Farewell Malawi-last week in the warm heart of Africa

My last week in Malawi was spent travelling around to see more of the country. After our final workshop on the Saturday (which was a great success) we were free. On the Sunday we got up bright and early to head to Lake Malawi, Max the med-student joined us which was pretty handy as he often carried our giant rucksacks. Getting my final bike taxi down to Chitakali was quite emotional, the sun was still rising, sending rays up behind the mountain, not a view I will forget anytime soon. We then started our mammoth minibus journey, which took 11hours (if we had a car it would of been about 4hours). It was the usual uncomfortableness and I'm surprised I still have a pinky toe left as everyone in the three buses stood on it getting on and off the bus. There was a very cute wee baby boy dancing, who had the best smile, so at least we had a bit of entertainment for awhile. Our final bus took us from Monkey Bay to our accommodation in Cape Mclear, as we were driving through the hills the sun was setting which was a spectacular first view of the lake.

Once we got checked in and had (hot) showers, we grabbed some yummy dinner and a few beers. We then went for a long walk along the beach in the dark, enjoying the stars and the sounds of the lake. We all went for a midnight swim, it was very soothing albeit about scary as the water was pitch black and we only had the moon light. We subsequently fell asleep on the beach for a couple hours. The next day was spent lazing by the water, swimming and exploring the near by area. That night we returned to the beach and I have never seen such spectacular stars, there was thousands and thousands of them and countless shooting stars. The following day Max departed to go back to the hospital, I was feeling awful (I think it was the fish I'd had for dinner) so spent the day sleeping in the shade.

We then headed to Liwonde safari camp, i had my worst minibus experience on the way, but it was over relitively fast (4hrs). The camp was in the middle of the wilderness and is often visited by elephants and hippos at night. I did wake up to munching outside the dorm but couldn't tell what it was. The afternoon we arrived we headed out on a boat safari, the boat was amply named Glen Morangie. We saw lots of hippos, birds and a couple elephants in the marshier areas. Floating on the water was a lovely way to pass the time and the views were fantastic. We had a very close encounter with the wildlife. On the drive back we were thrown side to side, water came pouring into the boat and I thought Lynsey was going to fall overboard. We had gone over a hippo, it must of decides to stand up right when we were over it, we never saw it resurface so I hope it's ok. We didn't get it with the propeller and I'm reassured that they can stay submerged for around five minutes.

There was no electricity at the camp so dinner was by candle light, there was hot showers though which were basically outside. It was lovely having a hot shower as the sun was setting. There was a look out area where you could sit and see things, I unfortunately didn't see any elephants from there but I did see some pumbas and banded mongoose. One of the other travellers had a telescope we got a fantastic view of the moon. We ventured on a game drive into the national park, we saw lots of impalas, water buck, elephants etc but I think the thing that will stay lodged in mind was this 4000 year old, 18m wide, 21m tall baobab tree.

Our last day in Malawi was spent in Blantyre, we had a few things we needed to do before we left which were pretty simple tasks. Or so we thought. We needed $50 each for our visas in Tanzania, so we headed to an exchange place, then another one and then another one. No-one wanted to give up any dollars, one place gave Linsey a fake $100 note and told her she could get more on the black market, luckily she got her kwacha back. Finally after producing my passport, flight ticket, receipt for my transaction when I first arrived (I wish I had had the foresight to hold on to some of my dollars) and filling in a form with all my Malawian details (address, number, how long I'd stayed etc) I finally got the $100 we both needed. After that and repacking I was ready for a cold beer. Max came down to see us off and to stock up on Supplies. It was nice being filled in on the going-ons at the hospital. We returned to Bambay Palace for another amazing curry and then headed to the bar next door as there was a live band, it was a great last night in Malawi. I haven't even been gone a week and I miss it, I look forward to the day I return.