Post Date
 |
Posting |
| 21/02/2009 |
A much cooler day and today we are going out with a boat to do snorkelling in the lake. The boatsman do you some fish and rice for lunch, and if it was not for the strong breeze and high swells we would have looked forward to the trip.
Ivan is the most enthusiastic. He is going to try out his fishing rod. On the boat we all get and through the choppy waters. As soon as were behind small islands the weather actually turns out pleasant. No wind and the water calms down. We reach our destination and now it is getting hot. Zelda is the only one that put sunscreen but when we get home at night I think she is the worst burned.
We see numerous pairs of fish eagles and day and night you hear their unique call.
The lunch is ok. Too little fish and too much rice but we all get full.
When we arrive back at Venice beach we have company. Ralph and Virgini drives a CA registered car but hails from Australia and France respectively. We spend an enjoyable evening chatting with them. Enjoying it to such an extent that nobody even noticed that we missed supper.
|
| 19/02/2009 |
After a good old fashioned home made English breakfast, we leave Limbe and head to Monkey Bay on Lake Malawi. It’s only a 250km drive and we take it easy. We are often stopped by traffic officers, but unlike Mozambique they are all friendly. They always want to know where you are coming from, where you are going to and please enjoy your trip. What a change.
All the Malawians are friendly and you always feel welcome. When travelling we often stop next to the road for fruit and veg, and I even bought a case of beer from a brewery truck driver and everybody is helpful and friendly. By the way the beer works out to just over R5 each instead of the R10 you pay in a bar.
The country side in Malawi is incredibly beautiful. There are large numbers of baobab trees all over the place. The roads are really good and although you only travel about 70-80k/ph because of all the pedestrians and cyclists, it is such a pleasant drive through the country. Maybe it was pleasant because of the case of beer I bought earlier.
We arrive at Monkey Bay and head off to Venice Beach. We camp right on the lake shore on beach sand and besides 1 German and an American couple we are the only people here. Just after we arrived I managed to take a swim and the water is clean, clear and warm. About 5 minutes later a violent storm that we saw over the lake arrived at the shore and there was general mayhem for about 2-hours. Thereafter quite, except for the water crashing into the shore. It really feels as if you are at a beach resort, instead of a freshwater lake.
|
| 18/02/2009 |
The Toyota charge end up being R1100 to weld the exhaust and do a preventative check of all the nuts and bolts on the car. Unfortunately it is another 6-hours of the day spend at a workshop. Zelda and the kids take a 2.5km walk to a shopping centre where they find a Game and Shoprite. All the prices here are crazy because just about everything is imported.
We have lunch at the Red Pepper restaurant. An excellent peri-peri chicken and for 2x¼ chicken and chips, 2 beers and 2 colddrinks we pay 1600kw, about R107.
We negotiate every price and normally get things cheaper. Instead of charging us 20000kw, we bargain Totoyota down to 17000kw, a difference of R200 but every little bit counts.
When we return to the campsite we have the unusual problem that there is hot water but no cold water. The water is scalding hot so nobody can shower.
|
| 17/02/2009 |
We woke early as pedestrians started to cross the border. I did a quick vehicle inspection and discovered that the exhaust had a tear just below the manifold. When I parked the vehicle at an angle the fridge also fell into place and I could refit the screws that was supposed to hold it into place. I could not find any other loose bolts and it was with great relief that we started our day.
Cross the border from Mozambique into Malawi. We cross without problems or hold-ups. The Malawi officials are all friendly and professional. By 07h00 we have completed all our documentation and purchased third party insurance and we hit the road towards Blantyre. What a relief to be driving on a tar road in good condition. There are numerous sections where workers are at work painting new road markings and you get the impression that the Malawians take road transport a bit more seriously than in Mozambique.
Our first impressions of Malawi is it is beautiful, the people are all friendly and the economy is much more developed than that of Mozambique. Huge tea plantations line the road from the border to Mulanje and everywhere people are hard at work picking tea or running small stalls on the side of the road. They are selling anything from fresh fruit and veg, to clothing, craftware, airtime and there are even small industries like a factory producting blankets, some engineering shops and car workshops.
