Christmas with 'Family' at Zulunkhuni Lodge, Ruarwe, Malawi

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Our Cabin - the Stone House overlooking the lake

Greeted by Sally and Charlie from Zulunkhuni Lodge on the beach to calls of "Hello Rupert and Sabrinha", we were confused but I guess they didn't get the message that we were coming, but were expecting the other couple who were no shows.  Since it was already dark, Charlie suggested we take the Stone House room, that was set up for R&S, at camping prices.  His enticement worked like a charm, as we decided to stay in the lovely cabin on the rocks over the lake for the duration of our stay.  Time to pamper ourselves a little for Christmas!!  And, we had a bed!!!!
Waking up to the sunrise over Lake Malawi was beautiful, and we would fall asleep to lightning storms over the mountains in Tanzania across the lake.  What a wonderful spot!!

View from the Stone House at Sunrise

Since the lodge is very isolated, they have no power, and no phone service.  We had no communication with the outside world, and it was fab.  Rather invigorating actually.  One issue though, was with the fuel shortage, they had trouble getting gas, and were unable to use the stoves, and more importantly, were unable to use the fridge.  Therefore, NO cold drinks, and no meats, etc.  We were going to have to go veggie for the week, but no worries….it turned out that the food here was delicious.  I especially liked the veggie burgers!!
We did exactly what we planned to do here at the lodge - VERY LITTLE.  It was about relaxing and taking a nice break from the daily stresses and frustrations of travel.  Days were filled with plenty of games, occasional meals, warm drinks, and refreshing but not very cold swims in the turquoise waters of the lake.  The shore is quite rocky, and the snorkelling was actually quite good in the clear waters. 

Our Cabin at Sunrise over Lake Malawi

We often would have a morning snorkel, then head for breakfast.
Charlie had also built a jumping platform about 9m (30ft) above the rocks, and there was a great jumping rock in the lake about as high.  I tackled both these jumps in my time here.
Sally and Charlie are both English but Charlie has been in Malawi for 14 years or so.  Sally is more recent here, but they will be married in the very, very near future.  Sally's Mum Gill was also at the lodge, and was spending 6 weeks in Malawi to attend the upcoming nuptials.  She was on the other end of many games played.  There were only a couple of guests here and there, and a couple of local volunteers staying, including Georgina, a doctor from England who was working in Ruarwe. The staff were lovely too, always greeting you with big smiles.  And the dogs, one very friendly called Gondross the Destroyer, and one aptly named Chicken as he was scared of

Martin and Charlie 9m Rock Jump for Christmas

everything.  Also, the local wildlife and bugs were interesting, including giant snails, a bug they call "Thing" and a special Christmas appearance of a chameleon.
Michelle and I did visit the local village, approx. 20 minute walk away to see the new community centre there that the volunteers were at.  Cool spot and a very interesting a impressive library.  Of course, we got tied up playing with the local kids and meeting new people in town.
On Christmas Eve, we were busy making some snowflake decorations, whilst listening to my extensive Christmas Song collection, when a special delivery arrived……..STEAK.  Charlie's brother had sent it from Nkhata Bay, so we were very excited about the prospect of X-Mas eve steak sandwiches.  WOW, they were tasty!!
We all enjoyed our 'family' meals, and it was so nice to be included with them for their celebrations.  It was what we really needed for Christmas and we couldn't have picked a better place to be.
Christmas Day was no exception.  We had bought some little locals presents for Sally, Charlie, Gill and Georgina, and we woke to some stockings hung up.  We all had a good laugh opening small presses, and drinking some Amarula's.  In each of our stockings was a local thing they call sachets. 

Christmas Slip'n'Slide with Charlie, Georgina and Sally

Basically a shot of cane spirit in a little airtight package.  We all downed our sachets, but with a few gag reflexes!!
Since the staff had the day off, Charlie and I started cutting wood for the oven, and we all helped out with prepping and cooking the Christmas beef in the clay oven.  Whilst the food was cooking, we had a good swim and rock jumps, and also a go at Charlies Slip and Slide kids toy!!  All good laughs, then a sit down for a delicious dinner and chocolate cake for dessert.
Then, the Christmas songs came to an end and we put on some classic and spent the next few hours dancing on the bar and having a wonderful end to our Christmas.  It was off on the ferry the next day, but we were so happy to have a new family experience for such an important day.  We were treated so well, and also invited to the upcoming wedding on Jan 9th - we will see if we can make it or not!!!   *Stub

Christmas Dinner

Christmas Bar Dance - Georgina, Sally and Michelle

'First Class' Travellers (Eventually) on the Ilala Ferry, Lake Malawi, Malawi

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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.

8 hour line with the gang

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.

Tents on board the Ilala Ferry

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.

Swarms of Lake Flies

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

A Victorian Style Safari in Liwonde National Park, Malawi

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Sunset Viewing Platform w/ Peiter, Ang, Arek, Georgia and Charlie

After yet another battle for price in a minibus, we arrived in Liwonde - gateway to the Liwonde National Park, and Malawi's best game park.  Luckily, we chose well on a guest house, and ended up at Liwonde Safari Camp, with a happy South African named Pieter.  Pieter and his business partner, Frederik from Holland, were excellent hosts, and very generous.  I will sing their praises to all heading that way.  It seems like a lot of places are out to make a buck…… fair enough.  But these guys seem to just want to share the park and wildlife with you.  They just loved being there.  It was very refreshing.  We came for one or two nights, but it was only after four nights that we finally managed to leave.  It was just too relaxing, and a fun place to be.

