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Published: November 9th 2006
Dugout Canoe
This one was quiet with no fisherman to thump on itBack on track and only a little behind schedule, we made our way to a campsite on the shores of Lake Malawi. What a sight! We just couldn't believe that this was a lake, with beautiful soft white sand and crashing waves. The only difference was that the water wasn't salty. It was wonderful to swim in, once you got used to the lack of buoyancy, we came out feeling fresh and clean.
After drinks and a spot of Jenga at the campsite bar, we returned to our tent to discover a few ant nest openings just outside our tent door. And these weren't just any ants... they were giant fire ants. Very creepy, and they freaked us right out. We then wondered if there might have been more openings under our tent, so we picked it up only to be greeted with the sight we feared we'd see: hundreds of writhing, wriggling ants agitated by our covering of their hunting paths. Hurriedly, we relocated our tent away from their activities, and hoped they would not seek revenge.
The next morning there was almost no sign that they had ever been there... just some dried paths. No wonder we
Beach Vista
Yes, this really is a lake! hadn't noticed their presence when pitching the tent.
This campsite gave us the most unusual wake up call of the trip. The local fisherman use dugout canoes and use nets suspended between pairs of canoes to trap their prey. Upon returning, they sing and beat their canoes with their paddles to celebrate a good catch and alert the rest of their tribe who run down to the shore to help bring it in. Surreal to watch at 5am, on an otherwise deserted beach.
We finished our lakeside journey at Chintheche Beach, where we were lucky enough to attend one of Malawi's biggest music festivals, the Festival of the Stars. All we will say is that it was really interesting, although by the end of the night all the reggae was starting to sound the same. Not understanding the words also added to the monotony. Most of us chose to chill out around the fire with hot chocolate and let the music wash over us.
After the tiring events of the previous few days, we were all in bed by midnight and despite being only 20 metres away from the "main stage" we somehow managed to drift into
Lake Malawi
Apparently the Lake is bigger than Belgium. sleep, waking occasionally to snatches of roaring crowd and heaving basslines.
TIP: Malawi was definitely the place to buy the best quality wood carvings at reasonable prices, as you can see in the photo of Bronson with his beloved Tokoloshi. Malawi chairs start at about $10 US (these are wooden chairs made out of two carved pieces of wood) and Malawi tables (coffee tables with a reversible tabletop and collapsible interlocking tripod legs carved out of a single piece of wood) from $25 US.
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