Africa » Malawi » Lake Malawi
July 22nd 2008

Published: November 22nd 2009

Still trying to get caught up on entries from Africa 2008. Kindly excuse the abundance of sunset pictures. I could not whittle them down to a select few so I posted them all.

Short version: arrived in Lilongwe from Nairobi staying just long enough to catch a bus to Mangochi on the way to Cape Maclear, then south to Liwonde National Park, Blantyre, and Mount Mulanje before crossing into Mozambique.

Long version: the previous travel blog entry found me in Kenya from where I flew to Lilongwe, Malawi on Kenya Airways which provided surprisingly exceptional service. Since taxis were the only form of transport from the airport, I opted to hitch and quickly caught a ride in the back of a British ex-pat's pickup to the bus station. After a 2 hour wait during which my pocket was involuntarily relieved of $9 worth of Malawi kwacha (MK), we were off to Monkey Bay on Lake Malawi which is the launching point for Cape Maclear known all over southern Africa backpacker circles. The ride was long, taking the indirect route through Dedza, Balaka, Liwonde town, and Mangochi. Upon our late arrival in Mangochi the bus conductor informed me that we

Crew for Sunset Sailing Cruise

Huts at Eagle's Nest on shore. Lake Malawi

would not be continuing to Monkey Bay since I was the only remaining passenger. At least they refunded the difference in the fare that I'd already paid and dropped me in town at a ramshackle hotel near the bus depot. The next morning I tried to hitchhike to Monkey Bay from Mangochi but there are very few private vehicles in Malawi. Soon enough a matola, or pickup truck used for transporting passengers and whatever else in the bed, passed by so I boarded for the trip to Monkey Bay for 400MK. Fortunately we intercepted another matola passing the turnoff for Cape Maclear (250MK) which significantly cut down the total travel time as there are only ~3 trucks/day in either direction between Monkey Bay and Cape Maclear. I met a South African couple in Rwanda who recommended Eagle's Nest so I asked the driver to drop me there. I soon had my tent pitched on the beach, proceeded to the bar, and arranged 30 minutes of water skiing. The lake was a bit choppy but after a few false starts I was able to get up on 2 skis and drop one to slalom. Many travelers avoid swimming in Lake Malawi

Chembe Village

Huge Baobob tree near the shore. Lake Malawi

for fear of contracting bilharzia which does in fact exist in nearly all still freshwater in southern Africa. Others go to extremes such as spraying themselves with DEET before and after exposure and toweling themselves off as quickly as possible after getting out of the water. I swam many times in the lake and took no such precautions. Later in Blantyre I bought a single dose of a generic drug designed to kill the parasite a couple of months after exposure. That was over a year ago and I have yet to feel any ill effects. Another popular outing in Cape Maclear is to paddle with the locals out to one of the islands for a fish BBQ. African fish eagles are frequently spotted. There is also decent snorkeling right off the shore.

The rest of Malawi was great fun. Even though it is one of the smallest countries in southern Africa Malawi is very diverse, easy to get around, quite inexpensive, English is one of the primary languages, and Malawians are extremely friendly. I only spent 2-3 weeks exclusively in the southern half of the country and could have easily spent a couple of months top to bottom.

Water Skiiing

Finally made it out of the water. Lake Malawi

Still spent more time there than in 2002 when I was only in Malawi for 2 days, mostly at the Songwe border crossing and on a bus, transiting between Tanzania and Zambia which will forever go down as the worst experience in the history of African bus travel.

Cape Maclear

Accommodation and food Camped right on the shores of Lake Malawi at Chembe Eagles Nest. Notwithstanding the questionable choice of name, this was a great place. Camping was $6 per person on a nice swimming beach, there was a TV lounge for chilling out, decent restaurant and bar, the ablution block (bathroom for Americans) was spotless, and it was extremely quiet being at the far, northern end of the beach away from the raucous bar area. There are several local places to eat but most of the restaurants cater to tourists and are therefore pricey. Not a great selection of foodstuffs available for purchase for self caterers. Better to stock up elsewhere.

