Hello from Malawi
Trip Start
Sep 26, 2010
1
6
8
Trip End
Nov 02, 2010
Kande Beach, Malawi
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Our 10 hour massage brought us 120 km from the Tanzanian - Malawi border . We pitched our tents at the old farm house, Kisolanza. Kisolanza is a working tobacco farm which belongs to the Ghaui family who have lived in East Africa for over a 100 years. Our hosts prepared a roast beef dinner for us complete with home grown veggies and fresh baked bread. After a long day on the road it was greatly appreciated and most spectacular.
The following morning we prepared for our trek into Malawi. We purchased two legs of lamb from a local farmer along with veggies, potatoes and a sack of charcoal from a roadside hut. In search of a few bottles of red wine, we hit the road with smiling faces and dreams of a beach BBQ.
After two days of driving, just when we thought we had graduated to a new level of personal hygiene - “Bush Pig”, we arrived at Kande Beach. We swapped our tents for a beautiful beachside chalet equipped with a veranda overlooking the lake. We will settle here for three days of sun and sand.
Lake Malawi is the third largest lake in Africa, taking up a fifth of Malawi’s total land area. Sometimes known as the ‘calendar lake’’, 365 miles long and 52 miles wide, the lake is freshwater and home to more than 500 species of fish - more than in North America and Europe combined.
We found the people of Malawi very friendly and gentle wanting to practice their English at every opportunity. Malawi became an independent nation in 1964 with Lilongwe being the capital although .Blantyre is the largest and most important commercial and industrial city. The country’s terrain consists of plateaux and mountains but is dominated by the enormous Lake Malawi. The population of Malawi is around 12 million (50% are under the age of 15 years old) with English and Chichewa being the main language.
Leaving Malawi we crossed into Zambia . Our camp is on the banks of the mighty Zambezi River, one of Africa’s major rivers, the largest flowing eastward into the Indian Ocean.
Until next time,
Cheers!!
Richard & Doug.
P.S~ Pictures to follow.
