Malawi

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Lilongwe

Arrived in Lilongwe with Emma (met her on in O.R.Thambo as we were leaving RSA). She had pre-organised a taxi, so lucky me we were all sorted and had someone waiting for us as we got off the plane. We were both staying at Mabuya Backpackers and going to Nkhata Bay the next day. Lilongwe, considering it is the capital city is tiny compared other cities - even African cities. Taxis/Minibuses fill the streets and the sound of hooting is loud and never ending, and yet I have the rural, in the middle of nowhere feeling - It's going to be a good trip.

Turns out dividing by 22 is too difficult for my brain to handle so I've now resigned to dividing by 20, It's also strange getting used to paying so much for so little - a normal fruit juice cost me MK232 which is about R10 but to hand over a MK500 note for a juice feels very weird. Although in general things are relatively cheap compared to RSA, I still seem to be going through a lot of cash very quickly.

In the evening I met Zet (Swiss volunteer) and her boyfriend Ernest (local Malawian) and they took me to a local pub called The Shack. I think if we had a 'The Shack' in JHB it would be one of my favourite places to hang out. It has a bar, a dance floor, a pool table and two volley ball sand areas. When we arrived people were playing - tourist and locals a like.

Next day we caught the bus to Nkhata bay - within the first 10min on the bus I had killed at least 5 mosquitoes - that was when I gave up. They were plentiful and here to stay. However, I found it interesting that they weren't as aggressive or as smart as the ones back home - easy to kill and they don't bite as often. The bus probably equates to a Putco bus back home - seats falling off - cushioning popping out of the rips in the seats, dirty and wet from rain and shoes. Good times 😊

The scenery is a vibrant green and in full summer style. The weather however was as temperamental as anything - it must have rained and then cleared about 4 times during the journey. When its clear the bus is cooled by the air rushing through the window, but as soon as it starts raining the windows get closed and the bus starts to heat up and therefore we start to sweat. It can get very stuffy if it rains for too long. The windows also aren't all that airtight so we had to out rain jackets on until the man next to us showed us how to stop the water running in by wedging a piece of plastic in the windows. You live and learn, that's for sure.

Nkhata Bay

As we arrived we literally ran into Don who was on his way to meet me at the bus stop. Within 2 minutes of the initial "Hello", Don told me to go put on a costume, we were going snorkelling. Now bare in mind, I had barely slept and all I had eaten the whole day was a single breakfast bar. Typical male.

After a failed attempt at canoeing we set out on foot. We didn't go walking - we went hiking - in booties! Up and down and round on almost non-existent pathways. I was exhaust and had a serious lack of energy, so Don randomly just picks up a mango for each of us to eat - it was good and so awesome to be able to eat local food literally straight off the tree (or ground). Sometimes you need to be less cautious and just enjoy the environment you are in.

The beach was breath taking. With the locals swimming and fishing on the side and all the handmade canoes in the water - the view was incredible. No less than 30 seconds on the beach and we were in the water, kitted up and seeing fish. They were little but plentiful with lots of blues and yellows. We swam about 50m off shore to a little cove where we jumped off a 5m rock. The water was so clear you could see the rocks from he ledge. There were also rocks under the water, so you could literally sit in the middle of the lake on a rock and just chill.

The day ended with a local fish dinner at a tiny little 'restaurant' in town and a night swim in the lake. The moon lit up the bay and the lake so beautifully - it was picture perfect.

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