders can always be confusing.

Lobster Feast

By Heidi Sequenz on 28. July 2012 in Mozambique

Maputo fish market, shopping our lunch

The fish market is actually the only place in Maputo where you meet tourists. So I was not too surprised to detect familiar faces on a neighboring table. Matt, an American and Eric, a Swede, whom I had met in Vilankulo and Tofo. We joined forces and still could not finish everything. With the tourists come throngs of street vendors selling everything from paintings, cameras, woodcarvings, bracelets, Apple tablets… This can be a bit annoying.

Eric had lived in Maputo the previous year and kept fantasizing about this bar in the city’s train station. So off we went in a cab and walked all over the place. The bar is long gone but luckily we went there. The building itself is absolutely stunning, so very colonial.

From Maputo with Love

By Heidi Sequenz on 27. July 2012 in Mozambique

Inhambane, art deco architecture from colonial days - photo by Jason Risley Portuguese colonial art deco- Picture by Jason Risley

I hardly ever fall in love with bigger cities, but with Maputo I did. Nobody remains untouched by its unparalleled mélange of typical communist apartment blocks - all efficiency, no decor - and colonial architecture. The later comes in all stages. Some neatly renovated, others charmingly run down.

Maputo is a city void of sights, where street life itself becomes the very attraction. Picture a sidewalk with long, neat rows of single shoes for sale, stalls hawking license plates and chargers that dangle from clothes hangers, also for sale. Shop windows are displaying skimpy dresses together with traditional garb for Muslim women. Another landmark are young men in yellow signal vests advertising Vodacom and Mcel: it seems everybody in Mozambique is wearing them, whether or not they are selling telephone cards.

Mozambique’s Backpacker Trail

By Heidi Sequenz on 25. July 2012 in Mozambique

Tofo legendary Bambozi guesthouse- Picture by Gerti Brindlmayer

Backpackers in Tofo gather at Fatima’s Nest and also I could not escape its draw. In July it was pleasantly quiet, but during South African holidays it is buzzing, I was told. The location is unbeatable, with a terrace overlooking a long, curved beach. The ambience is extremely social, THE place to run into anybody who previously crossed your path, be it south or north. In my case it was Jason and the group of Americans / Brits / Aussies that he had joined in Chimoio, but it was also the time and place for making new acquaintances.

There was never a shortage of people ready to roll. In Tofo, there was always a place to party, whereas in Vilankulo, locals would pick you up and take you to a cool bar somewhere. As much as I wanted, I could not come up with the energy to join in. Sometimes I caught myself rolling my eyes at the preparations for those long nights out, the pre-drinking rituals and what must have been excessive amounts of alcohol downed till the early hours. Then I quickly had to remind myself that not too long ago I would refuse to call it quit without some serious dancing and partying…

Tofo Down Under

By Heidi Sequenz on 25. July 2012 in Mozambique

Snorkeling with whale sharks, the ultimate experience - Picture by Jason Risley

Snorkelling side by side with whale sharks was the most splendid and literally breath-taking experience I ever had. I had to move those fins really fast to keep up with “mine”. So close it got that I had to move out of the way.

It is impossible to describe how I felt swimming next to this speckled, slow moving giant. Around its gigantic mouth floated a school of transparent small fish. Desperately I tried to get in front of the whale to see if those fish were disappearing soon. No matter how hard I tried, the whale shark did not allow me to watch this.

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