From Tanzania to Malawi
On October 9th, we packed up our tents and loaded up the truck bright and early and began our long drive to the Malawian border. There were a few pit stops en route to the border - pee stops which involved doing your business in the bush or in a nasty looking & rank smelling porcelain hole in the ground and a stop at the petrol station which allowed us to purchase snacks and to stretch our legs. Many hours later, we were finally at the Malawi border where we had to fill out entry forms and received a new stamp in our passport.
As soon as we crossed over into Malawi, the scenery changed. Instead of worn out roads where you felt every movement in the truck, the Malawian main roads were paved and in good condition. This could be due to the fact that there were very few cars on the road which resulted in less wear and tear and also due to the petrol situation (it’s very difficult to get petrol in Malawi. At the few petrol stations that exist, it is not unheard of for cars to wait several hours to fuel up). Instead, the roads were filled with people either walking or cycling. The housing also changed dramatically from Tanzania. Instead of the grass/straw/tree branch huts which we were used to seeing in Tanzania, the housing in Malawi relied more on bricks and appeared to provide a structure with greater sturdiness.
After a long day of driving, we pulled into Chitimba Campsite (located on Lake Malawi) just before sunset. The usual overlanding routine commenced which included the packing team removing our tents from the truck and all other necessary supplies, us setting up our tents and the cooking team getting to work on preparing the evening’s meal.
Campsite
Lake Malawi
Shopping at the Local Markets & Hanging out at Lake Malawi
The following day I went with two friends from my tour to the markets located right outside our campground. With collective bargaining power, we successfully negotiated rock bottom prices for the items we purchased! We bought customized carved wooden key chains and I purchased a large carved wooden bowl featuring the Big 5 along with a fork & spoon serving set for salads.
My customized wooden keychains being made.
Here's Joi polishing the wooden bowl he carved. While talking to Joi, I learned that he and his brother learned how to carve from their dad. Their dad passed away 3 years ago and they are continuing the business to support their family (mother and sister). They both aspire to be something better and are tired of doing the same business of wood carving. They say their dad was a much better carver than they will ever be and showed me a huge lamp that their dad had carved. Amazing!
I spent the rest of the day at the campsite and took a short stroll down the beach where I ran into a group of local kids who were eager to talk and have their photo taken. One kid had a small fish in his hand and after shaking his hand, my hand smelled of fish – LOL!
During the evening, I had a refreshing freezing cold shower in the dark and once I turned my torch on (everyone outside of North America refers to a flashlight as a torch. I’ve now gotten into the habit of calling it a torch too), I noticed that there was a tiny dead gecko on the shower stall’s floor. Eeek, I hope I didn’t step on it! The evening finished off us watching Blood Diamond under the clear star-filled sky.
On the Road Again…to Kande Beach Village
On the morning of October 11th, we left Chitimba Campsite for Kande Beach. The drive was about 250km long. One of the stops we did en route to Kande Beach was to a Curios market where we spent a maximum of 500 Malawian Kwatchas (about $3 US) each on a costume for the person we were secretly paired up. When the names were being drawn, I got Ruben and purchased for him a rainbow frilly skirt, a sexy top and scarf!
Kande Beach Village
On our first full day at Kande Beach, I went on a village walk. The village walk started off with a visit to the local children’s day care that is run by an Australian lady, followed by a visit to the maternity clinic where babies are delivered and expectant mothers are treated for HIV and then concluded at a primary school.
The visit to the day care was amazing. The kids were all under 5 years old and were full of love & joy. They clung to us, wanted to hold hands and be picked up. Together with their teacher, they sang a few songs and danced – these kids have some mad dancing skills!
Our tour guide then took us on a short tour of the village. He explained to us the importance of cassava as a food staple and showed us how it is prepared, talked to us about the housing structure, visited a chicken coup, and saw how the bricks used for housing are made.
Cassava
Brick making
Next we were off to the local maternity clinic where we met with the male midwife who explained to us what they do there – deliver babies, provide aid to mothers/babies who are HIV positive, provide prenatal care etc. It was really interesting to see what they do and how they do it with such limited resources.
We then walked a short distance to the local primary school where there are only 10 teachers and about 1,500 students. Can you believe that ratio!? The kids were totally clinging to us and asking us all for pens and wanted their photo taken.
Here are some photos below of the kids from the school and the kids in the village who followed us around!
Fancy Dress Party
I mentioned earlier that we stopped at a Curios Market on our way to Kande Beach. We held our Fancy Dress party on our 2nd night at Kande Beach Village. It started off with us meeting at 5pm to exchange our outfits. Once we had our outfits on, we chowed down on a tender goat that spent the day roasting on the spit. The goat was accompanied by roasted veggies, potatoes and a big batch of spinach (one of my favourite vegetables). It was delicious!! It was also Kelly’s birthday, so we donned our party hats and blew on those obnoxious sounding bazookas throughout the night.
It was a fun night! Here are some photos:
The goat roasting on the spit
Exchanging outfits prior to the Fancy Dress Party
Animal Prints!
Ruben and I - don't you like the outfit I picked for him? I also did his makeout.
Next stop: Zambia!
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