malawi

08.05.08 - Troy woke feeling like death and regretting his decision to attempt to empty a bottle of gin in one night.  He spent most of the day lazing around in Alan’s hammock, I also had quite a lazy day catching up on a few things but the weather is back to being incredibly hot again so none of us felt like doing anything too much.  Troy did manage to drag himself down to the restaurant on the beach for a meal but we left the bar early to watch a film and have an early night.

09.05.08 - Headed into the mountains to Livingstonia, had a drive around having a quick look at the different historical buildings, stopped to visit the church which has the stained glass window of David Livingstone.  The place has a real colonial feel about it and many of the buildings look very similar to old buildings at home.  Left there and headed for Nkarta Bay stopping in Mzuzu to stock up on money and food.  By the time we reached Nkarta Bay it was starting to get dark, tried a couple of places to stay but they were not suitable for having a roof tent.  In the end we headed for Njaya Lodge as we had heard that they were ok for roof tents however there were several signs for the place pointing in different directions.  The roads were very steep and potholed mud and Troy was starting to get annoyed at driving around as by now it was dark, then a guy offered to show us where it was and before we could say anything he climbed onto the rock sliders and started directing us, how the guy hung on all the way I have no idea but he finally he got us there.  The place was quite basic but the restaurant had a nice view over the lake. 

10.05.08 - Were awoken at 5.30am by the fishermen cheering whilst pulling in their nets, it appeared none of us could get back to sleep as we all got up early.  Left to head for the Chintheche strip, to spend a few days on the beach.  Went to the Kande Beach Resort after checking out a couple of other places, it was not the best place we had seen but decided to stay for one night as we could not be bothered to drive back to the others.  The place is very popular with the overland trucks of which there were two there so the place was quite full.  Spent the afternoon relaxing, and the evening in the bar.

11.05.08 - As the place is quite noisy due to the overland trucks we decided we wanted to move somewhere a little quieter.  We packed up and went to the Chintheche Inn which is a large quiet campsite.  We got chatting to a French couple who were just leaving; they had come up from the south and told us of a few places worth visiting.  We set up camp under some trees right next to the beach and were happily relaxing when to our horror an overland truck pulled in.  Alan had not been feeling well so went to bed very early whilst Troy, Taryn and I spent the evening drinking.  Got to bed about 11.30, Taryn a little the worst for wear, when we were then awoken at 1.15 by the tv in the bar on full blast with what sounded like a crap African soap opera.  Troy got up marched to the bar and turned the tv off and got back into bed, about 15 mins later once the last remaining overlanders had gone to bed, someone put the tv back on but this time playing music.  Well I could hear Troy shouting at the guy in the bar from the tent, I think he finally got the message as we were not disturbed again for the rest of the night.

12 to 15.05.08 - Spent the last few days laying on the beach and swimming in the lake, it is a very peaceful place once the overland trucks had left we ended up with the huge campsite and the beautiful white sandy beach all to ourselves, the clear freshwater is lovely and warm and is like swimming in the sea but without the fear of choking on the salt water.  Several mornings we were up early so we could watch the sun rise over the lake which was an absolutely spectacular sight.  Troy and I ended up driving back into Mzuzu as we were rapidly running out of money.  Their cash machines are a swindle it limits you on what you can draw on that transaction but that is not your daily limit so you have to put your card in twice to get anywhere near a decent amount, this of course means you pay double the fees.  Cash machines are also few and far between so if you see one I would suggest you stock up on cash whether you need any at that time or not.  It only took about and hour and a half each way to Mzuzu, whilst there we also stocked up on food again in the Metro and Peoples Supermarket.  Our last day in Chintheche a storm had whipped up in the night and even though it had cleared it left the day a little dull and very windy, this was used as a good excuse to sit in the bar all day glued to the tv watching film after film on the movie channel (the lure of he tv never goes away no matter how long you are parted from it!)

16.05.08 - Sad to leave, but time to move on we headed out towards Senga Bay.  After a couple of stops for money and food we finally reached Cool Runnings mid afternoon.  The place is set on the lake where you camp in a secluded shady garden.  First stop was obviously the bar which is always a mistake before eating, finally dragged ourselves away when hunger got the better of us, had a lovely fish curry that Taryn had made the day before and stayed up drinking and chatting until the early hours.

