Expatriates Forums in Mozambique

FOREIGN DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS IN MOZAMBIQUE

Mozambique Info — Mon Mar 05, 2007 9:15 am

Author: Mozambique Info

Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 9:15 am

FOREIGN DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS IN MOZAMBIQUE

ANGOLA
Embassy of Angola
Avenida Kenneth Kaunda, 783,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 491 883 / 483 691
Fax: +258 21 493 930

AUSTRALIA
Australian Consulate
Avenida Zedequias Manganhela 95,
3rd Floor,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 322 780
Fax: +258 21 307 369

AUSTRIA
Consulate of Austria
Avenida do Centro Comercial 262,
Macuti,
Beira
Phone: +258 23 313 107
Fax: +258 23 313 106
Email: coopamos@teledata.mz

BRAZIL
Embassy of Brazil
Avenida Kenneth Kaunda, 296,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 492 387 / 8 / 490 280
Fax: +258 21 490 986 / 492 751
Email: ebrasil@teledata.mz

CHINA
Embassy of China
Avenida Julius Nyerere 3142,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 491 560
Fax: +258 21 491 196
Email: emb.chi@tvcabo.co.mz

DENMARK
Royal Danish Embassy
Avenida Julius Nyere 1162,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 480 000
Fax: +258 21 480 010
Email: mpmamb@um.dk

FINLAND
Embassy of Finland
Avenida Julius Nyerere 1128,
Maputo
Phone: + 258 21 490 578
Fax: + 258 21 491 661

FRANCE
Embassy of France
2361 Avenida Julius Nyéréré,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 491 774 / 693 / 490 444
Fax: +258 21 491 727

GERMANY
Embassy of Germany
Rua Damião de Góis 506,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 492 714 / 996
Fax: +258 21 492 888
Email: germaemb@tvcabo.co.mz

GREECE
Consulate of Greece
Time Square Office Park,
Avenida de Setembro,
Block IV, 3rd Floor,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 310 610 / 2
Fax: +258 21 310 613
Email: gerry@cimpogest.com

ICELAND
Embassy of Iceland
Avenida Zimbabwe 1694,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 483 509
Fax: +258 21 483 511
Email: icemb.maputo@utn.stjr.is
Website: www.iceland.org/mo/

IRELAND
Embassy of Ireland
Avenida Julius Nyerere,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 491 440
Fax: +258 21 493 023
Email: ireland@virconn.com

ITALY
Embassy of Italy
Avenida Kenneth Kaunda 387,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 492 229
Fax: +258 21 492 046
Email: ambital.moz@virconn.net
Website: www.italia.gov.mz

JAPAN
Embassy of Japan
Avenida Julius Nyerere 2832,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 499 819 / 20
Fax: +258 21 498 957

MALAWI
Malawian Embassy
Avenida Kenneth Kaunda 75,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 491 468
Fax: +258 21 490 224

MAURITIUS
High Commission of Mauritius
Rue Dom Carlos,
No 42 Avenue de Zimbabwe Sommerschield,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 494 624 / 182
Fax: +258 21 494 729
Email: mhcmoz@virconn.com

NETHERLANDS
Royal Embassy of the Netherlands
Avenida Kwame Nkrumah 324,
Maputo
Phone: + 258 21 484 200
Fax: + 258 21 484 248
Email: map@minbuza.nl
Website: www.hollandinmozambique.org

NORWAY
Embassy of Norway
Avenida Agostinho Neto, 620,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 429 411

PORTUGAL
Embassy of Portugal
Avenida Julius Nyerere 720,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 490 316 / 490319 / 322 / 324
Fax: +258 21 491 172
Email: cculmapd@mail.tropical.co.mz

RUSSIA
Embassy of the Russian Federation
Avenida Vladimir Lenin 3445,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 417372 / 419872 / 418 478 / 420 091 / 626
Fax: +258 21 417 515 / 428 714 / 417 477
Email: embrus@mail.tropical.co.mz , embrus@tvcabo.co.mz

SOUTH AFRICA
High Commission of South Africa
Avenida Eduardo Mondlane 41,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 491 614 / 490 059 / 547 / 587 / 493030
Fax: +258 21 493 029 / 494 402
Email: sahc_admin@tropical.co.mz

