Day 199-208
17th -26th June 2007, Malawi	previous entry next entry

Day 199 17/6. Mabuya Camp, Lilongwe, Malawi

13°59.97'S 33°45.57'E. Miles today 178, Total Miles 18367

Long day driving back to Tom and Janeys's with a quick stop and of course, a quick purchase, at the Dedza Pottery Farm. Most of the stuff is pretty kitsch but if you look hard, there is some cool stuff plus a pretty garden and famous restaurant. Back in Lilongwe, Tom and Janey and especially Alf, were delighted to have us back. They have in the mean time acquired another puppy named Dash, as was rescued off the dashboard of a small truck. Also, think Rob may have inspired Tom, as they have just got engaged in the last few days! Yay….delighted to have another girl to talk about wedding stuff with. Needless to say, Janey and I spent hours looking at wedding dresses on the net, while Rob and Tom talked about mud and trucks.

Day 200 18/6. Mabuya Camp, Lilongwe, Malawi

13°59.97'S 33°45.57'E. Miles today 12, Total Miles 18379

Set off early to get our Mozambique visas. Yikes, $40 each for a 30 day single entry but no problems, very easy and were told to come back at 2pm to collect. Rob went back to the campsite to play with his car and I thought I'd wander around the market in the old town. A huge place and once you've worked your way over the carpets of rotting cabbage leaves, you'll find loads of fresh veggies. I crossed over to the other side to look at some chitenja fabric. Note to self: never go shopping alone. I bought heaps of fabric plus coffee and peanuts. All for presents for friends though. Hope Rob will see that side of it. Just chilled out for the evening at Mabeya. Have lent Janey my Bride magazine. In fact, I think it did the rounds amongst the entire resident girl backpackers.

Day 201 19/6. Mabuya Camp, Lilongwe, Malawi

13°59.97'S 33°45.57'E. Miles today 0, Total Miles 18379

Decided to stay one more day, as needed to do some internet stuff. They also have a book exchange, their restaurant serves very good food, their beers are ice ice cold and they make yummy smoothies and hot chocolate. Can you blame us? Wandered into town to the fabulous second hand bookshop (just under Harry's Bar) Vast selection of books for cheap prices.

Day 202 20/6. Kande Beach, Kande, Lake Malawi, Malawi

11°57.10'S 34°07.26'E. Miles today 212, Total 18591

Sad farewell to Big Yellow Mog plus dogs and headed back to the lake to try kayaking again. Stopped at the infamous Kande Beach, which is a very cool campsite right on the beach with a huge bar and hammocks. (€2.60 pp) Still very windy (June and July are the windy months apparently.) Met two South African families in the bar who, get this, are customers of my Dad in Cape Town! Wonderful people and a great inspiration. They have taken their five kids out of school for 8 weeks, bought a 4x4 VW van and a Volvo and are exploring Southern Africa. Awesome.

Day 203 21/6. Kande Beach, Kande, Lake Malawi, Malawi

11°57.10'S 34°07.26'E. Miles today 0, Total 18591

Chilled out for the day, swimming and reading, waiting for the wind to die. No luck. Bah Humbug! Weird swimming in proper surf without the salt. Rob's delighted…no post body surf salty skin rash. Tucked into delicious Chambo (fish from the lake) for dinner.

Day 204 22/6. Njaya, Nkhata Bay, Malawi

11°27.26'S 34°18.31'E. Miles today 40, Total 18631

Trundled north through impressive rubber plantations, with small Malawian boys selling rubber balls on the side of the road. Reached Nkhata Bay, which is beautiful, kinda Caribbean like and tried to find somewhere to camp. Mayoka Village was awesome but this place, along with all the other haunts built into the cliffside in the bay are not really set up for overlanders. Eventually discovered Njaya Lodge, a bit further along which has a flat grassy bit for cars with roof top tents. (€2.50 pp) Started up by an English couple 15 years ago, they have now left it to their local staff to run. They're doing a fine job actually. It also serves as the base for Monkey Business, which does kayaking tours. It was still windy but we decided to go for it anyway. Well, we paid $20 for three hours and lasted only one. Quite unpleasant actually, just big waves, which makes it pretty hard work. Not to mention, Rob complaining bitterly about my poor kayaking skills. "Left, Right, Left, Right….Geesh honey, come on, it's not that difficult!!!!!" If we stayed just inside the bay, it was idyllic, with crystal clear water but out in the open water, it was pretty grim. (even for us tough yachties, hey!) Bought….well, ok, traded some stuff actually…for some very cool paintings on the beach from William and Victor. Back at Njaya, the menu looked awesome (including the local Catfish) but we just settled for a couple of Carlsberg on the wooden deck.

