Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Up to 8km wide at points, it has long served as a highway between the coast and the interior. One of the not-
ables it has carried is David Livingstone, who took a paddle steamer upriver from the Zambezi delta to Tete be-
fore his progress was thwarted by the Cahora Bassa rapids. Earlier, Arab traders made their way upriver at least as
far as Sena and Tete, and the Portuguese built settlements near the river delta in the hope of gaining access to
western goldfields.
Apart from the bridge at Caia, the only links over the Mozambican portion of the river are the suspension
bridge at Tete and the Dona Ana rail bridge between Mutarara and Sena.
Sena & Mutarara
About 250km downstream from Tete along the Zambezi are the twin villages of Sena and
Mutarara, known for the 3.6km Dona Ana railway bridge (built in 1934) which spans the
river here (no vehicles). There are a few basic
pensões
in both towns. The river here is
known for its hippos, which you can sometimes see if you happen to be flying over in a
charter flight, or by asking at your
pensão
for help organising a boat.
From Mutarara, you can continue north on an unpaved road and a generally hassle-free
border crossing into Malawi, or eastwards over the Shire River (bridged by a small, hand-
cranked ferry) and then on to Morrumbala (where there's a
pensão
) and the main road to
Quelimane.
Caia
About 60km further downstream from Sena and Mutarara is Caia, the main north-south
crossing point. There's no decent accommodation in Caia itself, but in Catapu, 32km
south of Caia along the main road, is the very good
M'phingwe Camp
( 82-301 6436;
www.dalmann.com
;
s/tw without bathroom Mtc600/850, s/d with bathroom from Mtc850/
1150, 4-person cottage from Mtc1550)
, with six rustic but spotless double cabins sharing
facilities, plus one with its own bathroom. There is no camping. Breakfast can be arranged
with advance notice and there's a restaurant with tasty meals and cold drinks. The sur-
rounding forest is a fine birding area. The turn-off is signposted on the N1, from where
M'phingwe is about 1.5km further.
About 7km north of Caia, signposted 1km north of the bridge and 800m off the N6, is
Cuácua Lodge
( 84-839 2350, 82-312 0528; cuacualodge@gmail.com; campsite per
person Mtc300; s/d/tr without bathroom Mtc1000/1250/1500; s/tw Mtc1950/2400;
)
