Blogs from Malawi, Africa - page 25

We had the opportunity for a sleep in before brunch at 10.30. Chris and I still got up around 8am and spent some time reading – surprisingly Chris has taken quite an interest in books!!! We had brunch then everyone jumped in the truck to head to Kande, another area around Lake Malawi. We drove for two hours before stopping at a town to get some supplies and use the internet, Chris was keen to get on to find out all he could about the new Man United signing. We also bought some supplies in the local shops then jumped back on the truck to head to Kande Beach. We got there in the late afternoon and organised to go horse riding the next day. On the way to the horse riding office I hurt my ... read more

Today was another driving day as we headed towards the border of Malawi. We got up early and were ready to depart for 6am. Due to unpredictable border entries we packed our lunch in the morning and set off for another long day. The drives really are part of the overlanding experience, they can be very long but really to be able to see so many countries in such a short space of time it really is the best option. Again,everybody slept for a while on the truck, played some card games, read a little, for some reason my travel sickness hasn’t bothered me too much on the truck which is a positive as it would be a very long journey if I wasn’t able to do anything other than sit looking out the window. When ... read more

Cape Maclear was the original location for the mission of Livingstonia. But, it turned out to be malarial, and andthus Livingstonia was relocated further north on Lake Nyassa (Lake Malawi). It's now a backpacker heaven with the usual banana pancakes for breakfast, myriad water activities, souvenir shopping and hammocks at most guest houses with a vibe to match. Oh yes .. Bob Marley and Reggae everywhere too. Tomorrow, we plan to head to Mozambique and head towards the Indian Ocean at Mozambique Island. It's going to be at least 2 days of travel.... read more

Lilongwe is not the typical African capital city. It's laid back and low key. We decided to stay an extra day to catch our breath and also because we liked our hotel room so much. But, it turned out our room was already reserved. So, we went to the bus station around 11:00 and caught a half bus to Monkey Bay on Lake Malawi (Lake Nyassa). We were told it was a 4-5 hour trip. From Monkey Bay, it's a short hop to Cape Maclear, our actual destination. A half bus is a bus that seats less than 40 people and are older and less comfortable than full size buses. Only one full size bus goes each day to Monkey Bay, but it leaves early. The half buses leave whenever they are full. Full means really ... read more

After an interesting boarder crossing where we were almost ripped off by money changers we entered the very friendly country of Malawi. Malawi is a noticeably poorer country than both Kenya and Tanzania however the people are extremely warm and welcoming. After driving across the boarder and through numerous straw built villages we made out first stop, Chitimba on Lake Malawi where we stayed for three nights. We spent a lot of time in the local villages where we enjoyed visiting the students and teachers at the primary school and had a tour around the community health centre. The village had just had a water pumping system put in and were proud to show it off. I spent one afternoon learning to wood carve, I carved a giraffe with a little help from my 13 year ... read more