Tolkein's Tree - A Massive Baobab 3800 yrs

The place had only been open for 14 months, but seemed to have a following.  Where other camps have had very few clients over recent weeks, Liwonde Safari Camp seemed to have a steady stream coming their way.  One of the friendliest there was a German stuntwoman named Angela, and her large dog Paul.  A recent project of hers was working in the Quentin Tarantino film - Inglorious Basterds!!  Very cool.  We had a good laugh with her, and then an unlikely Spanish/Polish/Irish trio arrived.  Georgia, Arek and Charlie were also a fun crew, and the whole group gelled and had a good time together.  Part of the reason we stayed longer. 
With a free game walk in the mornings with Pieter, we got a small glimpse of the park.  One highlight was an approximately 3800 year old baobab tree.  Apparently, JRR Tolkein's father was a missionary in Malawi, and when JRR was a teen, his father would preach underneath this massive tree.  It is very easy to see that this tree could be his inspiration for the 'Living Trees (I forget their name)' in his Lord of the Rings trilogy.  We were also in an area called Shire, with the Shire River running through, and plenty of Misty Mountains around.  Coincidence, I think not!!
We would also take to drinks on the viewing platform for sunset nightly.  Unfortunately, only once did the elephants arrive, and didn't take too kindly to Paul's barking, as other guests arrived.  They charged towards the platform, trumpeting their presence known!!  Scary stuff.

Angie Dressed in White for the Safari

Even around camp, there was a bit of a mini safari.  There were tons of bug species, from scorpions, to giant grasshopper things, to scary centipedes, to swarming termites - you always had to watch where you walked.
While sitting around one night, Pieter decided that when we did our game drive in the morning, it was going to be Victorian style.  So, the girls had to dress up all fancy, with make-up, and the boys needed to shower, shave and wear their best.  Even Pieter was going to pull out his khakis, like a true guide.  It was pretty funny heading out in the morning, with the girls in white dresses, heading into the mud.  Just like the old days!!  If we got stuck, it would be a bit of a laugh! 
Thankfully, we didn't get stuck but had a fun time.  We didn't see any spectacular wildlife except for a running hippo, but the views of the park were great with the Shire River and some peaks in the distance.  It sure was good company though, with some great laughs!!  One freaky sight was a baobab that was hollow - it was used by local tribes to throw the lepars in to as a hollow grave.  Lots of bones in the bottom!!

Georgia, Angie, Charlie, Arek, M, and Kitty on the sunset boozy Safari

That evening, Pieter enticed us to stay another night with mention of a free game drive into the park for sunset.  They just wanted to head out and be social, so this was a real treat.  I would imagine other places charging a good price for an evening drive, but these guys just wanted to share!!  We all took some drinks for sunset and chilled out by the river.  We picked up a cool hippo skull for the lodge, and I managed to sit on the bumper seat, as spotter for the ride back.  I managed to find us a hyena, but was a little nervous at my location on the vehicle.  Unfortunately, the hyena looked like it had been caught in a snare, and was missing a front paw.  It still looked quite healthy though, and must have scavenged well. 
That was our last evening at Liwonde, and we enjoyed the time with our new friends.  Georgia, Arek, and Charlie would be joining us on the drive up to Monkey Bay in the morning, so we had good company for our next leg.  *Stub

Sunset in Liwonde with Frederik, Arek, Angie, Georgia, Charlie, Peiter and Kitty

A Ride in the Ambulance, Zomba Plateau, Malawi

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The evening after our 4 days of hiking, we found a good little local guest house called NdangoPuma, pleasant and dirt-cheap.  Finally, we have come to a country where our money goes much further!  A bed was only about $1.75 per person, and the guesthouse was filled with nice locals. 
Since we were planted in the middle of tea fields, we thought it might be interesting to visit a tea factory.  We had heard from Leason, that one called Esperanza, was actually owned by Prince Charles. 

Mr Fawlty, Bicycle Taxi in Mulanje Tea Plantations

We hired ourselves a bike-taxi each, Michelle's was named Mr Fawlty, which I thought quite funny.  Basil!!!!  They cruised us up to the plantation, but it was too late to enter.  That was fine though, because the journey through the plantations was really our destination.  There were plenty of locals about and the setting sun was beautiful casting some great light over the beautiful green plantations.
Around the corner from our little Guest House was a restaurant/bar called Rob Wills, and we had a decent local dinner out. 
The Malawian couple at the next table wanted to chat with us, and we invited them to join us.  Well, Amon and Esnut were having a weekend away, and at this point, Amon was quite drunk.  His wife Esnut, was the calming voice of reason, but he got increasingly more and more drunk.  They were very generous, buying us drink after drink, even after we declined, hoping to get away from what might be a bad situation.  But the drinks kept coming, and he got a lot more grabby which made us a little uncomfortable.  Eventually, we got away, but I think their intentions were genuine and friendly.  So much so, that we called them the next morning to accept their invitation of a ride back to Blantyre.  I was taken aback, when Amon asked if I could drive, thinking he was still drunk, or too hungover to drive.  Luckily, neither was the case and we enjoyed a free ride back to Blantyre, before continuing on to Zomba.  An interesting meeting, but I think all intentions were sincere.