SPAIN
Embassy of Spain
Rua Damiâo de Gois, 347,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 492 025 / 027 / 030 / 048
Fax: +258 21 492 055 / 494 769
Email: embespmz@correo.mae.es

SWEDEN
Royal Embassy of Sweden
1128 Avenida Julius Nyerere,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 480 300
Fax: +258 21 480 390 / 391
Email: ambassaden.maputo@sida.se
Website: www.swedenabroad.com/maputo

SWITZERLAND
Embassy of Switzerland
Avenida Julius Nyerere 1213,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 492 432 / 744
Fax: +258 21 492 474
Email: vertretung@map.rep.admin.ch

UK
British High Commission
Avenida Vladimir Lenin 310,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 320 111
Fax: +258 21 321 666

USA
American Embassy
Avenida Kenneth Kaunda, 193,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 492797 / 491659 / 490167 / 491215
Fax: +258 21 490114

HOTELS DIRECTORY IN MOZAMBIQUE / MOZAMBIQUE HOTEL GUIDE

Mozambique Info — Mon Mar 05, 2007 8:27 am

Author: Mozambique Info

Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 8:27 am

HOTELS DIRECTORY IN MOZAMBIQUE

Cardoso Hotel
Avda Martires de Mueda 707,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 491 071
Fax: +258 21 491 480
Email: hcardoso@zebra.uem.mz
Website: www.hotelcardoso.co.mz

Holiday Inn Hotel
Avda da Marginal,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 495 050
Email: pauln@himaputo.co.mz
Website: www.holiday-inn.com

Hotel Avenida
Avda Julius Nyerere, 627,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 492 000
Website: www.hotelavenida.co.mz

Hotel Polana Serena
Avda Julius Nyerere, 1380,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 491 001
Fax: +258 21 491 480
Email: res@polana-hotel.co.mz
Website: www.serenahotels.com

Ibis Maputo
Ave 25 de Setembro,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 352 200
Fax: +258 21 352 220
Email: h4975@tvcabo.co.mz
Website: www.ibishotel.com

Rovuma Carlton Hotel
114 Rua da Se,
Maputo
Phone: +258 21 305 000
Fax: +258 21 305 305
Email: reservas.africa@pestana.com
Website: www.pestana.com

MOZAMBIQUE TOURISM GUIDE / TOURISM IN MOZAMBIQUE

Mozambique Info — Mon Mar 05, 2007 7:54 am

Author: Mozambique Info

Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 7:54 am

MOZAMBIQUE TOURISM GUIDE

The country is opening up to tourism but, at present, it is mainly in the form of package tours. Independent travelers are relatively few in number. Beira has lovely beaches and is the base for trips to Gorongosa National Park (see below). Amongst the numerous beaches in Mozambique are Ponta do Ouro, Malugane (in the south), Inhaca Island (near Maputo), Inhambane with its beach resort of Tofo (about 400km/250 miles north of the capital), Xai-Xai, Vilankulo, São Martino do Bilene and Chonguene.

MAPUTO

The museum in Maputo, the capital, houses paintings and sculptures by well-known local artists. The gallery in the Ministry of Labour building is also worth a visit, as is the market. Ilha de Moçambique (Mozambique Island), near Nampula in the north, is a fascinating place, dotted with 17th- and 18th-century buildings, many of them from the colonial Portuguese period. There are also some interesting mosques dating from that period. It has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Maputo's most important landmark is the Fort of Nossa Senhora da Conceiao (Our Lady of Conception) which was the nucleus of the original settlement. Another imposing building is the Central Railway Station, an enormous structure looking more like a palace for kings, than a siding for commuters. There are also some excellent - and fantastically expensive - restaurants where you can enjoy beers and peri-peri prawns. The infamous Fere de Populare has dozens of bars and discos where Mozambicans dance well into the night to seductive Latino beats. These places are lots of fun and quite safe, but men seldom escape without at least one proposition from the many prostitutes.

Other visitors head south into the swamplands of the 236,000-hectare Maputo Elephant Reserve where rolling green hills meet the sea. Crocs, hippos, side-striped jackals, antelope and up to 200 elephants are found here. The area is currently being restored and there are plans to introduce more animals, and open lodges in the future. Visitors fly in directly to the airport.

Regions that are being promoted as tourist resorts include the Bazaruto Archipelago (780km/485 miles north of Maputo), consisting of four islands plus surrounding islets and reefs. This beautiful area features inviting sandy beaches and offers excellent opportunities for game fishing.

