Blogs from Kandi Beach, Lake Malawi, Malawi, Africa - page 4

Next was Malawi. We stayed 2 nights on Kandi Beach on Lake Malawi. We relaxed on the beach for to great days. The next stop was also on Lake Malawi, but we couldent swim there. Bacteria in the water. Wish we had more time in Malawi. ... read more

There have been some great names in the history of football but no team will go down in history quite like the winning team in the match held in a small village called Kandi. On the winning side were Eric Jong (Brilliant Orange) Josh (Kenyan and our driver) Julius Caeser, Winston Churchill, Georgy Porgy, and Cisco all representing Malawi. Donald Duck choose to remain on the side.It quickly became apparent that to make things a bit easier for the muzungu (whites) the locals take on more international names which are often bizarre. When we were invited down to the village to play footie we jumped at the chance (sort of - the previous nights beach drumming party had left us a little fragile). Zoe volunteered to be soccer mum and brought the oranges for half time ... read more

The title of today's blog means "Hurry, hurry has no blessings". It would be good if one could apply this to this trip but sometimes there is not even a hint of "pole pole" (slowly, slowly). Occasionally we have to cover quite long distances and there is no question of having the one or other photo stop. It's just shooting out of the truck window and everyone knows that those snaps could as well be deleted right away. But this is really the only thing which is regrettable. Did I mention the food yet? We are actually roasting a whole (small) pig on a spit for tonight's dinner! I have just come back from a short stroll along the beach of Lake Malawi. The lake is huge! The waves come swishing in and the night before ... read more

PART II (continued from Part I) After breakfast we set out to Mzuzu, Malawi's third city, for the nation's big Independence Day celebration, which this year was being held in Mzuzu's soccer stadium. We had no idea what we were in for, whether we would get in, and whether it would be worth it...but we were going! It was a pleasant hour-long drive through a rubber-tree forest. Amazingly, you can actually smell rubber as you're driving through it! And local kids sell rubber balls all along the drive. Mzuzu is a very small but pretty town; all the streets President Bingu Wa Mutharika passed down were decked out with Malawian flags (and scores of police). At the stadium there were huge lines wrapped around the stadium, and lots of groups of women decked out in their ... read more

Still moving South we passed a latex plantation on the way which was very cool. We also went to a craft market which had really nice stuff. Their is a lot of woodwork, it's hard for me to buy though because I am always unsure about what I will be able to get back into Australia. Also negotiating a price is difficult because I'm not willing to part with my socks! They'll take everything and anything! Rather than money they prefer goods ie your clothes, shoes. It's quite weird when you say how much is this?, the seller replies "I need a pair of shorts, do you have shorts?" The sellers were very aggressive but as Riaan said they are just on the cusp of high season and some of them might have only made a ... read more