Hitch-Hiking in the Ambulance

In Zomba, we were in town to try to head up the plateau behind it of the same name.  Again, the fuel shortage reared it's ugly head, and the taxi drivers were trying to charge 3000-5000 Kwacha ($15-$25) for a ride 8km up to the plateau.  We rejected all offers, and eventually found a surprise backpacker lodge (Pakachere) in town that had only been open 2 months.  We decided to cut our losses, and spend the night in town.  The manager Roos, was very helpful, and Michelle met a really nice German lady named Diana, and didn't stop talking with her for about 5 hours.  More about Diana later.
Morning came, and we attacked the drive up to Zomba Plateau again.  This time, our plan was to hitchhike, and offer some money for fuel.  We set a final time of 10:15, to start looking for a taxi, and after 2 hours of waiting, we were just about to find a taxi, when an ambulance drove by.  We had good luck with the ambulance in Mulanje, and once again in Zomba.  This time though, it was a mechanic, testing his repair job, and with 300 Kwacha, he took us almost to the top.  Lucky us again!!   We walked the rest of the way to Trout Farm, and set up camp just before a torrential downpour.  We were

With Our Guide Stanley, on Zomba Plateau

scheduled to go on a walk to the viewpoints, and were lucky when the weather broke, hiring a happy old gentleman, named Stanley, to show us the way.  It was relatively unspectacular, but the Emperor's View (named after Ethiopian king Hailie Selassie's visit) and Queen's View (named after Elizabeth 1st visit) gave us wide vistas over the lowlands, with pointy hills popping up all over the place.  Also, in view was Malawi's second largest lake.  I think the hike would have been more enjoyable had our legs not been soooooo tired from our Mulanje hiking.  I think both of us just wanted to be back in the tent laying down, and that's what we did as soon as we got back!  Not even enough energy to make dinner, and we crashed out early. The next morning, we packed up and went to visit the Ku Chawe Hotel.  I was expecting a rustic place on top of the mountain, but it was very modern and far too fancy for us.  It did provide us with some help though, because before we could even sit down for breakfast on the roadside, one of the hotel's guests drove by and answered our 'thumbs'.  A kind Zimbabwean couple gave us a ride back to town, and we celebrated with a delicious COLD Coke, which has become somewhat of an addiction for us here!!  It tastes SOOOOOO refreshing!!!   All in all, I think Zomba is very nice, but I don't think we did it justice by doing the small hike that we did on the plateau. I think to really enjoy Zomba's full beauty, we would need to spend a few days hiking and exploring. Also, it's hard to compare it after just hiking Mulanje which was just so amazing. *Stub

Four Days on Mt. Mulanje Massif, Malawi

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Michelle and Leason starting out through the tea plantations

We didn't know much about Malawi except that our good friend Phil Rinn, had attempted to climb Mt. Mulanje massif, and in particular, Sapitwa Peak in the south.  He was doing this to raise some money for a charity he was working at in Malawi, called Ripple Africa….. and he highly recommended the climb. 
A long, but beautiful bus ride gave us a taste of the spectacular Malawian scenery, as we came off the high plateau of Lilongwe town, down to the lowlands in Blantyre.  Some amazing peaks and rock formations along the way, with some large plateaus poking up high above the flats.  I must admit, it was a beautiful drive, and I was able to enjoy it more as the bus driver was actually a decent driver. 
In Blantyre, we had a quick turnaround at the local supermarket, to stock up on food for our hike, then we were off to Mulanje town by minibus.  I'm not sure if many of you know, but at present, Malawi is having a major fuel crisis, and we hear about it everywhere we go.  It is definitely a reality, but used as an excuse everywhere we go to charge more money for anything, especially the minibuses. 

Night View of Chisepo Hut and Sapitwa behind

Apparently, the good ole president has spent far too much of the foreign exchange currency on things like helicopters, jets, inland harbours, and probably more frivolous things, and now there is no more For-Ex money left to import fuel to the country.  This is quite difficult to imagine, but it is definitely a reality, as you see massive lines of cars at fuel stations, most of them waiting days for the fuel truck to arrive.  Given this, most of the fuel is bought on the black market at exorbitant prices, hence the increased pricing of everything.
Well, it turned out that this minibus to Mulanje didn't have enough fuel to make it there, so just stopped in a town halfway and told us - only fate about 20 minutes - to hop out.  Luckily, we did catch another, but this meant we would be doing something we did not like to do - arrive after dark!! 

Chisepo Hut in the Morning above a bed of clouds

Because of this, we got dropped off at the wrong place and had to spend a night at a pretty dingy little place. We decided not to  move on with all our possessions an stayed put.
It could have been worse though, and the next morning we hitched a ride in the local ambulance, back to the small town of Chitikale, to the mountain office, where info-man Richard got us all sorted with a route, guide and porter!!
After a final shop for veggies and fruit to load down our poor little porter, Limbani, we were on our way.  Right out of the back of town, it was a beautiful walk.  We started through the large, rolling green tea plantations, before starting up the massif.  The fields were lovely, especially with the huge wall of Mt Mulanje behind.  From the base in town at 650m, we were to head to the first night's hut at about 2000m (1400m/4600 ft vertical).  A big day, and the climb was steep.  Saving grace was, that even with the intense heat, there was good wind that kept us a little cool. 

With Limbani and Leason on the Summit of Sapitwa

Without the porter, this one would have been a hell of a grunt with all of our food, as it was straight up!!  On the way, we hit some nice cooling rivers, to lower the body temperature.  The views on the way up were amazing of the tea plantations below, and the different peaks in the distance as far as Mozambique.  Just as we arrived at the plateau, the clouds rolled up and in.  It was nice and cool to be in the mist, and we finished our first day with a final hour in the rain. 
The CCAP hut appeared suddenly out of the mist, and we were well taken care of there, by the aptly named 'caretaker' of the hut - Boniface. He built us a fire to cook on, and boiled water for us to have a bucket shower with.  After a good feast of tuna pasta we hit the sack early, as things start so early in the morning here.

