I spent an entire day trying to go from Chipata (Zambia) to Monkey Bay (Malawi). I caught a private taxi to the border with two English girls I met, then another one to Mchiniji in Malawi. From there I caught a minibus (matola) to Lilongwe. On the mini bus I met Mike, a young Malawian who was heading to Salima. We caught a bus to Salima, a minibus to Golomoti, another one to the middle of nowhere (a storm hit and we had to wait in this random little town until another minibus came past) and then finally one last one to Monkey Bay. Luckily Mike was with me and helped translate from & into Chichewa (Malawian language) where needed. He is the son of a pastor of a church in Lilongwe and was very good ... read more

After saying goodbye to Vix on Friday, I went to go find a minibus to Kalomo. I found the taxi rank easy enough and asked a local lady which minibuses go to Kalomo. She showed me and when I asked her if she knew how much it should cost, she offered to go ask for me. So I waited for her to find out the local price and then went with her to buy my ticket. I had asked the security guard at the backpackers how much I should pay and he said about ZK30000 (R45), so when the lady came back with that number I didn't question it. It was strange being on my own - different. I think it will take a little while to get used to it. The guys on the bus ... read more

Vix and I were staying a Jollyboys Backpackers in Livingstone. Its a pretty good backpackers with a chilled vibe and lots to do. We decided to go to the Orphanage to play soccer with the kids with some of the other people from the hostel. It was very similar to what we would find in South Africa - so no culture shock. I spent ages speaking to a 14 yr old kid who kept saying he liked my skin saying "because its white", I found it quite strange. I had a couple of good chats though - one about how I am African even though I am white and how not all white people have lots of money. Random. We caught our first minibus in Zambia (like our taxis). It was fun and it was the ... read more

We boarded the plane at 1:45am and departed at 2:30. Three hours later, we landed in South Africa - about 5am. I had breakfast with my family at about 9ish after which we boarded and we were off to Zambia. We randomly had to land in Victoria Falls (Zim), then went onto Livingstone (Zam). The hour or two on the tarmac provided a little time to sleep with the consequence of a sore neck. Took off again and landed in Zambia 30 minutes later. We got to see a little bit of the falls from the sky which was nice. So I was in four countries (Tanzania, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and then back to Zimbabwe) in one day and was on 3 flights - that is definitely my record. The Lokuthula Lodges were so beautiful ... read more

Jambiani made my day. The locals were friendly - a refreshing change from Stone town and Kendwa - we could walk through the village without being harassed and just enjoyed talking and meeting the locals. I was ready to leave after Kendwa but I'm very grateful we stayed to see Jambiani - it was far more what I expected Zanzibar to be. Although the downside was that the beach literally disappeared during the day, though late afternoon and early in the morning it was perfect. The second day I didn't get out of bed - I think it was a bad reaction to the Malaria tablets but I was dizzy, spaced out, my body and head hurt and I had zero appetite. I thought I might have Malaria, but the test proved otherwise. I slept most ... read more