Malawi – “the Warm Heart of Africa”

Zambia was previously known as Northern Rhodesia, Zimbabwe was Southern Rhodesia, and Malawi was called Nyasaland.  In 1964, Nyasaland became the independent country of Malawi.  Landlocked Malawi is roughly 900kms long and between 80-150kms wide.  Slicing through the country, in a trough formed by the Great Rift Valley, is the magnificent Lake Malawi.

As soon as my plane landed in Lilongwe, Dale and I finished last minute packing then rode the four hours to Monkey Bay, whose harbour is the launch pad for the “Ilala” ferry’s long journey along Lake Malawi.  Due to an unfortunate missed connection in my five flights journey from Perth, Western Australia, we didn’t have time to fully appreciate this beachy chill-out bay.

The famous “Ilala”, could be considered the most important asset for Lake Malawi, utilising the water to transport both goods and people along 365kms of the Lake.  Whilst not a luxury cruiser, it exudes a charm that has “Malawi” written all over it, and provides a vital lifeline service to local communities as well as an affordable form of transport for visitors.  The lower deck is for second class passengers and cargo, the next level is for first class passengers and includes the dining room, and the top deck includes a bar, a covered area with tables and chairs, and a large open entertainment area.

Built in 1949, the 620 tonne vessel has a handful of private cabins, with the “Owners Cabin” being the only one with an ensuite.  Knowing I would be in need of some boating, water, fresh air, and an African adventure after my three weeks in OZ, Dale booked us into the Owners Cabin to “live aboard” for the entire 3 day, 2 night hop on, hop off journey.  For 167 USD in total, we could also take the Guzzi with us and Dale had been assured that they transport motorcycles all the time. 

In glorious weather, we met the magnificent looking “Ilala” at the port.  We were excited, however a sense of foreboding came over us when we couldn’t see how the Guzzi was going to be loaded.  We had been so looking forward to this trip and it was beginning to look like we would have to change our plans.  Someone nearby remarked “We’re in Malawi, there will be a way”.  

Sure enough, the captain came down to oversee a manoeuvre that had 12 strapping young Malawian men, and my hubby, physically lift our near half a tonne motorcycle a metre off the platform onto the forward deck of the boat!  I know when Dale is nervous and uncertainty was oozing from every fibre of his being!  We were later to discover that these men lift extraordinary weights in sacks of potatoes, maize and so many other items, that it is not surprising that this to them, was just another day in the life of the “Ilala”.  Making sure the Guzzi was strapped appropriately, Dale joined me to check out our accommodation.  I’m not sure where the Owner was, but we were immensely happy with our digs for the upcoming three days.

Our cabin overlooked the forward deck, so we could keep an eye on the Guzzi.  The cabin was small, very clean and included two comfortable bunk beds, a desk, a fridge and even a full sized bath!  We opened all the windows and a cooling, fresh breeze immediately filled the cabin.  It was good to know there are no mosquitos on the Lake and therefore no need for our very fine mesh mosquito net!  We definitely had the best cabin on the boat and were thankful we didn’t have to share amenities with the masses, nor sleep, as we have both done in the past, on top of a backpack on either a boat deck or some other hard surface!  We felt grateful for having been born in Australia and comfortable that we had worked hard all our lives to now enjoy some comforts in retirement.

Each day on board was a heady, exciting mix of noisy, laughing local people, interaction with fellow travellers, local music and the clanging of the ship’s bell as we came into a port, and then the big blow upon departure.  Crowds clamour to disembark on board the two tenders, with their belongings that include sleeping gear, babies securely strapped to their backs with sarongs, bicycles, animals and large boxes.  Thrown into the mix of contents in the tenders are large sacks of produce, charcoal and building materials.  Some more agile young men would clamber down the ropes into the tenders, rather than wait their turn to go through the exit holes.  A couple of backpackers even chose to jump off the top deck into the cooling water, to then join their luggage and friends on a tender.

The boat crosses the expanse of the Lake a couple of times and on day three, follows close to the Malawi mainland.  One of the many stops was Malawi’s lovely Likoma Island situated on the Mozambican side of Lake Malawi.  It is a popular destination to enjoy pristine sandy beaches, snorkelling and diving, some luxury accommodation, a grand cathedral, and see many striking baobab trees.  