Martin on Sapitwa with Chambe Peak in the Background

We woke up to more fog, and hiked the entire day under the shroud of mist. Cooling to walk in, but no views to speak of, but still, it was atmospheric and had a beauty of its own. Even at our destination, the Chisepo Hut, we were socked-in.  At the time, I imagined how impressive the views must be from here, but we would have to wait and see. 
We met with two brothers, Fellipe and Fernando from Brazil, who in honour of their good friend, Gabriel, were climbing to retrace his footsteps. Gabriel died on the mountain in 2009, after fog rolled in and was lost for 3 days before passing.  He had decided against a guide, and that turned out to be a big mistake.  A sad story for sure, but Felipe and Fernando  were here for a bit of closure, and to bring some items for  his memorial at the top. 

Sunset Near Thuchilya Hut

That evening, the clouds cleared and we could see lights of the town, now about 1600m below.  Also, the stars and almost-full moon lit up Sapitwa (the peak) from behind giving us a good feeling about the day to follow. 
A cool night's sleep on the cabin floor near the fire, and we awoke early for our summit bid, to clear skies above and a sea of cloud below in the valley.  I love being above the clouds, and this was definitely no exception.  We set off at 5:30 and were quickly greeted by the steep rock face that was going to be our escalator up.  It was all on the toes and balls of the feet up, but thankfully it wasn't wet, as it would have been extremely slick and dangerous-going.  Upon gaining most of the vertical, we then had to traverse across to the 3001m summit.  It was up and down on big boulders, and even though the summit was in sight, it took some time to get there.  We both enjoyed the surprise golden field of grasses near the summit. 

Thuchilya Hut

After 4 or 5 hours, we finally summitted, and had the panoramic 365 degree views all across Southern Africa (or so it seemed)!!  Maybe just a prelude to our Kilimanjaro climb.  It was a special scene up there, made even more emotional with Fellipe and Fernando, as they spent about 2 hours up there remembering their good friend, and celebrating his life in quiet reflection. 
The way down was even tougher, as those steep rock faces now created difficult footwork, and our legs got super-sore from pointing straight down for hours.  We were satisfied, but exhausted when we got back to Chisepo Hut about 1:30PM.  But because of a little poor planning, we had to quickly cook and eat lunch, then head on to our next hut,  Thuchilya.  We could have easily just parked ourselves at Chisepo, to receiver, but the plan was to hike 3 more hours across what was supposed to be flat-ish terrain.  It was reasonable, and again stunning, but we were so tired upon arrival, we ate and went straight to bed falling asleep before our heads hit the pillow.
In the morning, we again awoke to sunshine and wonderful views back to the peaks and to the flatlands below. 

The Descent down Elephants Head - Sapitwa on Left

Today was down, down, down, and quite quickly.  My legs were not happy about this, because I would much prefer the slow slog of uphill, vs. the strains of going down.  The leg quads will hurt tomorrow!!!   Finally reaching town, we had some fun with the locals, whilst our guide Liaison and porter Limbani kept watching over us like good responsible chaperones.  They were also trying to arrange a ride back to Chitikale in the minibus to finish the trip out in style - yep, crammed into yet another minibus on some bumpy roads, with some friendly albeit, a little-smelly locals.  This time, our body odour probably matched theirs and we really didn't care. 

Things Michelle will remember:
1. The intense vivid green of the rolling tea plantations that went on for what seemed, forever.
2. Walking in the fresh thick mist at the top of the plateau when suddenly (and thankfully) the CCAP hut came into extremely-welcome sight only about 80 feet away.
3. The painful ascent walking on the balls of our feet.

Martin in the Wheat-like Grasses high up Sapitwa

4. The amazing colour of the tall golden wheat-like grasses contrasted against the cornflower-blue skies - so tall that you could only just make out each other walking through it!
5. The stunning views of the (20+) peaks of the massif.
6. Waking to something moist and moving on her neck on the final night - which turned out to be a 2 inch millipede. Eeeeww.
7. Having fun with the locals as we came into the village at the end of the hike: Signalling to an older lady with a variety of things balanced on her head, if she wanted to join in a photo. Without a second thought, she literally threw all her stuff to the ground and ran over not wanting to miss out on such an opportunity, and before we might change our minds! It was great to see her child-like spontaneity and the joy other face as she saw herself on the screen afterwards!
*Stub

Another Border Crossing - Now to Malawi

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Martin Playing a Huge game of Boa with locals

Another border crossing into Malawi, and we have started to keep track of our countries visited.  Martin is now at 58 and Michelle at 56.  The race is on!!!
Loida. our connection here in Lilongwe, was one of the girls that jumped into Devil's Pool with us at Vic Falls. She welcomed us with open arms and let us stay in the spare room at her rental place (special thanks to Frank).  After getting spoilt by Diana with a lunch, she even dropped us off at Loida's work - the UNICEF office in Lilongwe.  We noticed there were a lot of fancy vehicles there!!!
Touring around Lilongwe the next day was basically to find out info, and get a few chores done.  Lilongwe is a pretty nondescript place, not bad, but not great.  But the people seem very friendly and a highlight of the day was when I joined in a large game of BOW with a bunch of local men.  Instead of just a small wooden board, they actually had all the holes dug in the ground and the board was about 20 feet long.  The 'champion' was quite animated when playing his moves, and when I joined in an imitated his actions, all the men got quite a laugh!! 
Seeing as though we had heard the Malawians were very friendly, we were surprised to see a fist fight break out, about 2 feet outside our minibus window, on the way back to meet Loida.  I think most people were a little shocked too, as they all watched with alarm.
That evening, with Loida, her friend Leslie, and Frank, we went to a Christmas carol thing at the Four Season's complex.  We had no idea what it was all about, and given that it was tough to imagine Christmas is right around the corner given the extreme heat and summer-like conditions, we walked in and were all quite shocked.  It was a picnic-like atmosphere, with some decent singing along with some very chalk-board scraping shrill tones, but the biggest surprise was I think that every white person in Malawi was there.  We hadn't seen such a big congregation of whites since we had been in Africa, and we found it a little strange.  Luckily, Leslie came prepared with a bottle of wine (she's a good Canadian), and shared it around, before Frank treated us to a wonderful Indian curry.  That's about it for Lilongwe, as we got up early to tackle the bus journey down to Mulanje on Saturday morning.   *Stub