NATIONAL PARKS

Bazaruto National Park

The Bazaruto Archipelago comprises six islands off the Mozambican coast between Vilankulo and Inhassoro, and was declared a National Park in 1971. Despite the 150 bird species that inhabit the islands' palm-fringed beaches and lush interiors, the greatest attractions of the archipelago are not on its islands but in its seas.

The dive centres on Bazaruto and Benguerra islands launch into one of the world's very finest diving destinations – a crystal-clear ocean warmed by the Mozambique Stream and home to an astounding variety of marine life. Myriads of tropical fish aside, divers frequently see humpback whales, marine turtles, spinner, humpback and bottlenose dolphins, large game fish like marlins and barracudas and the particularly rare and endangered dugong.

Limpopo National Park

The Limpopo National Park came into being when an old hunting concession, Coutada 16, was declared a protected nature conservation area instead. The Limpopo National Park now forms part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a transnational conservation area spanning the borders of Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Mozambique's wildlife population was all but decimated during the 14 years of war preceding 1990, and the country's parks have been battling to restore their game reserves ever since. With the help of a R42 million donation from Germany, the Limpopo National Park is being upgraded and provided with fencing and anti-poaching units.

The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP) links Mozambique’s Limpopo National Park (formerly Coutada 16), South Africa's Kruger National Park, and three Zimbabwean conservation areas to form a protected area of 35,000 km2. The relocation of some 1000 elephants from the overcrowded Kruger to the Limpopo National Park began in 2001, and in March 2004 a plan was executed that should increase the size of the peace park to all of 99,800 km2.

The GLTP contains a vast tract of dry, low-rainfall savannah that is permeated by several rivers running to the east coast. The area is divided in two by the Lebombo Mountains between South Africa and Mozambique, which rise to an altitude of only about 500 m. The huge peace park contains an astounding diversity of wildlife and plant species, including at least 147 mammal species, and an amazing 500 bird species, as well as at least 2000 species of vegetation.

Maputo Elephant Reserve

The sandy and humid Maputo Elephant Reserve is situated 79 km south of Maputo in the southernmost province of Mozambique. It is part of the Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Area, an international conservation project joining areas of Mozambique, South Africa, and Swaziland.

In 1975 huge numbers of game were relocated to the Maputo Elephant Reserve from South Africa's Umfolozi Game Reserve. Of these, only 200 elephant and no rhinoceros survived the turmoil of the Mozambican civil war. The Maputo Elephant Reserve is currently working to replenish its wildlife population, which was all but destroyed during wartime.

The Lubombo TFCA (Transfontier Conservation Area) spans an area of 4,195 km2, two-thirds of which is in Mozambique, a quarter in South Africa and 8% in Swaziland. Occupying the coastal plain between the Lebombo mountains and the Indian ocean, the unique Lubombo TFCA contains a great diversity of wildlife-viewing biomes including a pristine and beautiful coastal area.

The TFCA comprises five parks, including Mozambique's Maputo Elephant Reserve and South Africa's Tembe Elephant Park, and its creation has resulted in the first major elephant sanctuary along the eastern coast of Africa.

Parque Nacional da Gorongoza

Gorongosa Mountain and National Park is situated north-west of Beira near the border with Zimbabwe. It comprises 1,2 million hectares of open plain, bush, swamp and waterways, spread between the Pungwe and Urema rivers. During the 1960s this was one of the finest game reserves in Southern Africa and attracted more than 12 000 visitors a year and had more game than the Kruger National Park.

The famous camp at Casa des Leos, or the "House of Lions", was so named because a pride of lions inhabited the old buildings and could frequently be seen clambering over the framework and broken walls. Sadly they, like the vast herds of buffalo, eland, kudu, wildebeest and sable, are now gone. During the war much of the game was shot for food, and the rest camp at Chitengo was used as a Renamo base and subsequently bombed to bits.

Recently the Mozambique government has started restoring the park, erecting a small campsite at Chitengo and clearing mines from the roads. The park can now be explored in private vehicles or on organised game drives. The vegetation and birdlife is still superb and there are plans to introduce game in the near future from South Africa and Zimbabwe, but it will take decades before restoration is completed.

