July 14th

A lot has happened since I last wrote. To make a long story short, internet access has been elusive and very difficult to find, just like trying to find lions and elephants in the Nkotakota game reserve. We traveled towards North of Malawi and just got back to Lilongwe today; INTERNET, yipee! We all are well.

However, today was an interesting day, we had an overnight stopover in Nkhotakota at Nkotakota Pottery & Lodge along side Lake Malawi. Yes, we painted some pottery of our own choosing, Noah made something from scratch and Paul and Len decided to sit this one out. The food was fantastic, especially the freshly caught “CHAMBO” fish…I personally had 2 large servings in one sitting. Ashley insists on eating same things over and over, chicken and chips, spaghetti or Pizza (quite not like the ones she is used to, but she is not starving, plenty of other food choices).

We decided to take a detour and go to the Nkhotakota Game Reserve. We were assigned 2 escorts and a game Warden with a loaded semi-automatic gun (scary), incase any Lions or Elephants approached. What we did not know was that this was a walking safari….we thought we would just drive thru the game reserve…wrong! We walked in the bush so thick you couldn’t see a lion right in front of you…the first 10 minutes were scary and after that we were too busy trying to find anything, any animal..so that we can take pictures. The other unknown fact was where we were going or how far from the base camp we were, we all mindlessly followed the guards….remember, one had a loaded gun. We walked for about 3 hours in this rugged terrain, the only highlight, some water falls, one black snake and about 3 crocodiles…No Lion, No ELEPHANT! What a disappointment. I must say, we saw plenty elephant footprints and dung some so fresh we were sure we would see the elephants.We are now in Lilongwe for the next couple days and heading towards the South of Malawi by Wednesday.

Tomorrow, Ashley and I are being picked up to see Sylvie’s and Ashley’s sponsored child in Malawi while the rest of the gang stays behind to unwind and checkout the pool.


Other highlights

July 8th

Traveled to Mzuzu and checked in at a lodge called MONI Lodge. The drive is very scenic, a feast for the eyes, mountains, very green forest, Mzuzu has the largest Pine trees we have ever seen and plenty of it.

July 9th/ July 10th
We went to the village in the district of Mzimba, the village name is called Moses Hara in Mpherembe. Pictures to follow. It was nice to see some uncles and their families and the relatives. We visited Mom’s grave, was sad but necessary. The road to the village is not yet paved, and the color of the soil is sort of orange red. We and our luggage were covered with it. It is really interesting to see the different soil colours of Malawi. (Doris and Andrea weren’t the only red heads just on this part of the trip..ha..ha..ha…)
I have never before noticed that even our village lies high up in these mountains of North of Malawi, splendid views as far as the eye can see, no picture can do it justice. This has been a very cherished dream come true to see more of Malawi than we have ever seen. We are still rusty at speaking the local language .
Spent the next 2 nights in Mzuzu at the same Moni Lodge.

July 11th

We traveled towards North of Malawi with the intention of visiting Livingstonia. This is how it was described : “Livingstonia is without a doubt one of the most scenic places in all of central Africa. The vertiginous views from the edge of this historical town plummet doLivingstone Mountains in Tanzania. It is quite breathtaking. With imagination and on clear day you can see distances far enough to see the curvature of the earth”…..with description, we were smitten. However, it was not to be, we could not find a 4x4 to take us up the 15km to the top as no ordinary car can do.
However, the road from Mzuzu to Chitimba, near Livingstonia, is out of this world, high in the mountains with steep bends and absolutely amazing views of the land and eventually of Lake Malawi. We went as far north as Sangilo. We turned back a few kilometers and checked in at a Back packers lodge called CHITIMBA Beach lodge in Chombe Bay, very interesting place. There was almost every nationality you could think of that night. The white sand beach was large and beautiful. The kids all loved this place and wanted to stay some more. Where else can you see a steep mountain on one side and the lake all in one eye sight! The kids swear Lake Malawi is an Ocean! You cannot see where it ends which makes it difficult for them to believe.

July 12th
We left Chitimba heading back towards Lilongwe. However, we decided to take the scenic route alongside Lake Malawi. The one that passes through Nkata Bay - Nkhotakota via Salima to Lilongwe. We slept in Nkhata Bay at Njaya Lodge, high up on the mountain at the edge on lake Malawi below. You can imagine the roads going to these places.

July 13th
We left Nkhata Bay in the morning. Slept in Nkhotakota as described earlier at the beginning of this post and headed back to Lilongwe on the 14th. As usual, Malawi did not let us down with it’s majestic views of its land. Hills and Mountains to one side and palm and Baobab trees on the Lake side. What majestic views!