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Along with Georgia, Arek and Charlie (who we now affectionately called Charrie, since the local Malawians cannot say the 'RL'), we ventured on our way to Monkey Bay. Somehow, on a brief stop in Mangochi to change minibus, Michelle managed to extend our Malawian visa for another 30 days, so now we had the time to get lost or stuck on the islands in Lake Malawi, if we choose, or if the only boat breaks down again. Apparently, it was broken down for a couple of weeks, but there is word that it is fixed now, and hence our visit to Monkey Bay - the Ilala Ferry's starting port.
Monkey Bay is a pleasant little local town, but not a lot going for it. We camped on the beach at Mufasa Lodge and enjoyed the time there, but also picked up another couple of friends - Jose and Andrea from Chile.
The now larger group, trudged over to the ferry ticket office at 8AM, in preparation for the 10AM departure. But this was not to be. We were told to wait 10 minutes, but after an hour or so, they came and pulled the curtain over the window and closed the ticket office. NOT a good sign!! And, so we waited and waited and waited, with occasional updates saying that there was a problem with the ferry. It didn't end up leaving until 5PM, but we were happy to get going. We had spent the last 8-9 hours sitting in line, drinking some beers with the gang and playing some poker. Could be worse really, and it was nice to have good company for the wait.
The ferry was a nice change from traveling by minibus. We had the upper deck/First Class ticket, and pretty much had free range of the boat. We didn't have a cabin, and would just sleep up on deck, under the stars - but in the blustery wind. The second night we decided to just set up our tent on the deck, and that worked well. Especially after we had rats eat into some of our food bags the first night.
They had a bar and restaurant on board, which was cheap, but limited selection, but Francis took care of us. We also used the restaurant for our poker games, which we used a varied selection of bottle caps as poker chips, and listened to Lady Gaga's song Poker Face!! It passed the time nicely.
The trip itself was enjoyable and very scenic at times. The lake is actually about 365 miles long, so the journey took us 51 hours, and that wasn't even the entire length of the trip. We made stops along the way, then in Mozambique, and also on the islands of Likoma and Chizimulu. Here we said goodbye to Charrie, Georgia and Arek. Unfortunately, these stops always involved a lot of commotion and noise, even when in the middle of the night. You couldn't get a good night's sleep, what with all the ruckus. At each stop, the boat was too big to go to shore, and they would send the lifeboats in to drop off people and supplies, and pick them up on shore. It was all a bit messy, and especially when the wind was blowing hard, and waves crashing against the boat. It made for a dangerous situation.
Another bizarre sight we saw from the ferry were swarms of lake flies. Apparently, this phenomenon only happens on Lake Malawi, and you see dark funnels of flies in the distance that look like mini tornadoes. There must be millions, if not billions of the little flies to make these swarms so visible. I want to see what it looks like on shore, when these swarms drift into town!!
We finally arrived in Ruarwe in the dark, and weren't sure where to go, or how to get there. A boat appeared and we loaded on to the roof for a dark ride to shore, being waved in by flashlights. So, we finally arrived at our Christmas destination, Zulunkhuni River Lodge in Ruarwe! *Stub
Along with Georgia, Arek and Charlie (who we now affectionately called Charrie, since the local Malawians cannot say the 'RL'), we ventured on our way to Monkey Bay. Somehow, on a brief stop in Mangochi to change minibus, Michelle managed to extend our Malawian visa for another 30 days, so now we had the time to get lost or stuck on the islands in Lake Malawi, if we choose, or if the only boat breaks down again. Apparently, it was broken down for a couple of weeks, but there is word that it is fixed now, and hence our visit to Monkey Bay - the Ilala Ferry's starting port.
Monkey Bay is a pleasant little local town, but not a lot going for it. We camped on the beach at Mufasa Lodge and enjoyed the time there, but also picked up another couple of friends - Jose and Andrea from Chile.
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| 8 hour line with the gang |
The ferry was a nice change from traveling by minibus. We had the upper deck/First Class ticket, and pretty much had free range of the boat. We didn't have a cabin, and would just sleep up on deck, under the stars - but in the blustery wind. The second night we decided to just set up our tent on the deck, and that worked well. Especially after we had rats eat into some of our food bags the first night.
They had a bar and restaurant on board, which was cheap, but limited selection, but Francis took care of us. We also used the restaurant for our poker games, which we used a varied selection of bottle caps as poker chips, and listened to Lady Gaga's song Poker Face!! It passed the time nicely.
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| Tents on board the Ilala Ferry |
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| Swarms of Lake Flies |
We finally arrived in Ruarwe in the dark, and weren't sure where to go, or how to get there. A boat appeared and we loaded on to the roof for a dark ride to shore, being waved in by flashlights. So, we finally arrived at our Christmas destination, Zulunkhuni River Lodge in Ruarwe! *Stub
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