Malawi

Lilongwe

Laura: After crossing the border we tried to get a taxi to the nearest bus station to get a connection to Lilongwe. We made a deal with one guy but we would be sharing a cab with two other people which was fine. The other couple were going to the airport so the driver kept trying to convince us that he could take us to Lilongwe direct for a good price. Eventually we settled on 12 quid to take us directly to our hostel (120km).

We were crammed in like sardines and the driver absolutely belted it down the road. Due to the speed we were travelling at and the heat of the tarmac, it didn’t take long for the tire to burst. You would think that replacing a tire would encourage the driver to slow down….no chance! We got to Lilongwe in one piece but it soon became clear that the driver had absolutely no idea where Mabuya Camp was (despite telling us several times that he did!) and then tried to drop us off in the middle of nowhere! I told the driver that we made an agreement and he had to stick to it at which point the other couple started groaning and the driver apologised to them! When he finally found our hostel he tried to charge us an extra 200 kwacha for the privilege. I again refused and he scuttled off to the airport with his remaining customers. Anyhoo….so we arrived at Mabuya Camp which was a great hostel. We met some great brits (all medical students doing a placement in Malawi) and had one particularly messy evening with those guys, some peace corp. people and locals. We met a couple at Mabuya called Jamie and Emma from Australia who feature heavily in our Malawi experience! Lilongwe itself is a lovely capital city. We were overwhelmed by the change in atmosphere and particularly the sense of humour adopted by the locals. They were actually sarcastic and loved a bit of banter which we hadn’t found anywhere else! The people are the same all over Malawi and we didn’t see this again in Africa. We also had our first taste of proper local African food in Lilongwe in a grimy shack in the middle of the market. I am a firm believer that the cheaper the food and the scuttier the surroundings, the better the food is. Everywhere we have gone that caters for tourists or is expensive or western has been utter bollocks.

Nkhata Bay

Laura: After two days we got the bus to Nkhata Bay on Lake Malawi. In usual fashion it didn’t leave until the bus was full of people (and several chickens) but it was my favourite bus journey to date. The scenery in Malawi is green and plush and the sky is always bright blue with fluffy clouds. It’s the same all over Africa because it is still unpolluted and relatively untouched by the west. The last hour of the bus ride was a bit touch and go; the driver was basically a lunatic and was taking corners like Nigel Mansell (we met some people who took the same bus the day before and it hit 5 cows and killed them all). We arrived in Nkhata Bay and honestly, it looked like a shit tip. We were slightly gutted because the brits told us that it was like paradise! We kept our hopes up and headed to our digs Mayoka Village. We took one step into Mayoka and I knew that we were going to have the best time ever. This hostel was simply amazing. You had to climb down a stone staircase to get to reception and the social areas. The bar and restaurant was amazing and had steps leading straight into the beautiful lake. The dorms were the cheapest yet (£5) and really clean. They had free stuff everyday like tea and use of the snorkelling gear and canoes. They also did free boat trips every Tuesday! This is pretty much unheard of in the backpacker world! After we checked in a boat pulled up and Jamie and Emma from Mabuya Camp got out with loads of other people who are quite frankly the best people I have met so far whilst travelling. I am still only 3 months in but I am fairly confident that this will not change!!  In light of this and the fact that these people will be mentioned in the next few entries I will elaborate on who they are!

• Matthew and Charlotte from the UK. A great couple living just outside London. Matt started up his own business from diddly squat and is now very successful. He is an extremely amusing individual with dance moves that make him look like a deranged ostrich. Charlotte quit her job in the public sector to travel/work abroad and is often mortified by her husband’s outrageous behaviour.
• Emma Hannan is from Australia and is totally hilarious. She will tell you straight up what she thinks, laughs alot, says the word wanker alot and has helped those of us with infections in our  limbs due to being a nurse!
• Ro and Chris from the US. These guys get grouped together because they started banging in Nkhata Bay! Both previous members of the peace corp., well travelled and general lovely people.
• Jamie and Emma from Australia. A great couple with style and genuine party people.
• Rob from South Africa. This guy was travelling Africa on a motorbike and arrived about 3 days after us. Everybody referred to him as ‘He Man’ (if you check my photos on FB you will see why). All the girl (plus the gay hostel owner who was also the biggest alcoholic I have ever seen!) perved on him constantly.
• Chelsea from the US and Clayton from Zimbabwe. A super chilled and interesting couple who were travelling Africa to find places to buy fabric and ship to Colorado to sell.
• Rob from Sweden. Rob spent many hours sunbathing with absolutely no sun screen whatsoever and never burned. Git.
• Eliza and Natessa from the US. Two great girls who we met initially in Livingstone. They were travelling Africa and finishing with a hike up Kilimanjaro. They also gave us a great recommendation for a safari in Kenya.

So Nkhata bay was wonderful, super chilled and very fun. We had a canoe race (Jamie and I lost badly I’m afraid), celebrated Emma Hannan’s birthday with curry and cake made entirely by ourselves, played with the 7 resident puppies, enjoyed walks into the town accompanied by the puppies mummy who was our little guide and met some lovely locals. The only downside to Lake Malawi are the parasites in the lake called Bilharzia. They are tiny microscopic worms that get under your skin and head straight to your kidneys and lungs. Everybody goes in the lake but also, the water for the showers is supplied by the lake so you may as well go in anyway. It’s impossible not to. We purchased some meds that have to be taken 6 weeks after exposure, this way the worms have developed and can be killed. We took the meds last week so I am now Bilharzia free (if I ever had it!). I was devastated to leave Nkhata Bay but as luck would have it, most of the group above were heading to Tanzania via train as we had planned to do. Ahmad, Chelsea, Clayton and I headed to Tanzania after 6 days and the rest of the group followed the day after.

To read the previous blog post (Zambia) Click here