MALAWI

Day 282 : 10 Mar 2005 - Songwe (Malawi border) to Karonga 40 km
Day 283 : 11 Mar 2005 - Karonga to Chintheche 314 km
Day 284 : 12 Mar 2005 - Chintheche to Senga 272 km
Day 285 : 13 Mar 2005 - Senga (service Unimog) -
Day 286 : 14 Mar 2005 - Senga to Golomoti 84 km
Day 287 : 15 Mar 2005 - Golomoti -
Day 288 : 16 Mar 2005 - Golomoti -
Day 289 : 17 Mar 2005 - Golomoti -
Day 290 : 18 Mar 2005 - Golomoti -
Day 291 : 19 Mar 2005 - Golomoti to Mwanza (Mozambique
Border 291 km

Total nights – 9
Total kilometers – 1 001 km

Currency : Malawi Kwacha (MK)
Exchange rate : 1 US$ = 110 MK
Fuel cost per litre : 95.4 KSh
Total cost for country : 428.40 US$
Country cost per day : 47.60 US$
Overall average cost per day : 50.91 US$
Highlight : Sunsets at Lake Malawi
Low point : Not being able to visit Mvuu Camp in Liwonde National Park due to the access road being flooded.

Since we have traveled Malawi extensively during previous visits, we merely drove from north to south along Lake Malawi camping at some of the many available camp sites. The facilities were all priced very reasonable, as well as foods and drinks. Fish from the lake are the staple diet, and are available prepared in many different ways, some definitely more delicious than others.

Snorkeling in the lake to observe the many colourful fishes is inhibited somewhat due to the risk of getting bilharzias, which is present allover the lake, and even more concentrated near human settlements. The more than 900 different species of these colourful fishes are endemic to Lake Malawi, with a specific species located only in a relatively small area or home territory of the lake.

The rubber plantations south of Nkatha Bay are quite impressive; the main road passes through these trees for several kilometers. Overall Malawi was very green and lush at the time of our visit, although the local people expressed concern about the less than normal rains that had fallen during the recent rainy season – they were expecting a serious shortage of foods in the near future unless more rains would fall. We observed many tree planting projects, which was a very positive sign in a country where charcoal burning has decimated complete forests in the past.

Sunsets across Lake Malawi are always a spectacular sight – the ever present streaks of clouds changes colour virtually every few seconds as the sun starts to approach the horizon on the opposite lake shore; from pinkish yellow to all possible variants of orange until it disappears in a cacophony of deep reds.

The roads are generally in a reasonable condition with visible signs of ongoing maintenance; road construction contracts were ongoing along various stretches of the roads.

The people of Malawi must be among the friendliest in all of Africa – friendly smiles and greetings are present everywhere from old and young. Even the traditional bargaining and negotiating over the price of something you want to buy gets done in an amicable and very friendly way. We never felt threatened or unsafe and never experienced any security problems.

Malawi is a safe country and easy to travel independently. English is spoken widely, and there exist many places for accommodation of varying luxury along the full length of the lake.