Tanzania: The Border 14 October

The last 100 or so kilometers to the Tanzania border yet again made us realise how poor the country is. So many donations are made to Malawi (you see the branded, new Land Cruisers all throughout Malawi) but little is spent on useful improvements like irrigation and agricultural education – a lesson in diversifying your […]

Livingstonia 12 – 14 October

With one last “You won’t make it” from Willie, the owner at Hakuna Matata, we left for Livingstonia – or more accurately Lukwe Farm at the top of the gravel pass and the camp we will be staying at on our first night – if we make it. From the very first moment the road […]

“Mr. Holgate, I presume?” 11 October

Fortunately we left Mayoka when we did because if we had not, we would have missed out on one of the Golden Moments of the trip. That one extremely coincidental occurrence that we will always remember. We met Kingsley Holgate – the legend himself and his incredible team, in a coffee shop in Mzuzu. Seriously, […]

Final days in Mayoka 8 – 10 October

The Sunday morning started off with a quick reality check. Marcia’s mom, Manuela, has been with us for 2 weeks already and it was now time to say good bye. It definitely did not feel like 2 weeks and when I did a quick calculation I realized we’ve been in Malawi for 24 days already! […]

The Lumani – 7 October

We thought that the Ilala was a real experience but nothing could prepare us for what we were about to go through on the Lumani. At a quarter of the size of the Ilala the Lumani had two levels: the lower level for mainly cargo and some unlucky humans and the top level for mainly […]

Likoma Island 3 – 6 October

Getting off the Ilala was pretty much the reverse of getting on it. What complicated it a bit more was that I was on the one side of the ferry waiting to get on the lifeboat with all the electronics (laptop, tablet, camera, phone), the Tupperware of spaghetti and the backpack with all the cash […]

Ilala Ferry – 2 October

We left Senga Bay on 1st October and headed to Nkhata Bay. The plan was to stay 1 night at Mayoka Village where we would leave the cars and get the Ilala ferry the next day that will take us to Likoma Island (also referred to as paradise by some tripadvisor and lonely planet guys) […]

Lilongwe to Senga 29 Sept – 1 Oct

After Cape Maclear we went to Lilongwe to fill our gas bottles, get some supplies and to generally be closer to a hospital for Clayton should he have a relapse. The drive from Cape Maclear to Lilongwe was the best part of the day, leaving the lake behind for the fresh, cooler mountain air. Lilongwe […]

Cape Maclear 28 – 30 September

Clayton wanted to stay another day in Liwonde but I had ants in my pants and wanted to get to the lake. In hindsight, we should’ve probably just stayed there. One of the things that I’m starting to learn is that if you like a place, stay. The other thing is to not believe reviews. […]

Liwonde National Park 26 – 28 September

We had a pretty slow start to Malawi, spending 8 days not doing much really but it at least gave us time to process what we’ve experienced in Mozambique. Sometimes when we go from one place to the next and then to the next stop again, my brain feels overwhelmed and it is only later […]