South African Mozambique is one of the countries that has not yet been fully developed for tourism… despite the many beautiful beaches on the Indian Ocean, several beautiful offshore islands and despite its considerable diversity of flora and fauna. In addition, there is a varied landscape, which includes the aforementioned dreamlike beaches along with mangroves, lagoons, extensive bays and steep sections on the almost 2,800 km long coastline – but also extensive meadows, forest and scrubland, numerous rivers, part of Lake Malawi, as well as highlands and Monte Binga, with which Mozambique reaches its highest point at 2,436 m. The flora and fauna of Mozambique are particularly diverse on Lake Malawi or in the Gorongosa National Park. Above all, the latter gives a good insight into Mozambique’s species-rich fauna, including various big cats, elephants, hippos, buffalo, giraffes, zebras, antelopes, baboons and various reptiles. For extensive and intensive nature experiences, the park offers not only jeep safaris but also overnight accommodations. Other national parks are Marromeu at the confluence of the Zambezi and Limpopo, which together with neighboring national parks in South Africa and Zimbabwe forms the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. Experience nature in Mozambique but also by taking a traditional dhow to one of the offshore islands or diving and snorkeling in an underwater world with numerous fish and coral reefs or on one of the wonderful sandy beaches… possibly under palm trees and with a view of the Bazaruto archipelago, like the beach allowed at Vilanculos. In addition, Madagascar lies in front of Mozambique. However, it should not be overlooked that Mozambique also has a cultural side. To explore, for example, in the big cities of Maputo, Mozambique and Beira or at the archaeological sites of Manyikoni, where you will also encounter the historical side of the country.
Natural History Museum in Maputo, Mozambique
History of the museum
The Natural History Museum in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, opened in 1913 as a provincial museum in a school building. His most important task was to be able to impart the science subjects to the students in a practical way. This claim persisted even after the first move to a villa in the botanical city park. In 1932 the museum was moved to the current building in the Polana district.
The building and the collection
The two-story building in Praça Travessia do Zambeze has a magnificent facade in the style of the Portuguese colonial era. Today the museum is run by the University of Maputo and its aim is to document the natural and ethnological past of Mozambique. It is the only museum of its kind in the country and has been named after Portugal’s independence in 1975. The numerous specimens on display include stuffed mammals, birds and reptiles. The model of a life-size elephant is one of the most important pieces in the museum and the collection of elephant fetuses, which shows growth in the womb from the first to the 22nd month, is unique in the world.
The museum garden with its sculptures and pictures is also worth a visit. Particularly noteworthy is a huge wall fresco by the local artist Malangatana Ngwenya, which shows human and animal figures that seem to stare at the viewer.
The Maputo Natural History Museum is one of Mozambique’s top attractions and should definitely be visited during a stay in the country.
Inhambane
Inhambane is a historic port city and a popular destination on study trips to Mozambique. It is located on the east side of the Bay of Inhambane in the south of the country, is just under 500 kilometers from Maputo and currently has a little over 60,000 inhabitants.
A checkered history
About a thousand years ago, Inhambane was an important trading post for dhows, those elegant ships with trapezoidal sails that are still in use here today. At the end of the fifteenth century Vasco da Gama stopped in Inhambane on his first trip to India. He liked the city not only because of its beauty, but also because of the friendly nature of its people. That is why he gave it the nickname “Land of Good People” (“Terra de boa Gente”). Later, Inhambane mutated into a center for the trade in ivory and eventually – among both the Indians and the Portuguese – with slaves. After Maputo was named the capital of Mozambique and in the wake of the accelerated road construction, the city increasingly lost its importance.
Attractions in Inhambane and the surrounding area
The cathedral dedicated to Saint Mary, the Catedral da Nossa Senhora da Conceição, which was built in the north-west of Inhambane in the mid-19th century and is now gradually falling into disrepair, dates from the time of Portuguese colonial rule. However, other older buildings and streets are still well preserved. Not far from the cathedral is the port, from which the ferries leave for the opposite town of Maxixe. The lively “Mercado Central” in the city center is also worth seeing – here you can buy regional fruits and spices as well as handmade clothing, jewelry and souvenirs. The surroundings of the charming and slightly sleepy city are world-famous as a diving paradise, especially the approx.
Teatro Avenida
This is not to mention the Teatro Avenida in Buenos Aires. But from the “Teatro Avenida” in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. The city, which is also the largest city in the country, is also known as the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean” due to its architectural diversity and its beautiful location on the Indian Ocean. Sweden’s best-known writer Henning Mankell loved Maputo and has been commuting between Sweden and Mozambique every year since the 1980s. There he staged plays, found inspiration for his novels and left traces that will not go away anytime soon.
The Swedish director and author Henning Mankell, world famous for his “Wallander” thriller, died in 2015 of lung cancer. He is not only mourned in his home country Sweden and all over Europe. The writer is also unforgettable in Mozambique and other parts of Africa. Since childhood, Mankell dreamed of Africa, visited countries such as Zambia, Uganda and Senegal and was committed to justice and solidarity.
He was particularly fascinated by the freedom fighters and the independence movement. He traveled to the country regularly for almost 30 years, staging plays there and writing his novels. Here he visited the Teatro Avenida for the first time in the 80s and offered the then still young theater a collaboration. Manuela Soeiro, the founder of the theater, did not hesitate and took this opportunity. From then on, Henning Mankell came to Maputo every year. The two of them staged more than 20 plays together, he as the director and Manuela Soeiro as the producer. All plays were about Africa, even if they were adaptations of great classics by Schiller or Shakespeare. They were enthusiastically received by the Mozambican population.
