Blogs from Malawi, Africa - page 6

Geo: -12.8793, 34.1053We are now back at the lakeside in more modest accommodation right on the beach which is nice. This afternoon, provided it is on schedule, we catch the Ilala for the last time down to the far south of the lake at a place called CapeMaclear named by Livingstone after a friend of his. During the 50's it was the overnight stop for the BOAC flying boat service to South Africa, apparently it is now the "Benidorm of Malawi", we can't wait!Actually we are only there one night as we are then due to paddle ourselves to a tropical island (Mumbo Island) which is about 10km away from the shore. The company who organise the trip say it takes 2 hours to get there and I have noticed that they intend to bring us ... read more

Back in wifi territory. Apologies for the absence. I'm going to share two more blogs - one from Thursday and one from Friday. This one is Thursday's. It's very early in Blantyre on Sunday morning now (we spent yesterday relaxing, doing a quick safari - yep, that was unexpected!) and then travelling back via a quick stop at the markets). I'll hopefully finish this blog here and the final one at Johannesburg airport. After that, hello Sydney! So, here's what happened on Thursday. After an early start in the morning, we travelled to Majete 1. Thats different to Majete 5, which was the village that hadn't had thp involvement, and was where I met Charles and his mother. Majete is a large area with a game reserve seemingly in the middle of it. The villages surrounding ... read more

Geo: -12.9354, 34.3205I am pleased to say that our excursion off the ship mentioned in the last posting went to plan. We managed to get on the first lifeboat off the ship, get into the bar where my camera had been left, have a couple of beers, a very nice dinner and catch up on the news. Apparently Barnet drew, England beat Scotland and a hotelier will be the next President of the USA but I presume you all knew that. We then got back on before it set sail again.The planned three hour stop took over five as the jetty at Nkhata Bay was washed away in a storm last year so even at this quite big town they still use the lifeboats to load and unload the ship. You can't imagine that a lake ... read more

Hi all. It's been a big day. today's experience was gut wrenching, and this blog may be a little disjointed as a result. Stay with me though - I do have an embarrassing story to share at the end that will hopefully leave you with a smile. So, early start and a 3 hour bus trip. Given today was a trip to an 'untouched' village (hunger project hadn't kicked off until this month) it was always going to be the toughest of the trip. We got to see what was possible yesterday - today was about potential and need. Mostly need. The greeting was epic. Much of the closest village turned out - at least 70 people, maybe more. There's a photo of part of the group attached. The village chiefs had us sit up the ... read more

Geo: -10.8871, 34.277Welcome back to Lord and Lady Mucks blog. We are now cruising down the lake in our steam ship the MV Ilala. Unfortunately it is no longer steam, it has diesel engines, where is the romance in that! We are back in the Owners Cabin complete with non functioning bath and shower and at least one cockroach (now deceased). Very few tourists or middle class Malawian people use the ferry. It is so unreliable that the tour companies or anyone on a tight schedule cannot rely on it and the main roads in Malawi are quite good so anyone with a car drives. So the two upper, first class, decks have about 20 people (only three of us are white) and the lower, second class deck is absolutely rammed with people most of whom ... read more