Our Zambian Mother

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With Diana at Mama Rula's

One meets a lot of great people while traveling, but some go over and above. Nothing is too much trouble for this lady. Discovering Diana, the managing director at the Spar, has been one of the best things that has happened to us recently after my homesick spell in Lusaka. She cheered me up no end. Not only did she take us under her wing when we first arrived in Chipata, she just seemed to know everyone in town, calling a variety of her connections for us regarding public transport, wifi or even money exchange rates etc. One bizarre outcome of her connections was the money exchange transaction: because of the current economy crisis in Malawi we decided to change our Zambian Kwacha to Malawian currency beforehand. Diana said she knew someone reliable and with a good rate, rather than us do business with the swindling guys on the street corners (the real Bureau de Changes don't change local country currencies). It felt extremely sinister to be sitting in the Spar coffee shop counting piles and piles of Malawian Kwacha on the table. (I wish we had taken a photo)
Diana is truly amazing and inspiring. She has the best heart and it's wonderful to be around someone caring and familiar so far from home. She is like that with everyone. Even her employees say that she's like a mother to them. Well, she certainly felt like that to us!

The following day we headed off to Malawi making the most of the ride that Diana had offered us. It was a comfortable ride (no being squashed in mini-vans for us!) with her and Andrea (Mama Rula herself) to the Zambia/Malawi border, about 20 minutes away from Chipata. But crossing wasn't plain sailing for Andrea who was traveling on a day pass, her passport at an embassy elsewhere. Apparently it seems only black Africans, as opposed to white Africans, can travel on a day pass and we sadly had to leave her behind. Thankfully, Diana could do Andrea's urgent errands for her in Lilongwe, and so we continued on without her. Diana as ever, entertaining and good natured, with the heart of gold, treated us to lunch at Spur Steakhouse (which are all over Southern Africa and not that cheap) meeting up with another friend, Luanne, quite a gregarious and entertaining character too. Nice memories. Well, we certainly appreciated the pleasant and comfortable travel day and we were very sad to say goodbye to our Zambian Mother, Diana. We won't forget her!  *Mush

A Day in Friendly Chipata, Zambia

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Eating chips and eggs with the locals

Dreading the prospect of waiting around for transport back to Chipata we were rewarded with only having to wait about an hour and got a shared taxi with locals back to town. We asked our driver, James, to go direct and not stop to wait around to pick up locals, but of course he did do pick ups (thankfully, not much waiting). But the journey back only took us about three and half hours including running out of petrol (again) just as we came into town. Not bad compared to our squashed 5 hour drive to the park. We didn't have a speaker blaring right in front of us, but I did get splattered with mud through the back window as we squirmed through a deep puddle formed by the recent rains. (The button for the window only worked from the front so I couldn't raise the window in time).

Chipata's Flea Market

We were welcomed once again back to Mama Rula's and started planning our next move to get to Malawi. Diana (our Spar lady) suggested that we come with her and Andrea in a couple of days time as they were running errands in Lilongwe (the capital of Malawi) their nearest city. Remembering our reformed travel format, this offer was too good to refuse. Not only would it make us stay longer in one place (at Mama R's), it would definitely make for a more comfortable and less stressful travel day avoiding public transport across the Zambian/Malawi border.

Making the most of our extra day we explored town, grateful for a ride in from one of the guests. Thank you Fouri. First stop was to meet up with our taxi man, James, from yesterday to retrieve my zip-off trousers which had fallen out from my bag in the boot. A relief as I was not looking forward to the prospect of replacing clothes right now. Phew!

Our Bicycle Taxis - check out the cushioned seat

There was not much to town apart from flea markets and shops, but we hung out with the locals eating (not the healthiest) egg and chips. Half way home we caught up with some much-needed internet for the first time in over a week scavenging wifi in return for a drink at the Protea Hotel bar. Getting home from there was an experience as we hopped on two bicycle taxis for the remaining 4km. There we were, precariously perched gripping on to the padded seat bumping up and down along the rough dirt road home. It was fun, but scary at the same time! *Mush

Indredible Storms of South Luangwa National Park, Mfuwe, Zambia

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Dancing with Capt. Cook at the Bus Stn

A scenic 8 hour drive through Zambia planted us in Chipata, a medium sized town near the Malawi border, and the gateway to South Luangwa National Park.  We got lucky as we were shopping for our next few days supplies, to find that the owner of the SPAR grocery store, also owned a reputable campsite 4km from town.  We hitched a ride from the shop with one of the family, and set up camp at Mama Rula (so named for her love of Amarula liquor - like Baileys).   They were exceptionally nice and friendly at Mama Rula, even giving us a ride back into town early the next morning to find a ride to South Luangwa National Park. 

