All Aboard, Next Stop – Paradise

Cruising the Ilala
Nkota Bay, Malawi
April 5th, 2009

After visiting several of Lake Malawi hotspots (Cape MacClear and Kande Beach) we decided to continue to follow the lake and enjoy the islands. Once a week on Monday, there is a public ferry which departs from Nkota Bay at 8pm and makes its way towards the islands of Chizimulu and Likoma. We decided that on this particular Monday we would be on it. Upon hearing the ferry horn blow and announcing its arrival, we grabbed our backpacks and walked down towards it.

We bought our tickets and then climbed aboard the white ship up a steep wooden plank, which has seen better days. Standing on deck we had a fascinating time people watching. Every possible person you could imagine climbed on board, carrying with them every imaginable item from bananas to TVs to bread rolls to mattresses to boats to well you get the picture. There was a very Titanic feel to the whole thing.

Deciding to get something to eat we entered the ship’s restaurant. The beef stew was nice, but the cockroaches running around were not. With a TV present in the restaurant Karel was hopeful for a DVD especially as there was a Wesley Snipes Chinese illegal pirated collection, but alas it wasn’t to happen. Wandering on the top deck and using our backpacks as pillows we slept for a couple of hours.

At midnight the ferry horn blasted and we gathered our things and were amazed to see the two lifeboats being lowered down. The chaos which followed would have been entertaining if it wasn’t so confusing. Luckily the owner of the backpackers on the first island affectionately known as Chizzy was on board and told us what to do. After several boats left we headed downstairs and navigated ourselves through thick crowds and got on board. One five minute boat trip later and we arrived- paradise.

We spent three nights at Chizzy in a fantastic backpackers, Wakky Retreat, and enjoyed swimming in beautiful waters, snorkeling and wandering around the island. Wanting to visit the other island, Likoma, we took a fishing boat across the waters. Another interesting experience to stay the least. It was a short trip, only about two hours in length, but extremely long in terms of the current and sea sickness feeling factor. However once we arrived all was forgotten. Likoma was much like Chizzy, except the beaches are sandy and the island is bigger. There is also an incredible Cathedral there, the beauty of which was an unexpected surprise. A big recommend if you’re in Malawi.

Unexpected Kindness

Meeting Ernesto, his family and the Head Mistress
Near Cape MacClear, Malawi
March 29th, 2009

We cleared the Zambian and Malawian borders easily mid-day and started driving towards our first destination in Malawi- Cape MacClear on the famous Lake Malawi. It was a long day spent driving in shifts and darkness approached sooner than either of us expected. With the huge population of Malawi and the villages built next to the roadside, as dusk approached we knew we needed to find a place to stay for the night. Soon after we decided we needed to find a place to stay we saw a sign for a school.

Pulling off the main road onto the school grounds we asked a man if it would be alright to stay there for the night. He told us we should ask the Head Mistress and guided us towards her house. I spoke with the Head Mistress and she said it would be fine, but she needed to speak with the others- the others being another well respected teacher Ernesto. All was cleared, we met Ernesto and were told to camp right next to the house.

We unpacked our tent surrounded by a host of children and various adults. Ernesto then invited us into his house. Bringing a flask of herbal tea we entered. We got the seat of honour sitting in comfort on a faded pink loveseat facing the household’s two televisions. The lovely Ernesto, our host, introduced us to his lovely wife and two children. It was an exciting night we were told, as Malawi was playing the Ivory Coast for a place in the World Cup! The atmosphere was incredible as we were surrounded by every person in the village- either camped out on the floor or peering through the house windows. The t.v. had extremely poor reception however and was mostly a series of black and white dots, but one could gather that the Ivory Coast were giants compared to the small Malawian footballers. It was almost painful to watch as in the first few seconds of the match Ivory Coast had already scored! There was a definite David vs Goliath feel to the whole thing.

The next morning we were woken by the school bell and packed our belongings up. Greeted by the Head Mistress, we were told that there was water for us to have a bath and we were thought very unusual indeed when we politely declined. Ernesto was also up, saying he hoped we had a good night’s rest and thanking us for staying with him. He then said he had something for us and went inside his house. Returning outside he presented a beautifully carved dhow (canoe). I was almost in tears thinking of how unexpectedly kind this man and his family are. Our words of thanks didn’t seem to match his actions of kindness. I can only hope that one day we might be able to return the same level of thoughtfulness to someone else.