Over the coming six days, Likoma was to enjoy a cultural and music festival. Most of the music equipment for the festival had been loaded onto our boat the previous day, following the Lake of Stars Music Festival in Salima.  All equipment had been transported via small boats, motored to the “Ilala” and carried by those strapping young Malawian men onto the top deck.  It seemed the “Ilala” was the perfect avenue for testing all the equipment and passengers were privy to music and dancing under the stars.

The boat was to stop in the bay on Likoma Island for some five hours, so we asked if we could get off and explore some of the island.  This wasn’t a problem.  The difficulty was how to actually get onto a tender boat!  We had to wait an hour and a half for people, babies, boxes, backpackers, music equipment, and sacks of produce to be carted to the island.  We were happy to watch and observe the colourful, noisy mayhem until we were able to eventually squeeze onto a boat.  Luckily we had worn our bathers as the disembarkation process was simply to jump into water thigh deep and wade to shore.

We walked through the local market area on our way up to the relatively huge, compared to the size of the island, cathedral.  Then we followed a different path back to the water.  Our water’s edge stroll took us past colourful fishing nets drying in the sun, very dark skinned children playing in the sand and in the water, and many, many sardines being dried in the sun.  There was still a lot of stuff and people being transported between the “Ilala” and the shore, so erring on the side of caution, we unceremoniously clambered into a nearby tender to save being left behind.  I could actually think of worse places to be stranded however and the boat would be returning a week later…

The stop, start, noisy, action filled journey was proving to be the perfect antidote for my jetlag.  My sleep routine had been smashed to pieces and there was plenty of activity to keep my mind off feeling sleep deprived. Dale had also suffered sleepless nights worrying about my crazy five flight journey from Australia back to Lilongwe.  We chilled out catnapping on comfy bunk beds with cooling breezes floating over us, whenever we wanted, day or night.  Absolutely perfect! 

Drinks and food on board have been very reasonably priced.  They missed adding tonic water to their inventory, so we have enjoyed a couple of sweet tasting Malawi Gins and Sprite!  When in Malawi, right?  Augustine, the ship’s steward, always sought us out to pre-order from the lunch and/or dinner menus.  He did look after us very well!  The menu was small and creative, for example included - Tender beef steak, shredded and sautéed in soya sauce with either rice, french fries, boiled/mashed potatoes, or Nisima (a local carbohydrate) for 3.80 USD.  Or Vegetarian Platters with a choice from the above said carbohydrate option for 3.40 USD.  Lake Malawi has more fish species than any other inland body of water in the world, so it was fitting to enjoy the famous Lake Malawian Chambo (looked to me like a bream).  It was delicious.  Fine textured and firm, with an unmistakable fresh water fish taste.  Served with a tasty sauce and little salad, and choice of carbs for 4.40 USD.  

When I enquired about some of the ship’s facts, it happened we were in the company of the ship’s engineer, who having been working on board for 27 years was happy to give us a bit of a run down.  Knowing my husband loves anything mechanical and hates to put anyone out, I stepped in and ask if the engineer would mind showing Dale around the engine room.  He was really chuffed to be asked and after the tour, Dale was super impressed at how well organised, neat and tidy this man kept his area of the ship.  

We could have stayed on board for a week, but the trip all too soon reached Chilumba, the end of the line.  We tied up in port and the disembarkation scramble began, this time onto a platform rather than into boats.  Dale helped me offload our bags, then left me on the platform and raced back to the Guzzi where the Captain and all those strapping young men were already trying to work out how to lift the Guzzi off the forward deck, a metre and a half from below the platform, onto terra firma. They began unravelling the on board cargo crane!

Dale actually looked pretty calm this time around.  One of the crew discovered a hollow pipe welded from side to side of the Guzzi steel frame.  Dale had never given this any thought previously.  He agreed for them to thread the rope through the frame and after some adjustments, the crane was in place and up, up and away she went.  Safely on terra firma, everyone celebrated the end result, mostly Dale!

A fellow traveller told us about the famous Tazara (Tanzanian Zambian rail service) that we may be able to pick up from our first stop once we cross into Tanzania, right through to Dar es Salaam. The next part of our adventure is to chill on Zanzibar for a while, so an African train adventure could just get us there in style!