Mbeya - Tanzania & Monkey Bay Malawi

It was a lovely fresh morning as we left Ruaha to head back to Iringa, once again we had had a great visit so we were sorry to be leaving but we were expected back in Malawi in a weeks time to look after Taffy & Jenny's lodge while they went down to South Africa.

We reached the Never Ending Road again at 2.30pm, 112 km still to go to Iringa, this was the bit were were dreading as in parts it is very corrugated and we were worried the water tank wouldn't survive it, it was probably this bit which had broken the bracket on the way down.

It was very hot and the last thing we needed was the tank collapsing on us so we took it easy and every 30 minutes stopped to check it, it had shifted slightly but was thankfully holding strong, finally at 5pm we reached Iringa and tar roads again, a big relief!

Arriving in town the first thing we noticed was a woman carrying a Panga (Machete) on her head, with nothing in her hands you would have thought it easier to hold it but that's not the African way. We were heading for the Riverside camp but first we stopped in town to check our emails and bank etc.

Afterwards as we came out a local guy sidled up to us holding something under a cloth, whipping it away we saw he was holding a small cage filled with loads of Masked Lovebirds which he obviously thought we might want to buy - but boy did he pick the wrong people!

Masked Lovebirds are uncommon and at that time we had never seen them in the wild. Like all Lovebirds they are noisy chirpy little things so full of character so we were enraged to see them subdued and unhappy stuffed in this grubby little cage. These weren't bred in captivity they had been trapped in the wild and for what, a few shillings, really sad.

Our instant reaction was to swear at him loudly which threw him for a moment then with a grunt he walked away. Later we thought we should have bought them all then taken them into the bush and set them free but this would surely have only served to encourage him to go out and trap more, all we could hope was if no one bought them they would be set free eventually.

It was nearly 7pm when we got to Riverside and it had been a long day, we were looking forward to just collapsing into one of their ready made Banda's but there were none available so we had to put up the roof tent for the night, not a major problem and at least it wasn't raining. Up around 9am we had a light breakfast paid the bill of just £4 to camp then headed off for Mbeya. Before leaving we checked the water tank again and found part of our repair had come away so we were lucky to get here without further mishap, after further patching we just hoped it would hold a bit longer till we reached Mbeya. 

As it was the journey was uneventful and 4pm saw us in Mbeya with just 20km to go to Utengule, our home for the next few days, easy peasy we could relax now. Except this is Africa where you can never take anything for granted, sure enough on reaching the turnoff onto the dirt road to Utengule we found the bridge over the river had gone (we learned later it had collapsed some weeks ago),  there were no signs of warning or any diversions of how to cross but this dirt road was also a route into the interior so surely the whole area hadn't been cut off?

We were trying to figure out where to go with a crowd around us jabbering away when we saw a vehicle coming towards us on the other side of the river, hopefully we would now see where to cross but as we watched it veered left and disappeared into the village to our right so there must be a way out through there.

We quickly back tracked to the main road just in time to see the same vehicle coming out of a small track a little further back towards Mbeya. There were no signs so if we hadn't seen this we wouldn't have known where to go, this is Africa! After a bumpy ride down a very narrow dirt road through the village and across the river bed we eventually reached the other side. As we drove all the kids came running out of the houses, the village had probably never seen so many vehicles before.

At Utengule we got our favourite cottage number 5 and by 6pm we were settled down with a couple of G&Ts on the stoop overlooking the plains to the West enjoying a lovely sunset. We spent the next three days at Mbeya getting the water tank fixed and re-stocking with provisions. The period was a mix of tedium as we waited around while the jobs were done on Rupert to the fear of almost getting burnt out by a massive bush fire late one night with flames leaping from tree top to tree top, only stopped by the massive firebreak around Utengule and then the sheer frustration while we and a dozen other vehicles were held up for two hours by police while we waited for the President's motorcade to come past!

It was therefore good to get on the road again and head off to Malawi, the drive between Mbeya in Tanzania to Makuzi in Malawi is one of the longest we do, over 300 miles plus a border crossing but at least when we are going to Malawi because of the time zone we gain an hour, coming the other way when we lose an hour is a killer!

Today was actually one of the better journeys, the border formalities only took half the time it normally takes so by 4.45pm we had reached Makuzi Beach in Malawi, our first stop through the country.

We have been to Makuzi before and know the owners Brett & Lara well, the lodge is lovely with about 10 Chalet's and a lovely restaurant and bar all overlooking a private beach and the Lake. Normally we camp as the Chalets are expensive and the campsite if not busy is really nice on a shady series of grassy banks overlooking a lovely beach and the lake. Today there was just one other couple from SA already camped and luckily away from our normal spot. 

Our preferred spot is close to the first Chalet where Brett as a favour to us let's us hook our fridges into the mains. Neither Brett or Lara were around when we arrived but a new guy John opened the Chalet for us and within 20 minutes we had our camp set up and drinks in hand - happy days.

