Namakomo Bay - Malawi

After seeing Andrew and the girls off on their snorkelling trip we headed into Monkey Bay to try and catch the immigration officer again. We were assured as the Ilala was leaving today he would definitely be there, however this being Africa he was nowhere to be found and the Ilala didn't look like it was going anywhere, we would just have to try again another day.

Before heading back to the lodge we picked up some supplies including more cement for the guys building the laundry arriving back at the lodge just as the boat arrived back with the guests for lunch, it was all go at the moment. The afternoon was very humid with thunder about so we had sundowners on the beach instead of going out on the boat.

As we sat chatting we noticed that Tom the kitten kept closing both eyes and when we checked one eye was inflamed,  at first we worried he had been stung by an insect or worse a scorpion but in the end decided he had been swiped by one of the other cats, just as well Tom was sleeping with us each night.

Next day Andrew and the girls were leaving after lunch so they just chilled out on the beach, we were expecting new guests today so it was just as well that Celia aka the Diplomatic Bag arrived mid morning with a some groceries from Lilongwe. Luckily she and her husband were back at the lake to play golf at Club Mak so give her her due she had rang us from Lilongwe and offered to bring us some supplies which was a great help.

The new guests were two couples and a small child, both couples were medics working at the hospital in Blantyre, we were not keen on either couple as they were all a bit up their own arses who clearly thought they were above the likes of us. Conversely Andrew who owned his own company in the UK was lovely as were his daughters so we were sorry to see them leave as it looked like it would be hard going with the others.

Then around 4pm as we were preparing the boat to take the couples out for sundowners we received a call asking if we had rooms for the night for six people, five girls and one guy! Apparently they had just arrived at Club Mak hoping to stay there but had found they were fully booked.

All we could offer was the family cottage which had two double bedded rooms and two single beds in an outer room. I explained that would mean two people sharing each double bed but they said that would be fine and they would be with us within the  hour. The only problem was dinner as we had already decided on roast beef but the fillet would not stretch that far, after a quick chat with Tom and Gerald the chefs we decide to do a big cottage pie as well - tonight would be our first full house. 

Sure enough at 5pm they pitched up, five nubile Norwegian girls and one guy who after a welcome drink changed into their swimmers and were frockling in the lake - things were looking up!

The other couples didn't look best pleased when they got back from their sundowner cruise to find they no longer had the place to the themselves, but it was good business for Taff, especially as unlike the couples the Norwegians liked to drink.

Just before dinner two local guys also turned up looking for accommodation but we had to say we were full, at this rate Taff definitely needed more rooms. By midnight all the guests had gone to bed and we, with Tom the kitten, sloped off to our cottage feeling rather knackered.

Up at 6.30am we faced a busy busy breakfast this morning, Tom and Gerald were in the kitchen today which was good as they are the strongest team but even they were feeling pressured with all the meals. To top it all one of the couples,  American's had been a real pain since their arrival with the wife constantly popping in and out of the kitchen pestering the staff for snacks for her son.

Yesterday as they were the only guests and the other couple were one of Taffy's regular customers we had let it slide but Jenny doesn't like the guests going in the kitchen plus this morning the guys were stressed enough. The only good thing was they were due to leave today, then we caught the American wife again in the kitchen asking the guys if there was a bus they could catch back to Lilongwe!

When we asked why, she said they wanted to stay another two nights but as they came in the other couples car who had to get back to Lilongwe they needed to organise alternative transport, never mind asking us if it was ok to stay on! She then says maybe we could drive them to Salima, the next big town to the North where they could get a bus, the fact that is a two hour drive away seemed lost on her!

We told her it was academic as we had no rooms available, which wasn't strictly true but at least this shut her up and we are relieved when at 10am everyone goes out on the boat for snorkelling and we can relax at last with our breakfast.

The boat arrived back just after midday and as everyone was leaving this afternoon we served lunch a bit earlier than normal. Over lunch the Norwegians said what a great time they had and how thankful they were that Club Mak had no rooms and that they planned to come back as soon they could, which they in fact did some months later while we were down in Namibia.

By 2pm we at last had the place to ourselves, it being Sunday most of the staff were off so we let the kitchen staff go early.  We had planned spending the afternoon relaxing in the Jacuzzi until we noticed Alfie had broken free of his anchor and was drifting in the lake yet again - talk about give us a break! 

Luckily there was little wind so quickly getting together as many hands as we could we managed to get Alfie back on his mooring, for a fee all round of course! 

Tomorrow we were supposed to present the licence papers for the other boat Kumbali to the police in Monkey Bay but there was just one problem, we didn't have any! Since the incident on the lake we had spoken to Taffy down in Durban and he revealed for the first time that he had never had the boat inspected! There was a variety of reasons, one being he didn't actually own the Kumbali, its true owner being a friend in Lilongwe who doesn't want to get  involved.

This was all well and good but we were the ones facing the music. After speaking to Taffy we had hastily arranged for a boat inspector to come over from Mangochi the nearest town in the South but he wouldn't arrive till late morning so we needed to stall the police for as long as we could.

Apart from presenting the boats papers our boat man, Captain Crispin, was supposed to present his licence to the police as well but we needed him to work with the boat inspector once he arrived so we had no choice but to ignore the Police until we had all the documents in place - we just hoped this being Africa they would not be too zealous over meeting the date.

In the meantime we had Nelson, one of the off duty kitchen staff who is a good seamstress, working overtime sewing straps on all the boats lifejackets. The inspector also needed to see Kumbali had a first aid kit so we had put together one from our supplies, we just hoped this would be enough otherwise myself and Crispin could end up in clink before the week was out!