Bad Boys, Bad Boys, Whatca Gonna Do When They Come From You

Police Stop
Lusaka
March 28th, 2009

After a “restful” stay at ChaChaCha Backpackers (a complete hole- we don’t recommend to anyone) where Karel awoke to hear an ex-pat lovers quarrel (kissing followed by ‘no Murray, no, don’t hit him!’) we ran some errands around Lusaka. Once achieving our objective of obtaining our African yellow card for inclusive third party insurance for East Africa we headed for the hills. Unfortunately before we could successfully leave the city limits we were pulled over by a traditional built Beyonce haired (well not exactly as glamorous, actually it’s probably completely unfair to mention the two in the same sentence, perhaps a “badly wigged braided blonde and red haired extravaganza” is more appropriate) police woman.

We pulled off the main road to the appropriately directed position and waited to hear the news. There was a speed gun on the main road so needless to say I was thinking about what was coming. As we waited Karel was already in the pooper, another bloody speeding fine. The woman approached us and asked for Karel’s liscence and wrote down all our details. Handing over the documents she said something like “Did you know you were speeding? You were doing 72 in a 65 zone. What do you have to say for yourself?”. Karel responded by saying he wasn’t sure how fast he was going, which he didn’t. The police woman replied by saying that we have a fine of 540,000 Kwacha (about $100 US) payable now and that she has a receipt book. I said we don’t have that much money, that’s too much money to carry, and was wondering if I might be able to negotiate us out of this. She immediately dropped the fine to 270,000 Kwacha. Karel and I knew then that something didn’t add up. We said we didn’t have any money, but we would happily go to the police station and pay there. The police woman was stuck explaining that as she has the receipt book the police station wouldn’t be able to accept any money. She then asked us what money we had. Nothing we said. She looked us up and down, wandered around the car and told us we could go, but “next time carry more money, the next police officer won’t be as nice”.

Lord of the Flies

Kafue National Park
Zambia
March 26th, 2009

Our next destination was Kafue, a National Park about 150kms from Victoria Falls. Following our trusted Tracks 4 Africa GPS, we made steady progress on potholed roads which then lead us to a very remote dirt road. We kept checking our route as this particular path was single lane and passed small village after small village. Yep, we were right on track. Steadily steaming along at about 20kms an hour we loved seeing what normal life would be for a rural Zambian. Small huts dotted the roadside along with cyclists. We saw a man riding his bicycle with a live chicken under his arm ready for dinner. We saw a young man with a homemade wooden guitar strumming along with his mates. And we saw loads of children running and playing eager to wave to us. Brilliant.

Time ticked on and we had to set up camp. Judging by the amount of traffic we encountered (none) we pitched the tent right on the road. Hearing the nearby villagers chatting along we wondered if we would have an audience. Inside the tent we planned our escape- waking up at five and packing up just before sunrise. Satisfied with our plans we settled in to reading our books. About half an hour later we heard two bicycles coming down the path. Looking at each other listening and unsure about what to do, we heard the bicycles stop suddenly and the two men chatting animatedly to each other most likely about their near miss of running straight into the back of the vehicle.

The next morning we followed our plan and packed up the tent promptly. High fiving our foresight we were well chuffed. Just before we left, two children came walking past. Expecting them to be interested in us we wondered what they would do. Well, they didn’t do much just walked past as if they see white people camping on their road everyday.

We entered the park early, at about seven in the morning. The scenery was beautiful with thick trees, tall elephant grass and leafy bushes. The most amazing thing was the lake in the park. It was stunning. Crystal clear blue water with huge boulders dotted along the shore set the tone for a peaceful afternoon lunch. We later discovered another part of the lake with dead trees patterning the water. Again it was beautiful. We set up camp there and enjoyed the sunset. Hearing hippos grunting as we slept was the perfect lullaby.

The most memorable moment for this trip was our introduction to the tshe fly. Mother f***er. The flies look peaceful enough, somewhat like a large housefly. The exception is though that they bite, and that bite hurts like hell. Anytime the window or door was open for even a minute they would flock in. Their entrance was followed by either Karel or I (whoever was in the passenger seat) stalking each and every one of them. We stopped counting at how many we killed after several hundred. The scary part about it is that once you have smashed one (sorry for the gory details but the satisfaction about killing one is immense) you see how much blood they have sucked from you.

Go to Africa- Become a Trillionaire*

Victoria Falls, Zambia
March 24th, 2009

Our first stop in Zambia was to one of the seven natural wonders of the world- Victoria Falls. We first saw the falls driving from the border post in the direction of Livingstone. The spray we saw was from over 30kms away. Amazing. Arriving in Livingstone we were struck by how untouristy the town is. Besides the addition of several craft stalls and some backpackers the town could pass for any other small African town – I mean there isn’t even a KFC (I know, crazy).

