NORTH MALAWI : A VIKING, COWS + CHEESY MOONS

HELLO + WELCOME as we drive our trusty old Troopy from Sydney to London. Via East Africa.

Yes that a long drive isn’t it. We spent a lot of time in Malawi. Met heaps of new friends, took plenty of photos, saw the cheesy coloured moon rise over the lake (again….we saw it in 2009 and it was AMAZING) and stayed at some great camps run by some really nice people.

It’s Gareth writing today.

This post focuses on the North Malawi. It was interesting to see that the southern part of Malawi was populated more by the muslim community and seeing all the mosques by the road side. The northern region of Malawi seems to have less muslims and more churches, where we would have thought it would increase as we went further north. Anyhow Malawi as a whole would have to be one of the most relaxed, friendliest country’s we have visited so far.

We started off at Makuzi Beach. It is a place where ALL the overland blogs we have read mention as a place to visit. Well it’s a bummer that they have doubled their prices recently to $10p.p.p.n because with no camping facilities, it is not a place I would recommend to other overlanders. We were lucky though because we said to Brett the owner that “Our guide book says it is $5” and he was more than happy to have us stay for five bucks each. I think they really want to focus on the lodge but all in all it is a lovely spot.

:: Makuzi Beach – Reading up on the next few weeks in Malawi with our Bradt Guidebook

:: Raining at Makuzi Beach – An easy way to wash up

We were keen to head back to Kande Beach. It is a very popular overland truck stop and we first went there in 2009. Nothing much has changed other than the people are older and they have just made a new shower block. The old ones are clean but about twenty years out of date. It was here where we properly met Scotty and Helene. An English/Scottish couple travelling around in their Land Rover Defender. They were both a breath of fresh air and we really hit it off with similar senses of humour.  We watched the cheesy coloured full moon rise over the lake while sucking back a few brewskies. I was loving it.

:: Kande Beach – Full moon rising over the lake. Being from the east cost of Australia, Us Sydney-siders don’t get to see stuff like this too often. Very special.

:: Kande Beach

:: Kande Beach – Scott and Helene’s rig. They have a very entertaining blog too. Jump onto wearthefoxhat.com.us and check it out

:: Our home for days at Kande Beach

I had another product failure in Malawi, and so I was very  shattered to say goodbye to my last set of Havaianas (thongs/ jandals/ flip flops). They just aren’t built for Africa I guess. That’s four pairs in Africa and three in Oz where the plug has snapped. Bring back the double pluggers I say….In fact I might start a political party on that subject. “Double Plugger Party” Who’s keen? I think only the Aussie’s reading this will get that joke 🙂 but if you are interested in joining, let me know.

:: Double Plugger Party inspiration

Our next stop after Kande Beach was a place called Chtimba Camp. Another overland truck haunt but big enough not to really notice them and tightly controlled but the owners Ed and Carmen. On our 2009 trip Kirst and I watched the cheesy coloured moon rise over the lake at the Vikings camp. We couldn’t remember the name other than the friendly owner was a big Viking looking guy. So when we rolled in we knew immediately it was him. Ed the Viking is his new name. He does not have a last name now.

The Viking is really into his photography and has even sold some in his native land. We got talking and shared a night under the stars practicing while having a good old chin wag. I will do a separate post on some of my astrophotography and try to explain how they came about. If you would like to check out some of Ed’s images jump onto Facebook and search Ed Peeters Photography.

 :: I have played around with this one to highlight that white rolling cloud coming in behind the mountain. {14mm prime lens – f2.8 – 30sec – iso1000}

:: Chitimba Camp – Saying goodbye to The Viking the first time. We came back to Chitimba twice after that.

:: One of the Chitimba locals who we spent some time with chatting to on the beach. This image is a littly blurry but I LOVE that smile hey! This boy was a little nervous at first talking to us because his English was not the best but of course it was better than our local language.

:: Chitimba Camp – Posing with my sunnies on. These beach boys hang around out the front of the camp but Ed has told them not to hassle tourists. It has worked well and we eventually spent a  lot of time with them just talking and learning about them.

:: Chitimba Camp – Aaah thats just some cows going for a walk on the beach

We eventually left the Chitimba Camp and headed up into the mountains. All that and more will be covered in the next post you see up on Aussie Overlanders.

As usual guys thanks for being here with us in spirit. We appreciate all you positive feedback and comments. Keep them coming.

See you next time.