By 09h00 we are starving and are looking out for a place to have breakfast. The GPS points us to the Blue Lagoon restaurant and conference facility. It is quite a big place with a comprehensive menu that does not include breakfast. After explaining to the chef that we want a small breakfast of sausage, 1 egg and a slice toast, his eyes light up and he says ‘english breakfast’. I assumed he now understood what we want and we waited for our food. And waited, and waited. Eventually the waitress started bringing out hot water and milk, then the corn flakes, then eventually our breakfast, then some avocados, till we eventually said ‘enough’. Unfortunately the bill also reflected this excess in food and we were charged R350.00 for what we intended to be a small breakfast.
In any case we learned once again. Make sure everybody understand exactly what you want and agree on the price in advance. We keep on making the same mistakes, especially when we are tired or hungry.
We continue our journey and reach Limbe, a small town just outside Blantyre. There is camping available on the soccer field at the country club, which by the way includes a golf course. It is a lovely area and once we established that there was electricity and clean hot showers we decide to spend the night at R350.00.
This must rate as one of the biggest stands weve had. The soccer field is green, surrounded by big trees and the lawn where we are parking is especially cut for us. Everybody is happy.
We book the car in at Toyota for some minor repairs and preventative maintenance. Hope it is a quick and cheap job.
|
| 16/02/2009 |
We get to the ferry across the Zambezi and are lucky enough to get on the ferry on it’s first return trip. The river bank is a hive of activity with crowds waiting to cross the river, stalls lining the route to the ferry and just a general milling about of people begging, offering to wash your car or just looking around for opportunities to catch the unsuspecting.
We manage to cross without incident. Soon the ferry crossing will be stopped as a brand new bridge is being build across the Zambezi. It looks impressive.
The road is also in a good state. In fact one of the best roads we have travelled on in Mozambique with road markings and an emergency lane.
We make good progress and the first 250km is fine and we pass Nicuadala and Namacurra with no problem until we take the turn-off to the border town of Milange.
Now, I must say when we crossed the ferry at Caia we stopped for some water at a lodge run by a blue bull supporter from Pretoria. Speaks Afrikaans and a really nice guy. After telling him about our route he said we should be fine and reach Milange by 7/8 o’clock. As it was only 457km I thought we’ll be there much earlier.
In any case after we turned off towards Milange at 12h45 we only had 230km left and I thought we might get there by 15h00. I was wrong. How anybody can classify this as a secondary road is beyond me. It was a terrible, terrible dirt road. We stopped after a few kilometre and had lunch in a school yard. Luckily we did that because we only reached Milange at 21h00 the evening. A 9-hour trip for 200 km’s.
Zelda offered to drive because I just did not have the stomach for the road. It calls for patient driving because the car is shaken violently by the corrugated road at some stretches, the potholes and the effect of erosion on the road. If you don’t take the road very slowly there is a high risk that we can suffer more serious damage to our car than what we have had so far. The big difference also was that there is just no resources in this area to do any repairs, never mind vehicle towing or anything else.
It was a gruelling day, for the passengers and the driver. The vehicle is shaken around so much and because we are already nervous about it’s ability to handle off-road we listen out for any sound or sign of trouble. We stop every 50km and I do a quick inspection of the engine mountings, and every nut and bolt underneath the vehicle. At one stage the top mountings of fridge gets loose and the fridge leans dangerously out of its bay.
The distance meter moves at a snails pace. At some stages you are driving at less than 10km per hour. When we reach the outskirts of Milange the GPS still shows 7 km to the border but even this 7km drags by and your nerves are shot because you are so on edge the whole time.
Zelda did a fantastic job and when we stopped in front of the border gate there was a great sense of relief that we made it this far. The children were already asleep and we were all too exhausted to even have supper.
The border guard watched our vehicle while we slept and that cost me 200Mt but at least we were safe.
450km for the day, 14 hours travelling and 10-years off my life.
|
|