Transportation Buses from Lilongwe leave when full which can take a while for the 20 seaters. I was quoted ~1400MK to Monkey Bay which included 100MK for my backpack. Thought it was a bit steep

Slalom

But sticking inside the wake. Lake Malawi

but it seemed to be the local price. Back then the direct Golomoti road was being resurfaced but it should be complete by now which will seriously cut down the travel time between Lilongwe and Monkey Bay/Cape Maclear. Matolas to Monkey Bay leave ~7 a.m., 11 a.m., and 2 p.m., picking up along the road through the village. Just need to make sure someone calls the driver on your behalf. If heading south, can make it to Mangochi by late afternoon taking the 11 a.m. truck and catching another at the junction.

Liwonde National Park

There are couple of ways to get into the park depending on where you want to go. For Mvuu Camp head to Ulongwe and negotiate with the bicycle taxi boys to take you to the boat launch for ~300MK/bike, one person/bike and you may need an extra bike depending on the size of your backpack. You can ask the bike taxi boys to return to the office to take you back to Ulongwe. Entry to the park is cheap especially compared to parks in Kenya and other countries in the region. After the park office there is a boat launch to take you for

Seattle Reggae Beach Bar

Named by someone from Seattle. Not me. Posing with Eliza and Winston who ran the place. Cape Maclear

free to Mvuu Camp. Hippo sightings are almost a guarantee. Mvuu Camp is nice but out of the budget price range unless you camp and self cater. A campsite is $15 and the facilities for cooking are adequate except that you need to cook over a fire or bring a stove. The ablution block is one of the best in Africa and the swimming pool is great. Guards will escort you back to the campground at night since there are purportedly elephants in the vicinity but none were seen on the evening game drive which was not worth the $30 price (may have been more). There isn't much wildlife in that part of the park. Leaving the park I was able to cadge a lift from an aid worker to Balaka where I caught minivans to Zomba, Limbe, and finally Blantyre. Another park entrance is at Chinguni near Liwonde town from where the only transport option is to hire a taxi but it is only a few kms to the entrance. From other reports, I gather Chinguni has more wildlife and there is also camping. Liwonde town has a couple of extremely basic hotels of the bucket hot water shower

Playing Bao

More like losing to Winston at the fast paced Malawi board game. Cape Maclear

variety near the gas station serving as a minivan stop and there is one posh hotel where a double goes for ~$20. Bike taxis (50MK) will take you to the town center where there is an ATM, a market, and several places serving cheap plates of rice, beans, and veggies. There is also a market near the minivan station.

Blantyre

Accommodation and food Most people on a budget stay at Doogles but I always try to avoid the overland truck scene. Doogles is a great place to hang out however. Across the street from the Wenela bus station is the sketchy looking Afro Motel where I stayed for a couple of nights before Mt Mulanje. Maybe ~1200-2000MK for a room with a bathroom and intermittent hot water. A basic breakfast of tea and bread is included and the restaurant does a nice job of standard Malawi fare of chicken, nsima, and greens for 250MK. Fun bar with pool table next door. There is another hotel near the bus station appearing entirely constructed of concrete cinder blocks and possessing as much personality. In town is the excellent Alem Ethiopian restaurant but I thought it was way overpriced. Also in

Beach Camping at Chembe, Lake Malawi

the center is Temptations Coffee shop good for real brewed coffee, pastries, and light meals, several ATMs, a post office, barber... all the services one might need after trekking several days on Mount Mulanje. Really wanted to do the Carlsberg Brewery tour so I walked the few miles from the Afro Motel only to be denied upon arrival. Tours should be arranged in advance. One of the office personnel did try to arrange something but the tour guide was out of town. Didn't even get a free brew, a little something for the effort. I was hoping for a Carlsberg Special, a dark, but not heavy, porter.

Transportation Despite being Malawi's largest city, Blantyre's transport links are very limited. There are numerous buses to Lilongwe and morning buses to Monkey Bay and Mzuzu. I did see signs for buses to Harare, Zimbabwe and Johannesburg, ZAR. For most of southern Malawi it is necessary to first go to Limbe for ~70MK and transfer to another minivan for places such as Mulanje or Zomba. Minivans leave from Blantyre's center for the Mozambique border at Mwanza.

