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Blogs from Lake Malawi, Malawi, Africa
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Days 23-29: Malawi with ‘Cheap as Chips wood carvings’, pig on a spit, and fresh goat; and fortune telling with a witchdoctor
Published: March 13th 2013Africa » Malawi » Lake Malawi » Kandi Beach
March 13th 2013
Days 23-29: Malawi with ‘Cheap as Chips wood carvings’, pig on a spit, and fresh goat; and fortune telling with a witchdoctor Hi all, it’s been too long between posts, we apologise...TIA. Grab a large coffee this time. Looking back since our last entry takes us to Malawi, known for its warm hearted people and a lake that takes up over 25% of their country. The drive into our campsite Kande Beach was an eye catching one – mountains, water, and locals on the side of the road selling random goods, something we are getting used to. A box full of warm soft drinks, biscuits, nuts, or a corn cooked on the coals stuck to the end of a six foot stick so it can be put under your nose as you wait for ... read more
December 21st 2012
Zanzibar has been incredible. The people were very sweet and welcoming. We ended up staying for 4 nights in the north of the island and then returned to the south of the island to Stone Town for our final night. The night before returning to Stone Town we ventured to a local bar that our scuba instructors recommended. It was called Macks Bar. It was by far one of the coolest little hang outs I've been to. It was very small but had an upper level and was made completely of wood. It felt like a tree house. Here we had drinks with our new friends and the locals and were able to hear Dylan sing and showcase his talent with a guitar and the local band. It was a seriously fun night. However I highly ... read more
October 27th 2012
Small hands fought to hold my own as I walked through the small town centre. Each corner bought additional children with trusting open smiles dancing across their beautiful faces. Although the private resort Kandi Beach offered an escape from the external world the temptation to walk beyond the security gate was far too great to resist. The small village beyond the perimeter housed a local community in typical poverty struck African thatched mud huts. Poultry and goats freely roamed the village, their owners confident of their return before nightfall. Plantations of Cassava lined the road, a root vegetable that required no water, nor no care to thrive. Re-planting was as simple as slicing a small branch from the exposed plant and crudely driving back into the earth. This staple of the Malawian people was harvested 3 ... read more
October 26th 2012
Day 14 - 20 Three days of long, hot drives (high 30s) through Zambia and into Malawi...real Africa with the small towns, markets etc. Lukasa Zambia is a surprisingly modern city with lots of inte-national money ....and always KFC! Crossed border to Malawi, no issues just lots of paperwork and line ups...so Zambia check. Then 2 days at Kande Beach on Lake Malawi...90 miles of white sand beach...picture Long Beach at Tofino with similar waves and sand but water around 22c...so...spent most of th past two days body surfing . Absolutely gorgeous place! Visited the local village, homes, school and clinic.... many villagse in Malawi now has a well courtesy of Canada....makes us proud. Schools are 100 kids per teacher but again, lots of Canada flags on books, furniture etc. The medical clinic was a good ... read more
October 24th 2012
Day 14 - 18 Three days of long, hot drives (high 30s) through Zambia and into Malawi...real Africa with the small towns, markets etc. Lukasa Zambia is a surprisingly modern city with lots of inte-national money ....and always KFC! Crossed border to Malawi, no issues just lots of paperwork and line ups...so Zambia check. Then 2 days at Kande Beach on Lake Malawi...90 miles of white sand beach...picture Long Beach at Tofino with similar waves and sand but water around 22c...so...spent most of th past two days body surfing . Absolutely gorgeous place! Visited the local village, homes, school and clinic.... many villagse in Malawi now has a well courtesy of Canada....makes us proud. Schools are 100 kids per teacher but again, lots of Canada flags on books, furniture etc. The medical clinic was a good ... read more
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Lake Malawi, Malawi – 12 – 14 August 2012
Published: September 12th 2012Africa » Malawi » Lake Malawi » Chitimba Beach
September 12th 2012
Lake Malawi, Malawi – 12 – 14 August 2012 We left the Farm camp by 6.00am to drive south. We drove through a lot of villages stopping for diesel, at one stop, toilets for another and food for another before reaching the Tanzanian-Malawi border at 2.00pm. We apparently experienced the fastest border crossing – 45 minutes. It usually takes up to 4 hours. We all cheered when we heard that. AS were then in Malawi, we turned our clocks back 1 hour. They are on the +2 GMT, now 8 hours behind Brisbane and 6 hours behind Perth. WE arrived at the Chitimba Resort which was right on the banks of Lake Malawi. Although in Africa there is very little concrete paving etc, this accommodation site which was the standard dirt, was all swept and the ... read more
September 6th 2012
Thursday September 6 All day we chased the sun. Leaving at 06:30 we chased it high into the sky and then all afternoon until it set around 18:00. It's funny how much quicker it seems to rise at dawn and fall as it sets and if you're not ready with the camera, it's a whole 24 hours until your next chance... ---------- Monday September 10 We spent three nights at Kande Beach on the shores of Lake Malawi, followed by two more nights further north at Chitimba. While four worked their butts off in an effort to complete the PADI certification (they stayed at Kande one extra day so as not to spend their stay in Zanzibar doing it there), the rest of us perfected the art of relaxing. Okay so four went out to the ... read more
August 19th 2012
It was nice to get a sleep in this morning, we didn’t get up until 8!!! We went for a walk on the beach, played cards with some of the group and then ate lunch before heading off to go horseriding. We had booked to do a two hour trek in the forest and the beach. It being Chris’ second time horseriding he told the people that he had never been to ensure he got a horse suitable for novices. Chris was given Pavorotti and I was given Emma. Unfortunately the horseriding didn’t go as well as expected. In the first half hour of horseriding, we were given the opportunity to go for a trot. Chris was right behind me and said he was happy to try trotting. Whilst trotting, his horse bit my horse causing ... read more
August 18th 2012
We had the opportunity for a sleep in before brunch at 10.30. Chris and I still got up around 8am and spent some time reading – surprisingly Chris has taken quite an interest in books!!! We had brunch then everyone jumped in the truck to head to Kande, another area around Lake Malawi. We drove for two hours before stopping at a town to get some supplies and use the internet, Chris was keen to get on to find out all he could about the new Man United signing. We also bought some supplies in the local shops then jumped back on the truck to head to Kande Beach. We got there in the late afternoon and organised to go horse riding the next day. On the way to the horse riding office I hurt my ... read more
August 17th 2012
Today we had a relaxing day around lake Malawi in Chitimba. We spent some time reading in the hammocks, walking down by the beach area, and then we went with some of the group over to the neighbouring campsite which had a large bar area. Lake Malawi is very interesting to see as it is so big you can’t see the end of it, also it has sand around it so you think it is actually the ocean. When we went over to the other campsite it didn’t take long for Chris and I to hear the familiar sounds of home. We heard some people with the Northern Irish accent. Chris took the opportunity to go and speak to them and found out that it was an elderly couple over to visit their son and daughter-in-law ... read more