17.05.08 - A few people woke feeling a little rough, we had been hoping to take out the catamaran which you can hire but no one really thought this would be a good idea today.  So it was another day lying in the sun and reading (it really is such a hard life at the moment!)  Malawi really is all about relaxation, following Lake Malawi down there are some lovely beaches and all number of water sports are available if you can drag yourself away from the beach long enough to do them!  I finally got around to attempting to bake a cake in the Dutch oven, it turned out surprisingly well and after cutting the burnt bits off, (I think far less charcoal was required in the BBQ) it was actually quite nice.

18.05.08 - Would you believe it, every time we plan to do something the weather always changes, today the calm lake looks more like a rough sea definitely not the kind of water that you want to take a catamaran out in especially as none of us have ever sailed one before.  So we ended up playing board games whilst waiting for it to calm which it never actually did, typical.

19.05.08 - Stayed another day hoping to get out on the catamaran but it wasn’t to be, the water was just as rough, but the place is quiet and the sun is out so we didn’t find it too tough a job sticking around.  Taryn and I popped into town to do some shopping then back to the board games.  As anyone who knows Troy will understand our ‘friendly’ game of scrabble and trivial pursuit ended up as an all out war against Alan & Taryn as we all know Troy hates to lose!!!  His smug face from his win at monopoly earlier was replaced by one of disbelief when we were beaten at scrabble by just one point, first he asked for a recount before declaring that Taryn must have written the points down incorrectly and that it was a silly game anyway (apparently South African words should not count!)

20.05.08 - Set off early heading for Cape Maclear further down Lake Malawi, the main road is good tarmac, but as soon as you turn off towards Monkey Bay the road turns into potholed dusty dirt, and then miles of corrugation, not pleasant.  Finally reached Cape Maclear headed straight for Kayak Africa to arrange our kayak trip to Domwe Island.  That done we headed for Fat Monkey Camp where we would camp for the next couple of days.  The camp is again right on the lake but because it is on the other side we now were able to see some fantastic sunsets over the lake.  Life really does not get much better than this.

21.05.08 - Spent the day preparing food to take to the island, managed to make a chicken curry pie in the Dutch oven, we are really getting the hang of it now after 6 months of forgetting we even had it.  Troy and Taryn walked to the market in the afternoon to try to find some veggies but returned with 5 onions each so not a hugely successful shopping trip.  For some reason we were all feeling tired out from doing nothing so it was an early night as had to be up and packed early the next day.

22.05.08 - We had to be at Kayak Africa early so we were up with the lark, although we still ended up getting there late.  Once the kayaks were packed with our stuff and we were kitted out in our lifejackets we took to the water.  At first I was a little nervous as every time Troy moved behind me the kayak would tip which even though it was not much to me it felt like we were going to go right over.  Several times I shouted at Troy to sit still who responded by purposely wobbling the boat to frighten me, but very quickly I got used to the feeling and knew we were fine.  It was about 5km out to Domwe Island which at first didn’t seem much but my arms soon started to feel it and Troy ended up quite a bit of the time paddling alone while I took a break!  In the end he got so fed up and thought my engine must have overheated and splashed me with water, soaking me and half filling the canoe, in response to this I went on strike, Troy said ‘ok that’s fine but from now on we will be known as bob’ with that he to promptly stopped paddling too, after 5 mins of bobbing around we both decided to start paddling again.  When we got to the island our guide unloaded our stuff, introduced us to the island staff and left.  The island itself is stunning and is like a small mountain so is very hilly.  Our tent was pitched on a platform a little way up so you have a great view of the lake.  The island is lovely and peaceful, and being a national park it means there are no other inhabitants.  There was one other group on the island; they were 6 South African guys who are heading north.  After sunning ourselves on the beach for much of the day, the evening was spent all 10 of us in the dining room drinking the bar dry and swapping stories.

23.05.08 - The 6 guys left early this morning as they had a ferry to catch so the 4 of us were left with the island to ourselves.  We managed some more sunbathing; a paddle around the island on the kayak then Troy set off to climb to the top, which is a walk of about 45 mins.  Unfortunately for me I hadn’t brought my trainers so was unable to go with him so I had to stay behind to do some more sunbathing you can imagine I was gutted!!  Once Troy reached the top he shouted down to try and attract our attention, however none of us took any notice as thought the noise was coming from the fisherman out on their boats who quite often shout for no reason.  Troy did seem a little disappointed when he finally got back down that we had all ignored his waving.  Had one of the best showers on the trip so far, the shower is outside and the bucket needs to be filled manually but the water was lovely and warm and surprisingly powerful, having the sun beating down on you when you shower really is good.  Only a 5 min walk from the camp area, there is a rock with a rope ladder which you can climb up and sit on, so Troy and I went up there and sat on top to watch the sunset, it was the perfect end to the perfect day.

