Malawi - Where Madonna Gets Her Babies

Following a butt numbing 21 hours of truck driving spread over two days, we made our way from Tanzania and into Malawi for what would be a short, three day visit. Unlike Gore, we knew that three days would not be enough time to really get the lay of the land in Malawi, but such is the itinerary that 72 hours was all that we could afford. We spent our entre time when not travelling on the shores of Lake Malawi, the body of water that accounts for over 20% of the total surface area of this land-locked African country. While there were a few water-based activities on offer, including a spot of diving, we opted to chill out on the beach in between quick dips and partaking in the odd liquid refreshment.

Julie Mas and Becks taking their nags for a swim after a ride in the hot sun.

While Mat tended to blogging the good times spent in Tanzania, Caroline and others escaped the confines of the beach camp and headed into the local village armed with a bag of balloons for any wandering children. It didn’t take long for word to spread that there were Mzungus in the mix (Mzungu is the Swahili equivalent of ‘Gringo’, though not as derogatory) and soon a flock of young ones that would not look out of place in a Madonna family portrait followed on Caroline and other’s heals as balloons were dispensed and the village explored.

Lauren, the twitching extrodinaire from Portsmouth, picks a kid for Cheryl Cole.

Mingling with the locals was quite a bit of fun and on the whole, the Malawians are a good humoured bunch. Notable were the numerous young men that flocked the beach and approached us with a wide range of goods and services that could be procured. Each had acquired an English based trading name, and thus all of us came to know and remember that ‘Vin Diesel’ was the man to see for a traditional Malawian chair, ‘Donald Duck’ was keen to trade anything for a new pair of boardies, ‘Spiderman’ was organising a fishing trip for those interested and ‘Chicken Pizza’ could arrange for a wooden hippo to be carved to exact specifications.

On our second day beach-side, we cranked out the best camping based meal of the trip thus far courtesy of having procured a live piggy from the local village. So following an early morning slaughter, we spent an hour or so de-hairing, disembowelling and wiring Harry Plopper for an open fire spit roast. Nine hours after lighting the fire, a crunchy layer of crackling was removed and a temporary carvery installed as the masses enjoyed a fine feast of pork and assorted side dishes.

Given that our time in Malawi was very brief, we thought we’d use this blog to give a little insight into this overlanding malarkey we’re involved in. So the first order of business is to introduce you to Makako, our chariot across the African plains. Makako is a 30 metre lorry with a custom built box on the back that stores all our bags, food, tents, cooking equipment and provides an excellent viewing platform on the long drives. There is a home for everything, and everything has a home. A normal week will usually consist of 3 long days travel between the key destinations and sights on our route from Nairobi to Capetown, and thus far Makako has been chewing up the kilometres with ease.

For the majority of the trip we’re camping, which means we pull into camp and set up home every other day. The camp sites are on the whole pretty sweet, nearly always have a bar and occasionally a swimming pool.

A monkey keeps an eye on the tent pitching.

Some zebra in our campsite.

Once the tents are up, everyone swings into their role for the day which will be one of truck cleaning, cooking, washing up or truck security. A round robin operates so you make your way through each of the tasks, except for a select few who are above such duties and have the elevated status of ‘Fire Boy’. This role is a prestigious, ongoing role with responsibility for fire and water, the lifeblood of the camp, in addition to moving heavy things and looking manly. No doubt you’re all pleased to hear that Geoff and Mat have been designated chief Fire Boys and have mastered the dark art of a slow, hot charcoal burn.

Lead Fire Boy Mat with the 3rd in command, Wingspan/Dan.

Dinners and breakfasts are communal affairs and to date the meals have been top notch despite the tight budget. Breakfasts alternate between hot (eggs, sausages, pancakes, French toast) and cold (cereals and fruit) while dinner has revealed chicken burritos, cabonara, stuffed potatoes and hamburgers along the way. Parents will be pleased to know that everyone is eating well and maintaining good condition.

French toast for breakfast - yes please.

Haggling in an out of town market for fruit and veg.

And to wrap up this instalment, some of you will recall that we reported a significant failure of the autofocus function on the camera lens we have. While we muddle forward using the manual settings on the camera, we thought it would be fun to play a game of ‘Guess the Blurry African Animal’. So there are 5 shots below for you to peruse and identify the African creature depicted... Answers in the comments section.

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.