Mount Mulanje

Mt Mulanje is the best kept secret of African mountains. Although it is

Hiking on the Slabs

Sapitwa, Mt Mulanje

only 3000 meters high it provides a challenging summit scramble, great interaction with the local guides, and nice huts with caretakers who tended cooking fires and washed my cedar soot encrusted pots for a tip of around $2. I arrived in Chitakali after taking 2 minivans from Blantyre and Limbe. Dumped my pack next to the minivan while I went to the market to buy food and pots for the trek. Unfortunately the minivan filled much faster than I anticipated and left for the park during my shopping spree. Thought I was royally screwed because in these remote places there may only be one or two minivans each day and it was already late in the morning. Rather than wait for the next minivan, I tried to hitch and as luck would have it caught a lift to the Likabula forest station with park staff. Paid for 3 nights on the mountain, my guide Patrick, and a porter for the first day's hike to Chambe hut since it was late in the day. The trail was steep in spots but in good condition and partially followed an old road presumably used to haul out felled cedar trees. Now the logs

Patrick and I Resting on the Slabs

Sapitwa, Mt Mulanje

are cut on sight into 4x4 lumber and carried out in 20-30 foot lengths. Hard work. Next day was a short hike to Chisepo hut at the base of Sapitwa ("don't go there" in the local language). Used the long, quiet afternoon to relax and rest up for the third day when we would summit and move to Thuchila hut on our traverse of the massif. For summit day we woke to clear skies and I was feeling optimistic about the weather and the views we would get at the top. The trail quickly disappeared among the granite slabs and we were soon scrambling to the summit block. I was definitely glad Patrick was leading the way as it is not so straightforward to the summit. By the time we reached the summit, the cold mist, or chiperone, had enveloped us obscuring what surely would have been great views. We arrived at Thuchila hut late in the afternoon only to find the place overrun with boisterous British high schoolers. Thought about moving to the next hut but it was far and we were beat. Things quieted down until early in the morning when the group woke for their trek to

Socked in on the Summit

Sapitwa, Mt Mulanje

Chisepo hut where Patrick and I had been a day earlier. Staying at Thuchila proved to be a good move because on the way out to the main road we stopped at a great swimming hole that I never would have found without a guide nor would we have passed from another hut. Caught a matola back to Chitakali while Patrick alighted at the forest station. Ate a small pizza in Chitakali but was victimized by overly high expectations after hearing about the restaurant from Peace Corps volunteers that I met at Thuchila hut. Reversed the trip to Limbe and Blantyre to clean up and prepare for the long trip to the beautiful Mozambique coast.

Malawi-Mozambique border crossing at Mwanza-Zobué and onto Tete/Beria

Fairly easy crossing although it takes the better part of a day to go from Blantyre to Tete. Leave early from Blantyre from the minivan area in the center of town just north of the roundabout. Fare is $2-3 and takes ~3 hours to the border post at Mwanza. Can change money at the border but use the semi-official looking facilities and not the guys hanging out at the immigration post. Take a share taxi 6

Chiperone

Mist rolling in. Sapitwa, Mt Mulanje

kms to Zobué for ~$1. Mozambique visas are available at the border but it is probably a good idea to have one in advance as the immigration officials there are known to try to overcharge. Official price at the border was $28 but I paid ~$50 earlier in Nairobi for next day service and felt it was worth it to avoid any potential hassle at the border. Mozambique visas can also be procured in Lilongwe and Blantyre. Once through immigration, wait for a chapa, or minivan, to Tete for ~$3. Even though it is only ~100 km from the border to Tete, the trip is a long, hot, incomprehensible 3 hours. Tete is OK for one night but if you arrive early enough it would be better to push on to Chimoio. Tete is dull, doesn't have any budget accommodation, and the long distance bus to Beira leaves at the ridiculously early hour of 4 a.m. Unlike most African countries, 4 a.m. means 4 a.m. in Mozambique. If you make it to Chimoio there are numerous chapas for the short trip to Beira throughout the day precluding a predawn departure. I liked Beira and there are few tourists save for

Looking Down From the Slabs

Chambe Peak left edge. Chisepo hut is visible bottom right. Sapitwa, Mt Mulanje

the smattering of Zimbabwe ex-pats. I camped on Makuti beach at Biques for ~$3. Really great food and atmosphere at their sports bar and regular chapas to the center where there are a couple of excellent cafes around the central square serving pastries, light meals, and real espresso.

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