Finally going north via Malawi!

· Wednesday, 7th of May, Cuamba to Monkey Bay in Malawi

At 4:30 am Anse’s car alarm goes off again! Subsequently we are offloading the entire car after another restless night and I spot the furry passenger while he’s jumping from the back to the front section of the car. We put the whole car upside down but reluctantly give up the hunt and load Anse again after we haven’t managed to get hold of him. We get three rat traps from a hardware store in Cuamba that morning and drive west to Mandimba where we change some dollars into some Malawi Kwatchas ‘on the black market’ and then finally cross into Malawi!

The Mocambiquean officials at Chiponde border post give us a bit of a hard time because of our hand scribbled paper which we got from the immigration officer in Quionga after our failed attempt to cross the Rovuma River into Tanzania about a week ago. But after about 20 minutes of arguing and explaining our whereabouts of the last couple of days between Mocimboa da Praia and Mandimba, we get an exit stamp not on (since there was the one from Quionga already) but next to our visa and are released! The Malawian side was a piece of cake and Yipeee! We are finally out of Mozambique and on to further ventures up this way north!

We drive another 2 hours or so and get to the ‘Fat Monkeys’ camp in Monkey Bay right on the lake in the early afternoon.


· Thursday, 8th of May, Monkey Bay

After the last few driving days we take it easy and I update my diary.
The mouse traps I laid out at over night were not successful. Instead the piece of banana which I put on one is gone! Seems to be a clever furry buggar!

A hoard of jolly pot-smoking South African backpackers ‘invades’ the campsite and it’s annoying in a funny way to listen to them: ‘Jeez man! Hey bru! Howzit China!? Is it??? No way!!! Is lekker! Lank kief dude! Don’t talk kak boet! Schweet my bru!’…..Sounds lank familiar!

Since the packet of long life cream we bought in Nampula looked a bit abused, I decide to sacrifice some of our chocolate to make a mousse. Tastes not quite the same as made from fresh cream, but is definitely rich and enjoyable!

In the late afternoon I set out three mouse traps inside our Landy again, this time I tie pieces of banana to them with a string! We are quietly sitting in front of the camp fire after dinner, enjoying one of the awesome sunsets when we suddenly hear ‘WHACK!’ the trap being triggered! We finally got the mouse! And it wasn’t a small one either! Finally quiet nights again with the car alarm on, if only the backpackers would find their way into their tents (sigh)!

· Friday, 9th of May, Monkey Bay

We hire a double kayak and set out to two of the islands. When passing the first one, we spot an otter swimming along its shore, first time ever I have seen one in the wild! We push on to the other island which is maybe 6 km across the lake from our camp. It’s an island with a private lodge and we think we could maybe pop in at their bar for a drink! After about
1 ½ hours of paddling over the choppy waters we finally arrive at the island’s beach from where we can spot already the tented camp. Instead of a warm welcome, however, we get turned away by the not so friendly manageress by telling us that this is a private island and that we not supposed to be here and that we were not supposed to have crossed the lake without a guide in the first place! Even though we obviously annoyed her with our presence, she sends a kayak guide with us who sympathizes with us and sneakily takes us to another part of the island so that we can at least have our lunch in peace! The guide accompanies us back to the first island where we go for a swim at a beach, protected by ‘Don’t make a poo here!’ signs (seriously!) before heading back to Fat Monkeys Camp on our own.

· Saturday, 10th of May, Makuzi Beach

On good mostly tarred roads we make our way north to Makuzi Beach where we stay at a tranquil and secluded camp site right on Lake Malawi. This place is truly a little piece of paradise with manicured terraced lawns, lushly framed by well maintained shrubs and plants, a sheltered bay with private sandy beach guarded by a little island formed by massive smooth boulders about 2 km off the lake shore.

