BECOMING A LOCAL IN NKHATA BAY

“A true traveller goes by foot... and even then he sits down a lot of the time” unknown

I feel as though I have become a little stuck in Nkhata Bay. I have been here almost two weeks now which has not been a bad thing by any means. Nkhata Bay is a brilliant little town situated about half way up the western shore of Lake Malawi and is very popular with backpacking travellers. The town centre bustles throughout the day and night and there are a few internet options, good restaurants and nice places to stay, all of which are right on the water’s edge and all poses some sort of appeal to the various shapes and sizes that pass through here. I have been staying at a place called Mayoka Village, one of the most popular spots and understandably so as it really is a beautifully cosy little spot. I open the tent each day to be greeted by perfectly blue skies and crystal clear shimmering water a couple meters from the door. I have got to know quite a few of the locals and quite a few passersby that also seem to have anchored themselves here to catch their breath whilst on lengthy trips.

I have threatened to leave a few times but there is always something on the go and some or other reason to stay another day or two. On Saturday night Mayoka celebrated their 10th birthday with a “Go Green” party, attended by everyone and enjoyed by all. I thought it best to use my time here a bit constructively and have just completed a charity documentary for an orphan care project 50 km south of town. It is a really pro-active project looking after orphans who have lost their parents mostly due to the devastating effects of HIV and AIDS. I spent a day visiting about eight different orphan care projects to get a feel of what they do and how they could benefit from a promotional documentary and the Mukundi Orphan Care Charity Based Organisation (CBO) stood out heaps above the rest. The project is run by volunteers and serves five surrounding villages. They look after about 65 orphans and the chiefs from the surrounding villages contribute food on a monthly rotation basis. They have a carpentry workshop and tailoring workshop where the kids are taught valuable skills that can carry forward with them and the finished woodwork products and dresses etc are sold at markets to bring in money that subsidises the kids school fees, food and clothes. They also feed the children, using mainly vegetables grown in their own gardens and meat from their pigs and chickens projects. I could not help but notice, during my day spent filming and integrating with the kids, that they are all so happy and full of hope despite their heartbreaking life stories. What also struck me was the incredible kindness of the 10 adult volunteers that give of themselves so freely to help the orphans despite being so poor themselves.

I will return to the care centre tomorrow on route to Livingstonia to give them the 10 DVD copies of the documentary. They told me that they have many previous donors and potential overseas donors that they feel might reach into their pockets should they witness the great work that is been done at the care centre... I hope so!

My Malawian visa expires on Saturday so I have an ultimatum to leave Nkhata now but I have considered extending it as I have been told of a couple really fantastic spots between here and the Tanzanian border. Lucky for me, that’s as tough as the decision making in my life gets for now. Watch this space to see where I end up next cause I don’t know these things.

A LITTLE ISLAND GETAWAY

“When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.” Susan Heller

The above is true, very true!!!!! We have a little rule amongst us that if we haven’t used something for a whole month then it is wasted space and needs to find a new home. As for the money.... too much is never enough and we have realised that Malawi is a tad more expensive than we had been hoping... but the experience is more than worth it!

We left the bikes in Nkhata Bay for a week as we boarded the chaotic Ilala ferry to Chizimulu Island. Chizimulu and Likoma Islands are found on the Mozambiquan side of the Lake but are part of Malawi. Boarding the ferry was very exciting as we found ourselves moving with the flow of locals onto the gangway. Eventually we got stuck and resided to climbing up the side of the ferry and onto the second floor. On the ferry we treated ourselves to first class, this means you get to sit/sleep up on the top deck and enjoy a little more room to move around. The 5 hour trip took us through the early hours of the morning. We clambered off the ferry and onto a row boat half asleep and were rowed to Wakwenda Retreat arriving at about 4 am.

Our 5 days on the island were fantastic. We had a nice group of about 10 people on board and spent our days swimming, snorkelling, reading and chilling out. We made an effort to fill our days with various activities, getting everyone involved in heavily wagered games of volleyball and some even tried their hands at fishing... catching more of sunburn than anything else but that’s not the point. One day we decided to try and find a goat to slaughter and eat. This proved to be an all day activity as we traipsed around the island, on a wild goat chase through the villages in search for a “goat for sale.” We eventually found our victim and lead him back to the backpackers where William, the barman, helped us to kill it, skin it and butcher it into braaiable sized chunks. It was a meat feast, cooked to perfection and enjoyed by all! The losers of the volleyball that day were forced to eat the cooked goat’s penis, a fate that I do not think they had fully considered before taking on the challenge but a true African experience none-the-less.

Wakwenda Retreat is one of the most beautiful places I have visited to date with a bar perched on an outcrop of rocks and little decks scattered between the boulders resembling a more top dollar styled lodge. Our plan had been to stay half the time on Chizimulu Island before heading across to Likoma but this involved a small sail boat crossing and the winds were not cooperating so we happily stayed put in paridise for the remaining 3 days. The ferry trip back to the main land was a repeat of the outbound voyage but in reverse this time. We chugged through the night arriving back at Nkhata bay just after sun rise.

Arriving back in Nkhata meant the parting of ways for the group of travelling companions that had all got to know each other quite well over the previous week and the parting of ways for our little motorcycling trio. Dave and Paul departed yesterday for Zambia en route back to South Africa and I will head North to Livingstonia tomorrow. It has been so great to have company on the road and in between and I was left feeling a tad lonely as they drove off yesterday but time moves on and so does the adventure. New places, people and experiences await. Good luck with the trip back to SA guys, they will be heading through Zambia to Vic falls before crossing the Makgadikgadi Pans in Botswana and traversing a couple game reserves before crossing home borders.

I have spent the last day or two helping a local musician to produce some CD’s and we have even put a little music video together of his most popular song: How big is the Lake? He is a fantastic chap that is in the process of starting up a home based care project for orphans and elderly people within their community just outside Nkhata. Michael Mountain is also a talented musician and could do quite well with the right break. All he needs is a little help so I am happy to help someone who pays the favour forward. His music video has proved quite the hit and he sold out the first six copies this morning in a matter of minutes so hopefully that break will come sooner rather than later for him.

Internet is bound to be sparse as I head north from here but I will catch up with you all when I get to wherever I am going.