Day 205 23/6. Chelinda Campsite, Nyika NP, Malawi

10°35.10'S 33°48.03'E. Miles today 138, Total 18769

Up early as wanted to visit Nyika National Park and we had heard that the road was dreadful. Stopped in Mzuzu for a few supplies at the Peoples Superette (great steak and sausages and look out for Nali Sauce, a Malawian hot sauce) Sure enough, just after Rumphi, the tar disappears and the gravel becomes quite bumpy. Not a bad road actually, just not great with lots of locals on bicycles. We reached the gate to the park, paid our entry fee (1680 Kwacha per day) and continued on the now rapidly deteriorating gravel road. Certainly passable, just long and uncomfortable. Arrived at the Chelinda Campsite ($8 pp) around 4pm to find it heaving. Amongst the crowd, was a Landrover with some folk we had met in Lusaka and lo and behold the two families from South Africa. (The Vowles and Hewitson's, my Dad's customers) Yup, the Volvo had made it!!!!! Who needs a Landrover in Africa? The view from the campsite is spectacular. Just miles of nothing. Beautiful. Happy, who runs the camp is an absolute gem. He'll bring you masses of firewood, which you'll need as the temperature drops rapidly at night. Apparently hit -2C last night. Great! He also keeps the donkey going for the hot showers, which in my opinion, are the best showers in Africa. If you can brave the cold once you get out, that is. Seriously tried to figure out a way to dry one half of my body, while still keeping the other half in the water. Made a huge fire and a small braai and chatted to the Vowles and Hewitsons. What an entertaining bunch.

Day 206 24/6. Chelinda Campsite, Nyika NP, Malawi

10°35.10'S 33°48.03'E. Miles today 44, Total 18813

Woke early to find that Happy had already got our fire going. He sure has earned his tip already! Drove around the park and walked to a lookout point, Jalawe Peak. (not for the fainthearted) Hard to describe, just miles of nothing. Stunning. Apparently, Nyika has one of the highest densities of leopard in Central Africa. I spent most of the afternoon going, "Here, kitty kitty" But alas, apart from some leopard poo, we saw nothing but a few zebras, roans and warthogs. Still, don't come here for the animals but rather for the quiet and vast empty space. Oh, and they sell amazing honey at the reception. Back at the camp, Happy had made our fire again for us. Actually this annoyed Rob terribly, as was quite looking forward to getting a huge bonfire going and was now in a huff. Still, I managed to perk him up by saying that he could make his own special one that we'd use for the braai, which was delicious. During the night, while snuggled in our sleeping bags, thirty seven horses invaded our campsite. Wow! Who needs leopards?

Day 207 25/6. Sangilo Sanctuary, Chilumba, Malawi

10°31.07'S 34°15.04'E. Miles today 154, Total 18937

Back to the lake again today; as it'll be our last time to see it before we head to Tanzania. Stopped at Sangilo Sanctuary, which turned out to be a very cool spot right on the lake after an incredibly steep driveway. (€4 pp) The chef (also called Happy? Guess they're just a cheerful bunch here in Malawi) made us pizzas, which we happily scoffed along with a few beers. Rob asked for extra chilli. I have never seen the man sweat so much. Even on his eyelids. But enjoying every minute of it.

Day 208 26/6. Malawi - Tanzania border, Songwe river bridge

9°39.39'S 33°46.57'E. Miles today ?, Total ???

Methane levels in the tent this morning were unbearable, so up early for a last swim in the lake. Got the bill from last night. Watch out, they add a 17.5% surcharge tax onto everything, which makes it one of the most expensive beers we've had. Still, it was nice place though. The scenery suddenly becomes incredibly lush with banana plantations lining the road, as we head towards Tanzania. Travelling in Malawi has been so easy, in fact, if Easyjet were here….could there be something such as "Easymalawi?" Hmmm….wonder what this Tanzania border crossing has in store for us?

Day 199-208

17th -26th June 2007, Malawi