24.05.08 - Our guide arrived early to kayak back with us, the water was much choppier than when we came over which did make me a little nervous, but once we were off it was fine.  We had run out of food and had only had a small breakfast which I think is what spurred us on to kayak back in record time; we even left our guide and Alan & Taryn far behind us.  Once we were all back and had settled our bar bill it was back to Fat Monkeys where Troy & Alan spent the afternoon in the bar hogging the tv watching any sport they could find including watching Bristol City get robbed of a place in the Premiership, Ed will be gutted!  That evening the 4 of us walked to Froggies restaurant next door where we had a fantastic meal, would highly recommend the place.

25.05.08 - Alan & Taryn set off today for Lilongwe, but Troy and I thought we would have one more day of relaxing on Lake Malawi, which is exactly what we did.  The evening we barbequed a chicken and after eating had a few drinks whilst dodging the stones from the fruit and the poo that the bats in the tree above our heads were throwing and dropping down as they were eating whatever it is that grows in the tree.

26.05.08 - Set off fairly early back out on to the corrugation which we took a little easier than coming in which made it slightly more pleasant.  Once on the main road we were on tarmac all the way to Lilongwe.  Once there our first stop was the supermarket to stock up again then we drove to Mabuya Camp which is very nice and probably the busiest place with have stayed so far with many backpackers and a swimming pool which is something we have not had for quite a while.

27 to 28.05.08 - Spent the days doing the usual chores as the washing had piled up again, also did some more baking as have definitely got the hang of the Dutch oven now, after all the lazing around on the beaches real life resumes.  Due to the altitude in Lilongwe by late afternoon it starts to get quite chilly, the evenings we spend sat huddled around the fire, in several layers feeling as though we are in the middle of an English winter, however when checking the actual temperature we find that it is 18degc which if we were at home we would be thinking we were in a heat wave!!  Whatever the thermometer says we took an extra sleeping bag into the tent.

29.05 to 02.06.08 - Spent the last few days stocking up on food and fuel filling both the jerry cans as we have heard that Zambia is quite an expensive country especially for diesel which is around UK prices.  Simon & Marjon also arrived; we have not seen them since we left Dar es Salaam.  We had intended to leave Lilongwe on the Sunday but Saturday night the six of us all seemed to decide to try and drink the bar dry, which in mine and Taryn’s case we actually managed as the bar ran out of Savannas.  Of course the following day Troy and Alan both woke feeling very ill and did not want to leave, Troy spent most of the morning rubbing his head and smelling of whiskey whilst staring despondently at the cm left in the bottom of the bottle, but still he fails to utter those immortal words ‘never again’.

03.06.08 - Off to Zambia, saying goodbye again to Simon & Marjon who I'm sure we will be seeing again.  The road to the border was good tarmac, once we reached the border both sides were quick and easy, however I did get writers cramp at the Zambia border as you have to fill your details into three different books as well as the normal visa form.  The only bad part was having to hand over the horrendous $150 each charge for our visas which is what UK citizens have to pay as you are no longer able to get visa wavers, we asked why the visas are so expensive for us particularly we were told it is a reciprocal thing as that is what the UK charge, although I am going to check this out.  While we were getting over the feeling of being robbed, we were then asked for 150,000 kwacha (about £20) for carbon tax!  Finally left with much lighter pockets and were back on the road heading for South Luangwa, we reached Flatdogs Camp late afternoon and set up camp overlooking the river.  We had quite an early night as were going to get up early to head into the park, not long after we had got in the tent we could hear the Hippo much closer than before, poking our heads out the tent we saw that they were grazing right next to the car, it was very cool and they didn’t seemed bothered by us even when we shone the torch right on to them, I guess they don’t let anything get in the way of them and their eating.


Final thoughts: Malawi!  If you ever feel stressed and don’t know what to do get on a flight to Malawi spend a good couple of weeks along the beaches of the lake, what a fantastic chilled out friendly place.