Dinner was a candlit affair, Durban curry with lashings of G&Ts, Beers and Savannah's listening to the lapping waves of the lake. Lake Malawi is so big that it feels and sounds more like a sea except it is fresh water, it actually borders three countries, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania and in the other countries it is known as Lake Nyasa (Malawi's old colonial name was Nyasaland).

During the night I woke up with a pain in my chest so had a pretty restless night, I reckoned I had strained a muscle while m lifting some heavy rocks we used to help jack up Rupert to work on the water tank in Ruaha, but Sue was not so convinced always imagining something more serious. Eventually I dropped off to sleep but Sue claims she lay awake most of the night worried, listening to me snoring!

Probably the biggest worry on our trip is a serious medical emergency happening, medical facilities are few and far between and even then outside of the capital cities they are pretty basic. In addition we spend most of our time in the bush many miles from any help and to make matters worse Sue can't drive so if I'm incapacitated we would be in even deeper shit.

As if that wasn't enough at around 5.30am we were woken by a very loud rumble, thinking it was thunder we found out later it was actually an earth tremor and they had experiencing a few of these lately, so it was hardly surprising we felt kinda tired the next day, luckily we weren't moving on today.

The day was for relaxing, having the odd swim in the lake, reading, catching up on the website, editing photo's etc. Makuzi is great for breaking up the journey between East and Southern Africa. However, next day it was time to move on Southwards down the lake shore to Taffy & Jenny's place near Monkey Bay.

Before we left Sue asked John about the village dog which used to always come around the camp looking for food, John said he was dead, he had found him one day in the rubbish pit with the local kids throwing stones at him, he rescued him but a few days later he was found again in the pit this time dead almost covered in stones.

The sad thing is we were not surprised by this news as we have witnessed cruelty to animals, especially domestic animals, on a number of occasions throughout our travels here. The African kids especially seem to have a sadistic streak where animals and birds are concerned, strangely this is at odds with the way they treat each other which is quite caring.

It is just over 250 miles from Makuzi to Monkey Bay, tar all the way until the last 40 miles then it is on a bumpy dirt road. While there is only one town of any note there are lots of villages so if you need a comfort break there is literally only one spot in the whole journey to stop with any surety no one will walk by so we are always thankful once we reach Taffy's. 

We arrived at Norman Carr Cottages, Taffy & Jenny's place at mid afternoon and soon we were sitting on the sundeck overlooking the lake 'Greens' in hand, it was good to be back. They had six guests in so while we went to our cottage to shower and unpack Taffy took them into Monkey Bay to have a drink on the Chauncey Maples.

Regarded as the oldest ship in Africa it was built in Scotland in the 19th Century and named after Chauncey Maples the sixth Bishop of Nyasaland Malawi who planned to use it to visit his parishioners up and down the lake however he drowned before it arrived! It eventually became the lake ferry then fell into disrepair, now it lies tied up in Monkey Bay used as a floating pub!

England were playing South Africa at Rugby today so we all planned to watch it on the TV but sods law as we were showering there was a power cut, a frequent hazard out here. Taffy was still in Monkey Bay so was summoned to get back straight away to switch the generator on -  he shouldn't have bothered as England lost and as the only Brits we had to put up with all the jibes from the others!

Taff & Jen were flying down to Durban in a couple of days then we would take over as mine hosts. The lodge accommodates around a dozen guests and has about 15 staff so once we took over we would be kept very busy, till then we could chill out.

When we stay here we have our own cottage, called Mango, in the back garden, well I say garden but by UK standard's its like a small park. Mango doesn't have a view of the lake like the other cottages but it is much more suitable for us as we can park outside and it has a sitting room and two bedrooms where we can store our stuff as we unpack and pack Rupert, the bathroom as with all the cottages is open to the sky so you shower under the stars.

The guests get three lovely meals a day all cooked by the chefs, so for us after the rigours of being constantly on the move it is a luxury to be waited on hand and foot and to have mains power, Sat TV and Internet on hand and with all the drinking our biggest problem is trying not to put on too much weight!

The lodge is actually in Namaso Bay about 20 kms south of Monkey Bay, very picturesque and very quiet there are no other lodges in the area so the guests have the run of a lovely stretch of beach, the only people they are likely to see being the fishermen and their families from the local village.

Mind you even a rural idyll has its drawback, here it is the difficulty in getting supplies. Fish of course is never a problem as fishermen come each morning with their catch from the previous night but all other food especially good meat is difficult. The nearest shops are in Monkey Bay but they are limited so about twice a month you need to drive to the capital Lilongwe and do a big shop.

It takes about three hours or so to reach Lilongwe, then two or three hours to do the shopping then another four hours or so to get back so you would leave after breakfast and get back just before dark - if you were lucky! 

On the day they were leaving we went with Taff & Jenny to Lilongwe where we all did the shopping, they were flying the next day and staying overnight with friends at Kumbali, a lodge in the city so we drove back to Norman Carr alone. The day had been hot and humid and on the drive back the sky grew stormy so by the time we arrived at the lodge it was to thunder and lightning, a spectacular start to our period as lodge managers!