We had heard that it's quite tricky to get to the park without your own transport, but we found a minivan that was heading there once it was full.  No problem right……WRONG!  We found out relatively quickly that these don't leave until around Noon or so, as that is when most finish their shopping in town.  So, 6 hours after our arrival at the minibus, we were on our way.   That is a new record for us, and it was a bit miserable sitting around that long.  Michelle passed the time by briefly dancing with one of the bus ticket sellers named Captain Cook in the parking lot, much to the delight of all watching.  I think he was a little drunk, but it was 8 AM at the time!!

Oxpeckers on a Giraffe

Once the logistics of who was selling the tickets was worked out (because when you get to the station, you get swarmed by people asking where you are going), we plunked ourselves in what we thought were good seats right behind the driver.  Well, just before the minibus left, they placed a massive speaker behind the drivers seat, and right in my footspace.  It was really cramped, so Michelle ending up switching with me, because believe it or not, I do have longer legs!  4.5 hours later, and a super bumpy road, we were in Mfuwe.  This road was pretty terrible, but it is mostly under construction, so maybe in about 10 years it will be finished, as we didn't see too many men working!
South Luangwa National Park has a great reputation, but we were hoping to arrive before raining season started, as apparently the animals move away from the main waterholes, and find water elsewhere.  We were really cutting it close, as it should start in early Nov, but I think it started the day that we did our game drives!

Elephant Road Block in South Luangwa

We had been recommended a place called Track and Trail, which was right on the Luangwa River.  It had two-storey platforms built for tents, as there is a real possibility of animals coming through the campsite during the night.  And I'm talking hippos, and elephants, being the main problem for us.  We had to have the night watchman walk us to the tent and around, so that he could spot the dangers.  I thought this was very cool, and we did have some elephants in the resort with one mother and baby actually trying to come into the kitchen.  Also, our last night we were about 50 feet from a hippo and baby, as we walked to our tent - wow.  Needless to say there were baboons, and vervet monkeys everywhere, so we couldn't leave food around.  One actually stole our malaria medication pill pot, and we (and he) were lucky that he couldn't get it open and finally dropped it out of the tree.  We also had a treat seeing our first bushbaby outside the bar.  It kind of reminded us of the lemurs in Madagascar - big eyes and bushy tail.

Huge Kudu and Baby Impalas

T&T also had a raised pool right over the river, and a nice bar/restaurant area for chilling out in.  Peter, the Dutch owner, is a professional photographer and had photos showing on the screens at the bar all day which was fascinating, and inspiring.   We found ourselves relaxing for a few days in the atmosphere, whilst looking over the river to see all the birds, and some larger animals coming down to drink.
Of course, coming all this way to the park we had to do some game drives.  Since you have to pay an exorbitant $25 park fee each day, we decided to do both our morning and night drives on the same day.  We would have loved to do more drives, but have to limit it because of costs.

Even driving out of the camp, we spotted a group of giraffe near our campground.  Crossing over the Luangwa River, there were hundreds of hippos, and possibly the densest population of them in Africa.  We heard there are plenty of crocs too, and saw them all lined up along the shore.  Haven't managed to spot any croc attacks though.  The owner of Track and Trail, Peter, was our guide, and you can tell he was passionate about the animals.  He was very patient with us at all the animals, and was even giving photography tips.  We were in an open top, open side Landcruiser and he made us feel very calm around the animals, even though some would come quite close to the vehicle. 

Funny Faced Giraffe

One curious elephant was only about 10 feet away from my side, but we weren't really that nervous because Peter told us how to act.  We also had some close-up encounters with some giraffe.

One of the highlights of the park at this time of year is the abundance of baby impala, puku and bushbucks.  They were tiny, and I think we came across a few that had just been born THAT day.  Still a little wobbly with the legs, and trying to figure out what the heck WE were!!!  The mothers let us get rather close as well, which shows they do not fear humans, which is nice to see.  Another highlight were the dozens of colourful and interesting birds around, and Peter knew his birds well.

That afternoon, we returned in the same open top, open side Landcruiser.  We had a discussion before leaving as to whether it would rain or not, and decided to take our chances.  We had more wonderful interactions with elephants that night, but other than that, nothing real noteworthy until dark.  After a great watermelon/goat cheese snack with a drink along the riverside, we started seeing some amazing lightning in the skies.  We drove around in the dark, with a spotlight looking for animals, but I think all of us were more interested at the time in the lightning that started to encircle us.  It was flashing from all sides, sometime silhouetting trees, other times lighting them from the front. 

Lightning from our Tent Site

I don't think I've seen a storm quite like it in a long time.  All this, and we weren't getting wet!!!  We actually stopped and set up the cameras on long exposures to capture the massive bolts that crossed the sky.

We then realized that we were actually in search of leopards, so put the spotlight on again, and back to our game drive.  The assistant guide, Friday, must have great eyes, because he finally spotted the elusive cat.  I think we saw it for about 5 seconds, then the heavens opened up and torrential rain started coming down.  Not to blame the spotty one, as he dove for cover, we didn't even get a photo as we had to bag up our cameras quick and hightail it out of the park.  We were drenched, and I don't even know how Peter could drive because it was so hard to see, as your face got pelted by huge raindrops!!  We all had a good laugh at Friday's prediction of no rain!!  Home safely, and time to dry out.  It was bittersweet - we had such an amazing drive, and not even for the animals. But when we finally saw only our second leopard of our whole trip, we didn't have time to hang out and enjoy watching it. 
The next couple of days, we just found ourselves enjoying Track and Trail camp.  On one of the days, it rained from morning until about 4PM, so not a lot to do, but once the rains stopped, the animals came down to the river.  The next day, you could see the river rising, as a couple of islands disappeared - had we now hit rainy season??

