Malawi - the lake, the animals and more...

We enter Malawi with a cargo boat from Mbamba Bay. We are welcome to the warmth of Africa by an immigration officer who wants to see ALL our luggage!!! The first time since the beginning of our trip! We patiently show EVERY single item we have in our panniers and in we are.

Resting in Nkhata Bay we meet 8 others cyclists! Never met so many before at once. Malawi is going to be the Muzungu country so far. It's calm, people are nice, the roads nicely done with little traffic,...

In Lilongwe Ruedi joins us for 4 weeks until Harare, Zimbabwe.

The money begging along the road is less but still there.

first steps in a new country

Collecting rubber at a rubber plantage.

Supermarkt in Malawi.

The plague of Lake Malawi, tiny flies, but by the busload. Here by night.. 

.... here during the day; they look like clouds of smoke over the water.  Hence the "smoking lake"

Lovely camp spot. Makuzi Beach Camp

Yes, we meet the Team again, our On and Off companions from Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Tansania and now Malawi. Where are they going through, are we going to meet again along the road?

Makuzi Beach Camp, paradise on Lake Malawi.

Bird of prey watching us having breakfast. No, we don't have rats and mice on our menu. Only oats and papaya.

God's forgotten place??? How about a miracle of development?

In the heart of Lilongwe, Malawi's capital. Private bridges connecting one side of the market with the other. Of course there is a fee to be paid if you want to use it. The courage to use it has to be gathered by yourself. 

Is your load heavier than mine? Wow!
Ruedi joins us in Lilongwe and cycles with us to Harare, Zimbabwe.

Price list for the bicycle taxi. 

Only taking pictures is more interesting than the Muzungu. 

Morning at the local school.

Worst case scenario, not enough beer. So let's get prepared.

No men to be seen.

Hand made wooden toy's.

Some are relaxing at the lake shore.

For the locals the lake is washing...

....and working place. These are mosquito nets, but they are used to fish...

... that tiny fish. Sustainable? Durable? Ecological? Where will the big fishes come from?

Herbal medicine a la Malawi.

We received some very nice supply from Switzerland, of course there was some chocolate and cheese. But there were also some porcini....!!!!!

These women started a song and a dance just for us!!!! Lucky we, it was very nice.  

Photographer meets photographer.

Traditional, hand made brooms. Piled up, ready to be sold.

Cutting a tree by hand.

Beautiful but poisonous, the impala lillie will put you into an endless sleep. Maybe the Sleeping Beauty was from Malawi. 

Elephant in our overnight campsite. Some meters, on foot,  next to this giants. We feel very small and vulnerable. 

Next day on a game drive in Liwonde Nationalpark, we felt much safer. 

Strange creatures inhabit our campsite by night. This one is trying to get into our milk powder  bag. 

Road under construction, no heavy duty machines in sight.  Just heavy duty workers up to 70 years old!

No wallpaper posters, they are all painted by hand. 

Bushfire, human made or natural?

Jenny Pangani, 26 years old, married and divorced (because of "some stories"), has 3 children. She quit school because she couldn't pay the school fees. School fees are 21'000 MK per year.
Buys vegetables and sells them on the street near Chikwawa. On a bad day she makes a benefit of 1500 MK (= 5 US$). On a good day she doubles the income.
There is no money she can put aside.
There is no backup for bad days.
Her 3 children depend solely on her.  The father is not supporting in any way! (and sits 30 m from where the picture was taken!)
She would love to go back to school.
One of the innumerable tough lives we meet on the road. It's hard...

Visiting the Majete Wildlife park we come across this very big fellow. Luckily we are in a jeep.

Our tree hut in Majete park, its feels much safer up there than on the ground. The park has lots of elephants and 3 lions!!!! We sleep heavenly in our lofty bed.

Short cuts are not always the less time consuming routes you can take. 

In the wooden structures the goats are safe from hyenas and other predators .

No driving here!

Mwanza, Limbikani Lodge. This monkey is kept captive for the fun of the guests. It's illegal and harmful to the animal. But, hey, the director has his connections to the local police / wildlife management!!!! And he's looking for a companion for the monkey, so it would not be alone!!!
There are a lot of things we don't undestand!

Our route in Malawi:


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