#sengabay

From Zomba it was time to hit the lakes with Danielle, destination – Cape Maclear, one of the most beautiful locations I have ever been to. Mountains’ surrounding the lake, the lake is crystal blue and full of tropical fish. We camped at Fat monkeys for 5 nights and met some lovely people who are also on big trips over Africa. Monique and George from Holland who left 5 years ago and have travelled through 26 of the 54 countries in Africa. Win and Leanne from the UK who started their trip in Uganda and are making their way south. Dirk and Lieve were staying in a camp up the road, a lovely Belgium couple that have been travelling all over the world on and off for the last nine years, they made our trip through Africa look mediocre.  We also had Sumani and his wife from Palm Beach join us for the day, Sumani was a bar man and earns 25000 kwacha a month (£28), due to this he has never been able to make the one hour bus journey to Cape Maclear. We paid for him and Sandra to join us and treated them to a lunch by the lake. We had a lovely day, Chris was teaching Sandra to Swim as I looked after baby Kelly that is just 6 months old and very adorable.

Isaac took us on a lovely boat trip out to a small island that is surrounded by so many fish. It is literally like you are swimming in an aquarium, we then got to see a fish eagle come down to the lake and collect his dinner of small fish and then onto the other end of Cape Maclear where one of the first Missionaries was built in the mid 1840’s by David Livingstone from Scotland. There was also a 800 year old humongous sacred Baobab tree.

From Cape Maclear we went to Senga bay and camped at Cool Runnings for 3 nights, we met 3 lovely Australians who are cycling from Malawi to Nairobi!! We also got to spend some time with Sam the owner who is heavily involved in many community projects. Sam is a nurse by profession, able to offer free treatment to the locals from her backpackers. Sam also told us about a blood donation project that she runs, being a haematology nurse and understanding how vital it is to have a stocked blood fridge, Danielle and I signed up to donate. I went into the lab and was shocked to see a completely empty blood fridge. Generally when someone needs blood a family member has to be tested to see if they are a match and then donate. Most of the equipment had been donated to the lab by various countries. Before we could donate we had a blood test to check our blood group, HB level and also check for various diseases. We were both fine to donate and it was a quick and painless 15 mins that will save people’s lives. Again a small offering that we were able to give to this amazing country.  

Next stop Kande Beach, a beautiful beach by the lake with fluffy golden sands. It is hard to believe that you are by a lake and not the ocean. We camped here for 2 nights along with the Australians and then all headed to Nkhata Bay, where I am sat writing this blog. I think Nkhata Bay may be in my top 5 places we have visited on our trip, a village nestled among the cliffs overlooking a stunning bay where the water is again crystal clear. There was nowhere for us to overland, however Mayoka Village was able to do us a deal for the three of us (Chris, Danielle and I) to stay in a triple room for £6 each a night, can’t really grumble at that. We are also able to use paddle boards, snorkelling equipment and Kayaks for free. The Saturday night we went out for some local nightlife, the bar was vibrant and full of characters all showing there great dance moves. If only I could dance like they do, I gave it a go anyway. Sunday was a lazy day involving mainly eating and sleeping. Today we went to the local market and purchased some clothes made from the local material. 

Thursday, we will take Danielle to Mzuzu where she will get the bus to Lillongwe, ready to fly back to South Africa. Chris and I are going to head north to Livingstonia, we have to go up into the mountains to reach the town where David Livingstone settled, the views are meant to be stunning and well worth the 12km drive up the gravel track with 20 hairpin bends. We will let you know how we get on. I hope you have enjoyed the read and we will be in touch again soon.