We did a little research in the little town of Mfuwe, trying to figure out how to get back to Chipata.  Seems like all the minibuses leave at 9 or 10 PM, and that puts us far too late back in Chipata.  We asked around, and decided we would just give it a go, and try and hitch early in the morning.  We did take a pleasant walk through town, with all the curious kids looking and waving at us Mzungu's. 
Since we were having trouble leaving this wonderful place, we spent another lovely day just at the river's edge.  We had gone up and down to all the resorts to try to find a ride back, but to no avail.  That night we were treated to some great company, with a family (John, Jill with their daughter Jade, and husband JP) and another guy named Mark from Aus.  Jade had dreamed of setting up a wildlife hospital, and was in the process of making it happen.  Her family came along for support of the research, and Mark was there as a business partner.  It was lovely chatting with them all and hearing their passions for Zambia and the animals.

Crazy Coloured Skies from Track and Trail Camp

At sunset, we were treated to another wonderful lightning storm, and then one of the coolest skies I have ever seen.  It turned the river and ground into a vibrant orange colour, with a purply sky.  Hard to explain, and I hope the photos do it a little justice.  We also saw tons of hippos making their way upstream, as I think they figure the rains have come, and they are heading out!!
What a fabulous place to visit, and we will struggle with leaving the next morning, especially as we don't know how we are getting back!!  *Stub

Homesick in Zambia

Happy Mush again, with Zambian Kids

When we arrived in Lusaka, for some reason I suddenly felt overwhelmed by a combination of homesickness missing family and friends and Kelowna-life, and a frustration at Africa. Being on the road as long as we have, the smallest thing just tipped off all sorts of stuff. Don't get me wrong: traveling southern Africa has been absolutely amazing and we have definitely enjoyed our fantastic adventures so far, especially meeting so many people who have been so good to us in so many ways; I don't think they even realise. However, Africa has definitely held many challenges and down-moments, some that we have encountered before on previous travels and some new ones. 

Of course, it's not one thing in particular, but a series of lots of little things together: for example, it gets a bit old camping in a tent, or cooking very basic, uninteresting food because of limited resources, or not being able to eat out like we generally do - all to keep costs down here in Africa. Haggling for fairer prices gets tiring: the 'Mzungo' or white-people prices can be through the roof for buses, taxis, groceries etc. Finding cheap, suitable travel options are challenging too. Public transport hasn't been always easy sometimes especially Zimbabwe. And although the people are very nice wherever we go, we have communication frustrations: they don't always give you a straight answer and we don't know whether it's because they don't understand our English, or they just don't want to tell us because we're foreigners, or they don't want to admit they don't know! Sometimes, they will just tell us what they THINK we want to hear which is really very annoying because it's not generally correct information!

Add to this that we're always on the move, and when not visiting people we know, we rarely stay longer than 2-3 days somewhere. Our longest stay in one place was Livingstone and that was because we were rafting for the week (a long time) for the kayak festival with a few days either side.

Anyway, regardless of the reasons it is now a question of what to do about it all!  We found ourselves having a long, looong chat about what happens next. Coming home and seeing family could be an option. But are we ready to come back? And come back …and WORK? Not really. To have a break, then, and go and see family and friends? That would be an expensive interlude especially as my family is in the UK, Martin's family in TO and Arizona, friends all over, and Kelowna another continent away. So, to continue onwards we need to make some changes in our travel format. Perhaps having a rest and finding a nice place to stop will help, possibly in Malawi, our next country. Perhaps spending more time in each place instead of moving on so quickly? Even though we're spending much more than our travels in Asia, maybe we just need to accept that spending a little more is worth it just to avoid the frustration of watching the money. These are some possible solutions to some of our issues, so we'll see if things change!

Sorry for rambling, but even just airing it all out helps. So, wish us luck with our new approach to our African travels. *Mush

Two Capitals - Harare, Zimbabwe to Lusaka, Zambia

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Massive Baobab Tree near Kariba

With sore heads we arrived back in Harare, after seeing some massive baobab trees along the way.  I've got to say that these have to be my favourite type of tree on the planet!!  It was to be a short stay back with Mike and Fiona, as we decided that it was time to move on to Zambia.
Mike was still keen to show us a good time back in Harare (bless him) and the next day after we'd done a bit of research at the bus station for buses to Lusaka (Zambia's capital), he took us out to a game park just on the outskirts of Harare.  We were surprised at the huge area it encompassed, but struggled to see a lot of game.  We struggled even further when we attempted to have our braai (bbq) lunch and discovered that we had no lighter or matches - oops, that was kind of important! I was looking forward to the boerewors (sausage) too.
In the park we spotted eland, wildebeest (with recent babies), zebra, baboons, and one lone giraffe.  We hunted high and low for more giraffe, and hit many dead ends.  Eventually, we called it quits and found out at the gate on our way out, that they only have ONE giraffe in the park.  I suppose we should have asked more questions when we arrived! Must be pretty lonely out there for the giraffe! Poor thing.

With Mike, Ashleigh and Fiona in Harare

We finally cooked up lunch when we got back home, chilling out with the Freelands for the rest of the day whilst packing up for our onward journey.
The Harare bus station turned out to be relatively organized, and we easily got ourselves on a coach at 7:30 in the morning which left by 8:30!!  Not bad at all for Africa! It was a pleasantly uneventful journey, with the driver actually driving responsibly for the most part.  And, the scenery was interesting coming down off the plateau and into the Zambezi Valley, although we saw plenty of burned out skeletons of trucks that hadn't quite made it down the steep hills!  Even the border crossing was pleasant and uneventful! Why can't they all be this good??
In to the hills of Zambia and onto our business in Lusaka, a city that we found to be reasonably pleasant and not as dirty as we expected (remember, it's all relative!).  Not much on the agenda apart from some banking and other chores whilst walking around seeing the town. We did have a bout of homesickness and frustration as we wandered and had a good heart to heart about what our travels would like form now on.