Seeing the falls in the flesh didn’t disappoint. The sound was of thunder, the spray was finer than rain, and the smell was of fresh dew. It is truly spectacular especially as we were lucky enough to see it during it’s finest. The Zambezi River levels are incredibly high at the moment and the famous Victoria Falls rapids are closed to rafting due to the water levels (and will mostly likely be closed until May/June).

Spending the better part of the day at the Falls we wandered around the different paths and admired the views. It was spectacular. And crossing the knife edge bridge was fantastic- walking a few metres we got completely soaked. I mean not just wet totally drenched. Fantastic.

*We also scanned the craft market and picked up a few of the Zimbabwe bills to become instant trillionaires!

Entering into the unknown

Zambia Border Crossing
March 22nd, 2009

Making our way to the Botawana/Zambia border crossing proved to be an experience we’ll never forget. Advised by several fellow travellers and some locals we followed instruction to pass the huge line of semi-trucks waiting for the small ferry, which carries one semi-truck, one vehicle and as many passengers as possible. What we weren’t prepared for though was the amount of trucks waiting to be loaded we counted more than 150 before we gave up. Incredible. These truck drivers set up camps doing their laundry and cooking. We guessed they would probably have to wait at least a week. If anyone has some money to invest may we suggest a toll bridge over the Zambezi.

Waiting for the ferry we were approached by a ton of entrepreneurs wanting to assist us. Assuring them we were fine wasn’t enough and the lovely Karel listened to one man’s business pitch, shall we say for at least twenty minutes. Catching the ferry however wasn’t the exciting point, which was only five minutes long and we luckily were able to catch the first one. What was really exciting was the Zambian immigration malarkey. It took us two hours- and we knew what we needed to do! First we cleared immigration and had our passports stamped for which I needed a $50 visa. Next we had to pay council tax ($3.50) which we paid with some leftover pula (Botswana currency). Second we had to pay for the ferry which was $20 (accepted in American currency). Then we needed to pay carbon tax (about $25) which we weren’t allowed to pay with American dollars. This meant we needed to exchange the money for Zambian currency. After the exchange we went back to pay the carbon tax. Lastly we needed to get third party insurance for the car ($30). All of this business was conducted in a random array of buildings some consisting of little more than a tin roof. One also had a man sleeping on a bench snoring loudly. If this is Africa- I love it.

Chobe

Botswana
March 21st, 2009

Our final stop in Botswana was to yet another one of her stunning National Parks. Due to wet conditions we were unable to drive to Chobe through Moremi and Savuti, and had to make a slight several hundred kilometre detour through Nata. What’s in Nata you ask? Well Nada. However it was well worth the detour.

Staying at Kasane we entered the national park gates promptly at six and were the first to arrive. The park had stillness to it and dawn was just beginning to rise. The only fresh tracks on the sandy roads were of animals not of wheels. Heaven. As we winded along the trail we saw a spotted hyena and some giraffe. The complete peacefulness wasn’t to last as it soon became apparent that we weren’t the only ones in the park. The pimp wagons, as Karel fondly refers to them (a.k.a. the game trucks), rolled in- in incredible number. They did prove useful though, as they were the first to spot lion. There were two lioness moving across the thick pale yellow grass into some bush. Luckily one of the lioness sat in a perfect viewing point and we happily watched her for thirty minutes whilst enjoying some peanut butter sammies.

Driving for the better part of the day we mostly enjoyed taking in the incredible scenery. The park is largely based around the Zambezi River, which flows powerfully this time of year (the wet season) and creates one of the seven natural wonders of the world also known as Victoria Falls. We were constantly amazing with how full the river is and how stunning it looks carrying with it large clumps of grass and wood.

We spotted some game during the day, but the really exciting viewings happened around 4pm when all of the animals started making their way to the river to drink. Navigating through a field of elephant was amazing. Literally hundreds of them were on the river banks, on the hillside and bathing in the river. In awe and just starting to process what we had just witnessed, we arrived in the mist of even more elephants. Especially amazing were the little ones. We think we saw around three hundred- three hundred in the space of an hour. Sheer magic. We were also lucky enough to see a huge herd of seventy plus buffalo grazing around and in the water.

p.s. Also had snake sightings four and five- both from the safety of our car. Four was a black mamba making it’s way very quickly across the road. Five was a boa who stopped in the middle of the road and we were able to take a quick snap before it raced into the thick bushes