WEEK FIVE 

I finished up week 4 in Ingra.. So Monday morning we departed Ingra to cross the Tanzanian-Malawi border for Lake Malawi, where we would spend 3 nights at 2 campsites. 

We were up at 445 and several of were physically sick and had diaroherra. We thought it may have been the meal the night before, but because only 4 of 17 of us were sick, we think it may have been a spirit that I bought us all to try - a banana flavoured and a pineapple flavoured spirit, made in Tanzania, which cost me 1500 shilling each (about $1.50)!! We built up the strength to face the truck ride through to Lake Malawi. Thankfully, all of us survived and were fine. 
The border crossing was quite straight forward and not much time was wasted there, compared to previous experiences. We also gained an hour, which was great as it meant we arrived into our campsite, at Chitimba, lake Malawi, at 4pm. 
First Impressions of Malawi - it is quite mountainous, the air is a lot drier than Tanzania (it was SO humid in some areas of Tanzania). The area of lake Malawi has a lot of valleys going through the mountains so it is quite windy, which is warmly welcomed. The people are VERY friendly, and don't really understand the concept of personal space. They want to shake your hand and touch you while they are talking to you. It's nice to watch and to be a part of. One thing I have found in all areas of Africa is that people here are so much more friendly, and so much happier than many people back home. Many of these people have next to nothing, yet they will always stop you as you're crossing paths and say 'jambo' (hello), and ask you how you are. They all want to know your story - where your from, what you do, how many brothers and sisters you have; family is huge here. Yes, many of these people try to rip you off, and ask for money and tips, but many of us feel that even if a bracelet may only be worth 50 cents, we can afford to be ripped off a dollar or two if it means feeding a family for a night. 
Once arriving into our campsite in Chitimba, we all headed to the water at the base of our camp. The lake is phenomenal - only the 3rd largest in Africa (500km long), but it honestly looks like the end of the world as you can't see the end. The sandy edges and waves in the water gives it a really beach feel. Approaching the water, there were several locals swimming and playing. We went in as a group and of course, the locals came up for a chat. They were very strategic about it - one local pulling one of us away from the group, until all of us were separated to a local. We all knew straight away what they were going to try and do, as there was a craft market literally just outside our campsite. But that was okay, it was still great to have a chat to these guys - like I said, they wanted to know everything about you, and I asked all the same questions back. There's no better way to get to know a country than through the locals. 
That evening after dinner, we spent by the Bon fire on the beach toasting mash mellows. 

Thanks to so many early starts and the 1 hour time difference, I was wide awake at 5am - and it was a sleep in day (8am departure) ! So I took advantage of our amazing surround dings and did some exercises on the beach and for a quick dip. We were all packed and done with breakfast by 730 so some of us decided to face to locals and visit the craft market. Immediately 'my mate', 'van deezal' came up to me - "ash! You told me you would come visit my shop last night, I was waiting for you all night!" feeling terrible, I bought a $1 bracelet off him! 
We made tracks for another part of Lake Malawi- Kandee Beach. In we way we stopped at a market that sold 2nd clothing and costumes, because tonight we'd being having a dress up party! To make it a little more entertaining, we would be allocated to buy for someone else in the group. I had to buy for a girl, T. She is a real character and a big diva! So i found her a real ugly sparkly jacket and a pair of clown pants. We arrived to our campsite right on the shore of the lake at lunch time, which gave us the afternoon to swim in the REALLY wavey lake waters. It was honestly as wavey as a surf beach, it was hard to believe we were still swimming in a lake. 
We met back at the Bon fire at dinner time to swap our outfits for the evening. There were some really funny and creative costumes. I got a long shoestring red dress with a shal. It actually wasn't that ugly at all! The funniest was a tie between Joel who was in a one piece Lycra 'superman' outfit and a German guy given a sparkly skirt and a German maids top. We had dinner and then headed for the bar for the night to show off our attire to the rest of the campsite. 

We had a free day on Wednesday, which is always warmly welcomed, especially when camping by the beach! The day was spent sleeping/reading in hammocks and hanging on the beach. We had hoped to be able to do snorkling in the afternoon at an island close to Kande beach, but it was so so windy and the waves were huge so we had to can that idea. That evening we were treated to an amazing roast spit pig (apple in the mouth and everything!)

Friday we crossed the Malawi-Zambia border. It appears that the further south we go, the more organized border crossing appear to be, which is great because standing out in the boiling heat is really no fun. It's so hot some days that you'll jump out of the truck and within 5 minutes you've worked up a sweat. 
We arrived into Chipata shortly after 11 so we pitched our tents and had an early lunch. Kate and I decided that after so many days on the bus doing absolutely nothing except eating and sleeping, that we would go for a big walk in the area around the camp site. You'll be happy to hear that there were no further encounters with snakes - just a bunch of local kids that wanted a chat! 

The following day we trekked to Lilongwe, Zambia . Our campsite was in amongst an area where wild animals habitat. So that early evening we went for a walk through the area and came across impala, waterbuck and zebras that we're just metres away from our tents. 

Sunday we arrived into Livingstone, the area where victoria falls is. We had all been hanging out for this day, as it is the highlight of this section of the trip. We're spending 4 nights, 3 full days in livingstone and there is plenty to do. Mid afternoon, we were given a group presentation on all the optional activities offered in the area - lion walk, elephant walk, rafting, canoeing, helicopter flight, guided tour through Vic falls park, microlite flight and devils pool tour etc etc. 
That evening we did a group dinner at a local restaurant. Three of us shared for an entree catapiller and crocodile. Catapiller tasted sort of like anchovies. For my main I had goat meat which wasn't as good as it was made out to be! 

Talk in a week xxx