Namakomo Bay - Malawi

Billy, Angus, Michael & Santa left late yesterday afternoon, their visit a brief one, as they were leaving Angus gave us the Zinger, the mosquito zapper we had coveted so much plus a bottle of excellent South African sherry which we had not seen before but which after sampling was certainly one for the future, especially at only £2 a bottle!

With them gone we were looking forward to having the place to ourselves again but just before sunset a young English couple drove in looking for a place to stay and what could we do but take them in. They were extremely grateful as driving in Africa still looking for somewhere to stay as it get's dark can be nerve racking and given very few places have street lighting is also dangerous - we know cos we have been in that position on occasion.

Each morning we rose around 6am, the first job was to unlock the bar lounge area, Taffy leaves it unlocked because he sleeps above so can hear if anyone is around during the night but our cottage is too far away to risk it, so we had to be up at the crack of dawn to unlock everything before the staff turned up.

The guests, Caroline and Chris, went out on the boat after breakfast for some snorkelling, they had decided to stay another night but after that we had nobody booked in before Taffy & Jenny arrived back in a few days time so we were looking forward to having the place to ourselves till then. 

It was a hot and very humid when we took the guests out on the Kumbali for sundowners, the lake had been like a mirror all afternoon but as we headed out across the lake we could see rain in the distance and clouds were building up. Lake Malawi is big and dangerous, where storms can appear out of nowhere so when the wind suddenly got up and the lake became quite rough we headed back to shore, it was a shame for the guests but better to be safe than sorry.

As we sat on the stoop having a pre dinner drink with the guests the phone rang, it was Taffy to say they were in Lilongwe and would be travelling back to the lake tomorrow, three days earlier than planned, so there went our hopes of having the place to ourselves for the next few days!

Next day we got the room staff to get Taff & Jens room ready for their return while the guests left before lunch, the rest of the day was spent relaxing in the Jacuzzi with a good book. Taff and Jen arrived back at 7pm, it was dark and very windy but happy to be back they were even happier once they saw how much money we had for them.

Once again we were woken the next day by Tom the kitten biting our feet, now they were back we had expected him to stay with Taffy so we were surprised when as we entered our cottage he appeared out of the shadows and settled on our bed, Jenny was mortified that he didn't stay with them as she expected him to.

Now Taffy was back we were free to do what we wanted before we moved on so today I was taking up the offer to play golf down at Club Mak with Peter & Bev, the couple who ran the plant nursery down there. I used to play quite a bit back in the UK even belonged to a club but had to give that up once we started travelling so I was looking forward to the game.

Sue is not interested in golf but decided to come and walk around the course as we had  been told there was a good variety of birdlife and like me she needed to get away from the lodge for a few hours.

It was very hot and humid when we arrived at the course, after hiring clubs, balls and tees we met up with the others, apart from Peter & Bev there was also Trevor a mate of Taffy's who lived across the bay in Monkey Bay. 

The course was lush with lots of Baobab and pod Mahogany trees so whilst the bird life was nice but nothing out of the ordinary Sue was happy collecting seed pods and with plenty of water but only nine holes the course did not seem too difficult so I was looking forward to taking it on. In Africa it is de rigueur that you hire a caddie whenever you play, personally I prefer to play without one but as it is an important source of income for the local guys I was happy to defer to local custom. 

I truly like Africans, probably because what you see is what you get so as we went round I joked with my guy and treated him with respect however Peter & Bev who are white Zimbabweans and Trevor an old South African have grown up in a different world and treated their caddies quite badly. Peter & Bev especially treated their guys with open hostility, they were clearly still very bitter after what has happened in their home country.

The worse was when Trevor hit his ball into a pond and they insisted his caddy go in after the ball, I was amazed as you couldn't even see the water let alone a ball but the guy went in and literally felt with his feet and hands till he found it, incredible!

Although only nine physical holes the course becomes 18 by having different tee positions so it was around 6pm and getting dark by the time we finished. After a quick beer the others were going on to their regular weekly bowls match so it was time for us to head back to Norman Carr but first we decided to stop at Club Mak to quickly check email and upload the website.

It was only just 8pm when we arrived back at NC but the place was deserted and in darkness, Taffy and Jenny had gone to bed and turned everything off obviously put out that we had stayed out so late but it was only 8pm for Christ sake!

Our problem now was we had missed dinner and we were starving so trying to be as quiet as possible we gingerly opened up the kitchen looking for something to eat. As we made a  sandwich and a coffee Taffy somewhat sheepishly poked his head around the door.  Embarrassed he made the excuse he thought the cats had got in the kitchen but he was obviously feeling guilty for leaving us in the dark. However, we got our revenge when Tom the kitten followed us over to the cottage and stayed with us instead of them.

Next day two new guests arrived but at least now we could leave everything to Taff & Jen. We were heading off in a couple of days anyway so our attention was now totally focused on preparing for our departure. First task was to put up the roof tent so we could make up the bed and also give it an airing, next was for Sue to give me a haircut, it was getting very hot and a haircut was long overdue and where we were going barbers are few and far between, anyway going to an African street barber is not to be taken lightly!

All was going well until just before dinner when Sue suddenly started to feel very queasy and had to make a quick exit to our cottage where as she put it 'both ends kicked off'!  One thing you don't want when camping is the runs so this could seriously affect our departure but luckily in the absence of our own home we couldn't have been in a better place.

Next morning Sue was still feeling washed out and nauseous so I left her to relax in bed while I carried on preparing Rupert for departure. In the afternoon more new guests arrived this time a couple with four kids which was bad news for the couple who had arrived yesterday! We don't think NC is a place for kids as being small and intimate it ruins it for the other guests who want a quiet maybe romantic stay but Taffy simply can't afford to be choosy, not yet anyway.

The following morning Sue was feeling much better and even managed some breakfast so it was looking hopeful we would get away as planned tomorrow. Then as I was cleaning the fridge another set back when I badly cut my thumb on a broken bottle, a deep cut which needed stitches.

It was not good, when we are camping we need full use of our hands and they are constantly getting dirty, however we were a long way from medical facilities so all we could do was close the wound with steri strips and a plaster and hope for the best.