Quirimba National Park

The Quirimba National Park – the first in the world to be established at the request of an area's inhabitants – comprises the eleven southernmost islands of the Quirimba Archipelago in northern Mozambique.

The park's habitats – four of which are officially the most outstanding examples of their habitat types in the world – include coral reefs, sea grass beds, sandy white beaches, mangroves, woodland, savannah, forests, and mountains, and they are home to many of the world's most endangered species, including the extremely rare dugong.

The Quirimba Archipelago is notable for the size and variety of the fish along its reef. Up to 375 species of fish, including Zambezi and hammerhead sharks, plus marine turtles and three species of dolphins have been identified within the sanctuary.

GETTING AROUND IN MOZAMBIQUE / MOZAMBIQUE TRANSPORT GUIDE

Mozambique Info — Mon Mar 05, 2007 7:31 am

Author: Mozambique Info

Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 7:31 am

GETTING AROUND IN MOZAMBIQUE

BY AIR

There are flights linking Maputo with Beira, Blantyre (Malawi), Inhambane, Lichinga, Nampula, Pemba, Quelimane and Tete. Flights depart from Maputo between 0500 and 0730 and are subject to seasonal alterations. Flights are frequently delayed or cancelled and baggage is often lost or tampered with. Air-taxi services are also available, and are the safest means of transport outside the main cities.

Departure tax: US$7.

BY RAIL

There is no rail connection between Maputo and Beira. There is a rail link between Beira and Tete and lines from the towns of Moçambique and Nacala, via the junction at Monapo, to Nampula and Lichinga. Trains also run from Maputo to Goba and Ressano Garcia, and northwards on the line to Zimbabwe. Most trains have three classes, but there are few sleepers and no dining or air-conditioned cars. For seats and sleepers, it is necessary to book in advance. All train services are subject to disruption.

BY SEA

Along the coast there are some ferry services. These are more frequent along the northern coast with regular services operating between Quelimane and Beira, and Quelimane, Nacala and Pemba.

BY ROAD

There are an estimated 29,810km (18,631 miles) of roads in Mozambique. Tarred roads connect Maputo with Beira and Beira with Tete. It is now possible to travel by road in southern Mozambique though flood damage can still cause serious delays. Traffic drives on the left.

Driving in Mozambique is not always as easy as it could be. The combination of the civil war and the floods has had a severe impact on the condition of the roads and in many parts of the country a 4x4 is essential. Roads are gradually being improved, however, and the roads south of Beira tend to be in good condition. Potholes are actually the biggest road hazard in Mozambique. Other hazards to be aware of are roadblocks (make sure you have your driving license, vehicle registration, temporary import papers and traffic triangles, and that you are wearing your seatbelt), vehicles without lights at night and livestock on the roads.

Bus

There are regular services covering most of the country. In more rural areas, road passage can only be undertaken by converted passenger trucks known as chapas or normal trucks (camions). It is advisable to carry food and water on long journeys. There are occasional controls on the roads to check papers, especially in the north and near the border with Zimbabwe. Bus travel is the cheapest form of transport in the country and is, on the whole, fairly reliable.

Car rental

Cars can be hired from international and national agencies in Maputo and Beira. Only hard currency is accepted.

Documentation: International Driving Permit is recommended.

Note:
Landmines may make travel by road outside the capital risky, and up-to-date travel advice should be sought. Driving after dark can be hazardous owing to vehicles traveling without headlights. Hijacking occurs.

URBAN TRANSPORTATION

Bus services in Maputo have been improved with the introduction of new vehicles, and there are now fairly extensive services. Taxis are metered. Taxi drivers expect a tip.

MOZAMBIQUE TRAVEL INFORMATION / MOZAMBIQUE TRAVEL GUIDE

Mozambique Info — Mon Mar 05, 2007 5:37 am

Author: Mozambique Info

Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 5:37 am

MOZAMBIQUE TRAVEL INFORMATION

Full Name

Republic of Mozambique

Capital City

Maputo

Area

801,600 sq km
309,498 sq miles

Population

17,000,000

Time Zone

GMT/UTC + 2 ()

Religion

Indigenous beliefs (30%), Christian (40%), Muslim (30%)

Currency

Metical (Mzm)

Electricity

220/240V 50HzHz

Electric Plug Details

European plug with two circular metal pins

South African/Indian-style plug with two circular metal pins above a large circular grounding pin

Country Dialing Code

258