With Cecile and Ashley at Mint Cafe in Lusaka

That night, we had arranged to see our American friends, Cecile and Ashley, who live in Lusaka, and who we had jumped into to Devil's Pool with at the top of Vic Falls.  We had a super nice meal with them at Mint Cafe at a fancy mall in the suburbs of town.  The ride there in the local minibus was pleasant, and as usual, we chatted with some of the locals who took care of us and showed us where to go.  I find the Zambians to be really nice and friendly, and they pride themselves on that.  That sort of thing is really important to us and we appreciate it thoroughly, and most of the time it's genuine and sincere. Although, we found out that Cecile had recently been attacked and robbed, with the bruises to prove it, so it means we still have to keep our heads up and be careful who we trust.  Hope you feel better soon Cecile!

The dinner nicely topped off our day of difficulties with homesickness and general frustrations of being in Africa, and it was nice to see some familiar faces. *Stub

Aaaayyyyy Kariba, Zimbabwe

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The Kariba Dam

About 370km from Harare is the vacation village of Kariba.  Built beside Kariba Lake, which is a 270km long lake created from the construction of Kariba Dam on the Zambezi.  Most people come to the lake to houseboat and/or fish.  We expected to do neither, but would see what came about.  So, we headed out in Mike's little Toyota Hilux bakkie, and tackled the Zim roads up to Kariba.  No fines and no bribes were handed out in the journey which we were happy about.
Arriving in town, we set up tent at Warthogs Backpackers, and toured around the town a little.  Not much here really, but seems like a decent place to hang out.  On our way back to the camp, we discovered that it is built on an animal thoroughfare, and there were elephants in the campsite area.  Cooooool!!

Mike, John, Michelle and Wayne at the Country Club

That evening, we headed in to the bar at Warthogs, and met a few of the locals - Mike, John, Wayne and Keith.  There was no effort required to meet these guys, they just started chatting to us!!! We heard some of their stories about how they ended up in Kariba, and as usual Zimbabwean stories go, they were quite interesting. The next day, we were invited for drinks at Mike's house, to see the hippos outside his door.
Having a car in Kariba was a necessity and we used it to it's fullest.  We were able to do a self-drive safari around the small Kariba National Park, and cruise right along the waterfront where all the hippos, zebras, crocs, waterbucks, and tons of birds were out feeding.  We stopped for a picnic with the hippos on shore, but keeping our distance.  I think we were the only people in the park that day too, so we had all the animals to ourselves.

Female and Male Zebra in Kariba

Martin with the Hippos in Kariba

When we arrived at Mike's we found ourselves at the end of a point in a development called Lomagundi, and he had water on both sides.  This water was inhabited by lots of hippos, crocs and the elephants would even walk right past his fence.  Within the first couple of drinks, Mike had invited us to stay at his place, so we quickly drove over to Warthogs, grabbed our tent and came back to find our own private room with AIR CON!!!  Fantastic!!  What a nice offer.  We also had breakfasts and lunches cooked for us by the hired help, and they were delicious.
The next night we found ourselves at Warthogs bar again for chicken night, where we met more of the locals.  We found out it is a pretty small town, and close knit community here.  We would also run into a lot of these characters up at the Country Club high up on the hill the next night, with views over the lake for sunset.  We felt like one of the gang, and we had different invites to events or happenings in town.  So nice!

In Mike's Jacuzzi - see the hippos behind??

What we did manage to do was do a little tour of the dam.  You actually have to pass through Zimbabwean customs and head down to the dam, as the centre of the dam is the border.  We actually met one of our local friends Rick on the dam and turns out he is the Chief Maintenance man for the dam.   So, we got some inside scoop on the place, along with some urban legends and facts on the dam.  The urban legend is that the guy who designed the dam, actually had two other dams burst and then he committed suicide.  Because the location of this dam is a little suspect, there has been much attention to safety, and it is highly monitored!!  Totally safe????  It was pretty impressive to look over that big wall, and see the arched concrete heading up towards you, and the mighty Zambezi flowing away.

Feeding the buffalo and hippos

On our last day in Kariba, Mike was having a party.  And, not like us to turn down a party, we chipped in helping him prepare some food for the night, before hopping into the jacuzzi and having some wine while watching the hippos.  John came over with his boat and we finally got out on the lake which had been so highly recommended to us.  Over on one of the islands, they were bringing a big hay bale to feed the buffalo and hippos, and the food was scarce.  I helped the guys push the bale up the hill to pretty close proximity of the beasts - quite possibly the closest I had been outside of a vehicle.  A job well done, and we relaxed on the boat with some sundowners, a swim, and watching the sunset.

Out on the boat on Kariba Lake, Barnyard, M, John and Mike

When we got back to the house, the party was already going.  We had a delicious braai that night, but I'm afraid I got into the wine a little too much in the afternoon, and hit the bed quite early for my liking.  Michelle came upstairs to discover me fast asleep in bed before midnight.  Poor showing, but the air conditioning was good.
We all woke up with heavy heads the next day, struggled through breakfast, then all got in our cars for the 5.5 hour drive back to Harare.  Loooooooong afternoon!!!   *Stub