Malawi

Hey Everyone,

Sorry for not posting in the last few weeks. Malawi doesn’t have the best internet access and besides, we’ve been waaaaaaayyyy too busy! (yep, busy, real busy)

Since our last post we travelled a solid 2 days of buses, taxis, minivans and bicycle couriers to get to Nkhata Bay, Malawi. We weren’t sure quite what to expect but we were quite surprised none the less! We stumbled in weary and tired at sunset into butterfly space. Unfortunately they were full. They did however lend us a tent although it was more of a nylon sack with a couple of poles and no tent pegs! None the less, the ever adaptable Jeff and Kate set up shop and unfurled our 0.1mm thick silk sacks onto the ground for sleeping. We quickly migrated to the bar next door to imbibe a healthy quantity of “local sleeping aid.” Anyway, many bottles of sleeping aid later and help from a couple of nice saffie guys(in the form of a single mattress) and we managed a full night sleep!

Two weeks later and we’re now living in a zebra motif painted hut approximately 2.5 metres from the lakes edge. It’s glorious. Each day we wake to the sound of the waves and either go for a swim, a cup of bottomless coffee or wander into town. Thus I am either feeling healthy, wired or inquisitive! We are helping out here with setting up a community resource centre focussing on healthcare, agriculture and income development. Kate is helping out with some local intellectually disabled children too which is nice.

There are over 800 species of fresh water fish in Lake Malawi. It is rumoured but generally considered untrue that one species tastes like cheese cake. The other great thing about the lake is that there is a really excellent dive school operating here. So without further ado Kate and I signed up and squeezed into our wetsuits last Monday! We had a great few days obtaining our Open Water Dive qualification although Kate fell sick and missed the last bit of the course. She is on catch up this week though! There are some cool things to see in the lake but my favourite is the upside down fish. These things have apparently realised at some point in their history that swimming upside down is a good idea and they do it quite often! Good for them. You’ve got to do something fairly spectacular to stand out from the other 800 other species!

Anyways, before I go a quick description of Nkata Bay. The people here are really nice. They also speak English which makes interaction a breeze! The tap water here is even drinkable! Having said that, Kate has been ill with Giardia so maybe we should revise that status slightly.(we are now zapping the water with UV everyday which is fun AND healthy!)

Also, congrats to Walmsley for mowing down more spare ribs than young Mr Mullin. Very Impressive. Now you’ll have even more ribs sticking out!

We are skipping off to Lilongwe, Lussaka and then Vic Falls over next weekend. Will post again hopefully from there although not if we are too busy celebrating Kate’s 27th bday!

Take care out there!