Malawi



We crossed into Malawi last Friday and were glad of another bit of respite after a couple of really gruelling days of driving on impossible dirt roads,  getting lost, losing each other despite two-way radios and then ending up (Don & myself) spending the night 100 km apart from Heather and Ian in different camps, us camping on the lawn of a guesthouse wondering where they had got to.

Arrived at Bruce and Beryl’s, who have the use of a house on Lake Malawi, and were spoiled once again and this time in real need of a bit of home comfort. Tired, covered in insect bites (tsetsie’s mostly), almost no clean washing and out of fresh fruit and vegetables.  We arrived late in the evening and had no idea of our surroundings and were greeted the next morning by this:

Spent a couple of days messing around on the lake, swimming, snorkelling, boating and after all batteries had been recharged headed off to a game park on the south of Malawi called Liwonde for two nights. A big ‘Thank you’ to Beryl and Bruce for a much needed break.

Malawi feels like Zambia’s little sister and has been described in travel guides as ‘Africa for Beginnners’. Although the landscape is dramatic with the contrast of the lake (which makes up 15% of the surface area) and mountains marking the edge of the Great Rift Valley, it feels altogether more gentle.  Roads are better, the Malawian people are very friendly and welcoming and the country side is green rather than brown. There are numerous stalls along the roadside with Malawians selling anything from fresh fruit and veg to handmade wooden toys to skinned animals, not always obvious what they are.

This made me miss you Jess :(





Internet access is getting more difficult now and we have to rely on internet cafes to update our blogs which means less regular updates from now on. But just hang in there....