FROM THE BANKS OF LAKE MALAWI From the tranquil setting of Makuzi beach we headed for the rowdy party scene of Kande Beach, a legendary overland truck stopover known for late night revelling and indulging in the consumption of local vegetation known as 'Malawi Gold'. We were intrigued to see this side of travelling in Africa. Perhaps it was because of our trip, or that we have just got that little bit older, try as we may we couldn't fit in with the four overland trucks that arrived for the night. The 18-30 year olds up for a party seemed to be clueless as to where they were or which part of Africa they had been. Social skills were certainly not on the application form to sign up to the trucks and we were amazed at how cliquey the passengers were. They didn't even socialise between trucks - an experience that they were all had in common. It was fascinating sitting at the bar watching the partygoers gearing up for their 'cross dressing party' - rather like being on a safari watching the male species fluff up their feathers to impress the females! We had to chuckle in the morning at the carnage that was left: Kiwi girls were asleep on the beach and a large, hairy Australian lay snoring in a hammock dressed in a skimpy negligee! To escape the madness we met up with John and Cathy (who would be our travelling companions through to Zambia) and moved on to a delightful campsite right on the beach at Senga Bay, further down the lake. That night we experienced the most enormous storm, with lightening striking merely feet from the vehicles, leaving the tent, bedding (and us) soaked to the core. A flash flood ensued so even though we were wet, at least our roof tent was firmly attached to the car rather than being swept away into the lake. Senga Bay was a great place to relax and we enjoyed a few days on the beach, buying large butterfish and bass from the local fishermen delivered to the shore in their dugout canoes, saving Rich and John the shame of not catching enough themselves!