Blogs from Malawi, Africa - page 84

Writing this retrospectively and in excited anticipation of seeing Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) again on the 31st August. Many people you meet will give their opinion on whether or not it's safe to swim in the lake. Many lodges will tell you that their particular part of the lake is Bilharzia free and ultimately you have to decide how you feel about the consequences of picking it up (which are actually not huge as long as you know the signs and get checked out). Much of the coast around Nkhata Bay is rocky with plenty of waves and very few calm and reeded areas so I decided to go for it. I swam twice a day for almost 2 weeks from Chickale Beach, I snorkelled, did a scuba dive, jumped from high rocks, fed fish eagles ... read more

Our guidebook describes Lilongwe as "the blandest of African capitals." This did not adequately prepare us for our complete lack of attachment to this place. The city is not aesthetically pleasing or convenient. It's not loud, dangerous, quirky, or particularly poor. While "bland" would normally conjure the image of a place somewhat cleaner and more oppressively orderly than Lilongwe, it nonetheless is the best description we can find. Perhaps the strongest support is this very paragraph, which resorts to describing Lilongwe only by what it is not. We are staying in "Old Town," which you might suspect to have some kernel of character. In reality, it lacks not only fudge shoppes and saltwater taffy, but also anything really old. Since the capitol was moved to Lilongwe only in 1975, this previously existing part of the city, ... read more

Ingredients for a good game walk: * A game reserve in the middle of nowhere, that no-one on the truck has visited (including both drivers) and it seems, almost no-one at all has visited recently (unmanned entry gates, overhanging branches on roads and a very overgrown campsite.) * A guide with an AK47 (or some such) and a nice green beret to offer some modicum of sartorial authority. * A gathering storm * A herd of elephants making their way along the lake-shore to the campsite, forcing us to spend the first 45 minutes walking along a dirt road * Poachers, firing an elephant gun, (or some such) nearby A herd of perplexed overlanders, standing around in the bush, unarmed and slightly tense, as the guide goes off to chase the poachers, and the first drops ... read more

At Ngata bay we bumped into Damian and Lucy again which was great. Ngata bay was a nice little town on the lake so we stopped there for 3 nights where we got a hut right next to the water which was great for reading and playing rummy. Kristen thought she had me stitched up like a kipper untill I worked out she was in the lucky seat and got some points back after a switcheroo. ... read more

On the bus to Chipata we chatted to a lovely Zambian called Foster who was surprize visiting her sister. She had travelled quite a bit with the Zambian bowls team and it was a very enjoyable chat. At the Malawi border - a short taxi ride from Chipata we scored and got a ride all the way to our backpackers in Lilongwe - the capital - from an overlanders bus. The backpackers - Kiboko - was great and we stayed there for 3 days playing the local game - bau and other games with the prople we met there. We met a fun crowd there and played a lot of games which was great fun. ... read more