Yoga on an Island Beach and other adventures

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Geo: -14.0174, 34.851

Day one on the kayak
Got up and had our coffee on the rocks and then we were ready to try out the kayak. Not a very good start and we were ready to get out and take the kayak back and get one of the sit inside ones. Took a deep breath and set out again. This time we were a little calmer and decided to head over to Dombe Island. Not sure if we will be able to take the big camera with us on this boat because it still is tippy feeling and there is not much leg room for Robert because there is a rudder on this boat and the pedals do take up some of his space.

While we were paddling over to Dombe island, we saw some monkey's in the tree that did not look quite like vervet monkeys. Their coloration was darker. We found out later they are samango monkey's. Our wildlife book says this monkey rarely goes to the ground. We did see them on some rocks that were close to the limbs of the tree.

Found a nice beach on Domwe and managed to land and get out and do some stretching. We also saw some rock dassie sunning themselves a short distance from us. On the ride back we were gaining our confidence about how to keep ourselves steady as we paddled. Remembering some of those techniques we had been shown at paddlefest and elsewhere.

Fixed our brunch and then worked on travel stories for the rest of the afternoon and then went down for dinner. Talked to two couples that had just arrived from Croc Valley in South Luangwa. They had a elephant tear up the lapa they were sitting under to get to their cooler box. One of the men then sprayed the elephant with Doom. Not sure this is such a great idea.

While we were sitting there visiting with them, there were some people sitting behind us laughing and we said something to them and they introduced themselves to us. They all work for an international company and were here on business but were having a wonderful time on a weekend break. All in all a very nice evening.

Day 2 adventures

Had our morning coffee and were ready to give it another try. Set off at 6:45. This is the reason we are glad we rented the kayak for a week; it is there and ready for us in the morning!

This time we went to the cut to see what it was like on the other side of the island. The water was quite choppy and so we decided to come back through and go back the way we were used to. We got to the beach we had discovered and did some yoga. Saw the rock dassies again and then a bird that we were unfamiliar with. Unfortunately, Laura had decided to not bring her scope and so we got not get as close a look as we had hoped. Later we found out this was a rock jumper which evidently was a bird that the people camped next to us had specifically hoped to see!

Got back from our kayak adventure and watched our neighbor's antics. They had one of the camp ladies wash their clothes and strung the line so it was in front of our tent. Then Mr. Passive Aggressive says, "oh look, they are blocking your view. We will have them down in an hour." Needless to say that did not happen. After our sunset cruise, the clothes were still up and we said something and the couple that was up at the campsite brought them all down. Some of the adventures of camping in loosely designated campsites.

The sunset cruise was wonderful as usual. There was a couple that had been living and working in Malawi and were returning to Scotland and this was their farewell cruise. We also picked up Derek, Annika and Bryan who had been dropped off on the backside of the island with food and fishing poles. Of course lots of laughter once they got on board.

Dinner tonight was a little different fare than usual; goat stew served with shima for those who wanted it. I chose to have rice instead. The stew was nice and it was fun watching them cooking the big pot of stew and shima over the fire. Another nice evening visiting with other fellow travelers.

Day 3

A little late setting off but decided to see how far around Domwe island we could get. We made it as far as the camp that is on the island. Looks very nice but don't know quite what the set up is. We saw lots of colorful fish as we paddled along right among the rocks. The sun was hitting the water just right and so you could see the fish quite clearly.

We were getting much better at moving along in the water in the kayak. Saw the rock dassie, hammerkopf fishing and flying to what may have been a nesting area. There were also a couple of African fish eagle moving about. There was some "creature" making mewling noises up the hillside. We never did find what it was.

Day 4

Got up and had our usual morning of coffee on the rocks. A new group had moved in the lower campsite and we got to visiting with them and were a little later leaving than normal. We decided to go to the other side but the water seemed very unsettled and so we turned around and headed back to the side we usually paddle on.

Got to our beach to have a yoga session. We were getting ready to start and up paddles Inge from Capetown who is staying at the campsite on Domwe Island. She said it was great; they bring your things out for you and she was having one of the guys get her a fish in the local market. There is no restaurant but the guys will also cook for you. we didn't discuss the price but it did sound like it might be interesting.

Paddled on back after our yoga session decided to walk to Fat Monkey's for lunch and check things out in the village. Had to grilled chicken salad again and treated ourselves to a pot of real coffee from a french press. People watched as we ate and then headed back.

Fixed a dinner of fresh green beans, potatoes and onions and then down to the bar for a few gin and tonics before calling it an evening.

Day 5

Last full day at Chembe Eagle's Nest and it was windy but we decided to go out anyway. The wind was erratic that morning and would get still and then start blowing again. We went to the other side of Domwe Island because it seemed to be calmer. Got to a beach near where we had seen some baboons on the shore.

While we were watching them the wind picked back up again. Decided on the best way to leave the shore because the waves were crashing near where we were. Got back in the water safely and headed back to Chembe Eagle's Nest. Because it was quite windy, we had to paddle almost constantly heading back.

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Photos

beautiful
day after day we had this beautiful scene to look upon and enjoy!

adventures by kayak at Cape Maclear
notice how clear blue the water looks

adventures by kayak at Cape Maclear
It was very interesting to see trees growing into the side of rock outcroppings as we paddled along