Days 59 - 60

Day 58

We attempted a game drive in the morning at 6, but saw little once again, although we did see some Sable, which was one of the two antelopes that James has never seen and was determined to find. Sadly we have yet to find a Roan for him…
So it wasn’t a complete waste of time, but it certainly wasn’t hugely successful, although the boys did see a Brown Hooded Kingfisher too, which was a new one for them. It was 10 when we got back to the campsite and we sat until about 1, eating breakfast and drinking tea, enjoying the fact that after the seriously heavy rain of the previous night, the sun had actually come out! At 2 we finally left, deciding to head for a resort on Lake Malawi called Cape Maclear. Previously, we thought we’d have to choose between Cape Maclear but because of the extra day picked up from not staying two nights in Liwonde we decided to do both. After a rather windy, dirt road which reminded Robert strongly of the ascent to Bunduki, we reached Cape Maclear. It is a tiny village on the edge of a protected area, which has been left uncultivated and is very beautiful, filled with thick forests and rocky mounds which block your view of the lake until the last moment. We found a campsite called Fat Monkeys which is on the shore, its beach gate standing a mere 5 metres away from the water’s edge. The campsite looks out over the lake, and includes a cool bar and a restaurant, as well as some swings. We sat and drank beer in the bar and made friends with a tour guide called Alan who after some haggling did eventually persuade us to book a boat trip for tomorrow with him. It will consist of fishing, then snorkling, then Fish Eagle feeding and then lunch on one of the little islands which jut out of the lake and are also protected by the government. For $20 we feel that this is fair, hopefully the weather will stay good and we won’t have brought the rain with us! For supper we had a big fry up, sausages, eggs and beans with the remainders of the Chipata bread. It was amazing to go and lie down in the tent, watching how the reflected moonlight twinkled on the surface of the lake. There were even stars in the sky that night, the first I’ve seen since Coffee Bay! We were lulled to sleep by the gentle lapping of the waves against the shore, and the quiet chatter of the frogs and crickets from their hideouts in the nearby trees.

Day 59

I arose at 6, surprised to find all the others in attitudes of arising…they like me had found the heat in the tent prevented sleeping after about 5:30. Still, it was a beautiful morning, and the beach outside was already full with women, washing their clothes in the lake, and fishermen preparing their boats for the day’s fishing. I made some cinnamon pancakes for breakfast and we sat in the bar, watching the hustle and bustle of workday Cape Maclear. At 9, Alan arrived with his boat and two other tour guides, called Isaac and Patrick. They have a very good system in Cape Maclear - all the tour guides have formed a sort of guild, so whenever one of them organizes a trip, all the others get a small cut. This means that there are less people hassling potential customers and the relationships between tourists and locals are therefore less strained. We boarded the little boat, a quaint little wooden craft with an engine at the back and painted bright red and blue. We motored about 3km into the Lake, to a point where the water is deep enough to get quite large fish, as well as Catfish and Tilapia. Robert had his own fishing rod, so the men had bought three for the rest of us non-fishermen…mine was simply a small square of foam with a line attached, on the end of which dangled a sinker and three hooks. We sat there for about an hour, losing bait and not catching anything, until eventually I pulled in a very small fish…the name of which I can’t remember…but it certainly wasn’t anything you’d bother cooking. Still it was a catch and the boys muttered grimly that it was beginner’s luck and that they knew that chance would have me being the only one to catch anything…I found it hugely amusing and so did the tour guides. After this we headed towards one of the islands with some small fishes we’d bought at the shore to feed the Fish Eagles. Isaac would whistle and then throw one of the fishes into the water, and then the bird would soar down and grab it with its talons…an amazing sight. Then we dropped anchor in a little natural bay of the nearest island and while the men were cooking lunch we went snorkling. All the little islands around Cape Maclear are protected because all around their edges live thousands of schools of tropical fish. The water of the Lake is beautiful to swim in, a lovely warm temperature and clear as glass. It reminded me quite a lot of the Ionian Sea, how you could see right to the bottom, even when it’s really deep! Lunch was so yummy - they cooked 4 tilapia on the grill on a fire, and served them with a fresh tomato sauce and rice. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten fish that tasted that fresh before. We had to head back after lunch because there was a wind stirring up the lake which would make it difficult to traverse otherwise, but this wasn’t a problem. It had a been a really lovely boat trip and certainly worth the $20, perhaps even more. We spent the afternoon writing diaries and looking at the map trying to work out tomorrow’s route. We also bought a couple of cartons of the local beer, a drink called Chibuku, which is drunk warm and looks a bit like milk and tastes horrendous! We gave most of it away to Isaac and his friends who were sitting on the beach just in front of our hostel. They offered to cook us dinner, this time for 500 kwacha and this seemed pretty decent so we accepted; it was seriously yummy - they built a huge fire on the beach and grilled catfish which we ate with ugali this time and that same tomato sauce. It was really lovely eating on the beach, chatting away to the men and looking at the stars. At about 10 we headed back to our tents and to bed very satisfied.

I'm trying to add photos but this computer is rubbish and it's not letting me so I'm going to have to put them all on later...apologies!

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