Maputo's magic

Visiting Maputo is a bit like driving overseas for the weekend.

- Andy Davis

Suddenly you’re in a very different place, both familiar and strange, with little cultural cues from a contradictory colonial history. It is a mellow, slightly shabby Latino-African capital with a penchant for intricately cast concrete façades and a vibe that suggests you’ll be fine walking around the city late into the night.

The new Katembe suspension bridge, which spans the Umbuluzi River Estuary, connects the city to the adjacent suburb of Katembe, previously only reachable by a rusty ferry or a long detour. Built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation, and largely financed by loans from the Chinese Exim Bank, the bridge opened in November 2018. It’s not entirely clear what kind of surety the Mozambican government offered against these loans, but it is the largest suspension bridge in Africa. And more importantly for us, it connects the city of Maputo to Durban in a relatively straight 540 km line, making the Mozambican capital as accessible to Durbs as Johannesburg. Suddenly, a weekend in Maputo is a viable prospect.

This route is so fresh that if you plug it into Google maps, you’ll still be directed via the old road, adding an unnecessary hour-and-a-half to your trip. Worse, you’ll miss out on the thrill of crossing this monumental 60 metrehigh, three-kilometre-long modern marvel and get stuck in the traffic coming in from Matola. Don’t do that.