Malawi has the nickname 'the warm heart of Africa' and Malawians are genuinely friendly towards tourists and strangers, they go out of there way to help, and will smile and laugh over mis-understandings and simple conversations about normal life. Maybe its the best way for them to face life in Malawi, here the average life expectancy is 40, there is a huge HIV/AIDS epidemic, malaria and malnutrition is an everyday problem, TB and cholera are still present and the...

The idea of a three day music festival set along the lake of Malawi just sounds wildly exotic, with appearances from eclectic artists such as Seth Lakeman, the Scratch Perverts and the Black Missionaries, Africa couldn't disappoint. The Lake Of Stars is the only Malawian musical meeting of the West and Africa, when African rappers the Swahili Hip Hop foundation rub shoulders with Devon born, folk violin playing, Seth Lakeman. The mind boggles to what the Malaw...

We have a week to explore Malawi before the Lake of Stars festival kicks of with some festive fun, so we pick the little slice of relaxation along the lakeshore, known as Cape Maclear. We heard it had a good patch of sand, clear waters and great snorkeling. Only problem was that the guide book described it as a "nightmare" to get too and chatting to our friendly hostel owner he informed us that "yes, it is" The journey would involve hunting three different minibu...

Its two years ago today we packed our bags and left the UK, we have been living out of a bag for 730 days which is, well a bit mad to think its that long. Whats more mind bending to consider is that we are entering in to the third year of being on the road. Only our bank manager feels the most pain from this fact. Haha. It was another 5am start and we are back to the bus station for our final leg to Lilongwe. On the bus we meet a nice couple from Holland who rec...

We get up in the dark and because of a power cut we stumble around packing our bags at 4:30am. After a taxi ride to the bus station we board a bus and roll out of Dar es Salaam at 5:45, first light, on a 12 hour journey towards the border with Malawi. Its a private bus company so thankfully it only has four stops along the route and the journey is un-eventful. The highlight is driving through a National park and glimpsing a herd of Zebras, like cows in the UK, ha...