After a refreshing swim I invite Kirsty for dinner at the lodge’s restaurant, dress code: Smart casual! Feels weird to put on civilized clothes (talking of a pair of jeans here!) for a change ;-)

· Sunday, 11th of May, Makuzi Beach

We spend a quiet day at the camp. The tranquil surroundings encourage me to get into a good yoga session, saluting the sun as the first rays glance over the distant Mozambiquean horizon.

Well, being someone that according to Kirsty is always ‘wippstert-ing’1) around that was maybe a bit too much relaxing for the day, so in the late afternoon I urge some exercise and swim out to the nearby island and back while Kirsty accompanies me in a kayak.

1) I told Kirsty once that for all our family’s kayaks, my dad had chosen names in my German hometown’s local dialect. Our long, slender double sea kayak he had named according to the always restlessly up and down bopping bird ‘Wippstert’ (in English: wagtail). Since then, Kirsty adopted that word and used it whenever I was ‘pottering’ around. K&P: I can see you both smirking there!

· Monday, 12th of May, Makuzi Beach to Nyika NP

We had been warned that the road to Nyika NP was long and quite muddy but although there were some rough bits we found it to be okay, making use of all the diversions to avoid the last marshy patches of the rainy season. While we wait for the park official at the closed boom gate, I chat to a German tour group who we had seen at Makuzi Beach already. The track to the National Park runs along the Zambian border, sometimes venturing a few meters into the neighboring territory without us realizing it since there are no visible indications of a frontier.

The Nyika Plateau is beautiful and reminds us with its green undulating hills of mountain ranges in the Alps. At this altitude, the climate is a lot cooler than down at Lake Malawi and we enjoy the crisp fresh air. We drive to the reception building to pay for our camp site where two dozen of the park’s staff hang around waiting. We learn from the park warden that the park manager, a Mzungu (Swahili for white person) who had been managing the National Park and living there with his family for 14 years has been denied renewal of his lease and was asked to leave only a few days ago. His wife and children drove away today with the furniture while he is tying up loose ends and having a last meeting with the staff waiting outside. Only then we realize that we saw earlier on two removal trucks and a woman with two kids in a Land Cruiser driving out of the park! Of those 200 people who had been employed by him, only 18 will be taken over by the National Parks Board!

Already now the horse riding and guided walks through the park are not offered anymore and while we drive to the camp site we are just wondering what the future of this once neatly run park will be?
The camp site looks deserted and feels a bit eerie with several crows following our every move, opportunistically lurking around to grab from us whatever edible they might get their beak on. The views are awesome though and not only are we soon enjoying a roaring camp fire which warms up the atmosphere, but we also get some company by four other happy campers, two Scandinavian and one Dutch girl with their local guide who arrive in a Defender Tdi after dusk.
· Tuesday, 13th of May, Nyika NP

We go for a game drive and spot zebras, roan antelopes and bushbuck. Not much to see about the ‘highest population of leopards in Africa’ as our guide book promised... we are not surprised driving through this vast reserve!

As mentioned by the park warden, we also got to see how the German taxpayer’s money gets spent: 10 beautifully constructed (German precision workmanship being used to its full potential there, jawohl ;-) were gleaming off the hill as we drove past, no access allowed by the public, all with what must be amazing vistas yet standing there empty! And all of these were built as a present by the German Government to the president of Malawi! Was about to drive up there and steal a look to recuperate my Pfennig spent on this project J !

We drive to the highest peak which is marked with a trig beacon to enjoy the endless views from there.

· Wednesday, 14th of May, Nyika NP to Karonga

Unexpectedly the way north via Chisenga to Karonga turns out to be a long slog (We previously had been told the road was tarred, but it wasn’t)! We were however rewarded with the most amazing views which unfolded in front of us coming down the Nyika Plateau.

In order for us to cross into Tanzania early the next day, we overnight in Karonga, about 50 km outside the border at a shoddy camp site. After seeing the pretty filthy camper’s ablutions, the manager offers us to use the bath rooms in one of their rooms which were equally bad…
At least our yummy burgers for dinner make up for the not so great surroundings!