LIWONDE TO ZOMBA PLATEAU As John was an experienced South African Ranger, working for the now legendary lodge called Mala Mala, it was time to hit a game park to benefit from his knowledge and experience. We headed for the Liwonde National Park in the South East of Malawi. Unlike Tanzania's expensive and overpriced parks, the entrance fee is only $5. This seemed a great deal although, as we were to realise, due to the rainy season only 10% of the park was ...

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 o...

IT'S NOT ABOUT THE FISH! Whilst camping at Nkata Bay we met up with a lovely South African couple travelling in a Land Cruiser from Jo'burg to Nairobi and back. John and Cathy have spent eight years living in London and are finally moving back to S.Africa to build a life there. Very few white South Africans venture further north than Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique but they are keen to experience and learn about the complexities of the continent that they...

IT'S NOT ABOUT THE FISH! Whilst camping at Nkata Bay we met up with a lovely South African couple travelling in a Land Cruiser from Jo'burg to Nairobi and back. John and Cathy have spent eight years living in London and are finally moving back to S.Africa to build a life there. Very few white South Africans venture further north than Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique but they are keen to experience and learn about the complexities of the continent that they...

WHAT'S IN A NAME? We have found an interesting aspect of Malawian culture to be people's names. We have met 'Happy Coconut' (who looked a bit miserable), 'Brown Bread' (who was albino), 'Starter Motor' (who knew nothing about cars), 'Innocent (who incidentally stole our washing line!), 'Ariston' (named after his parents' fridge), Gift (working for the Malawi Revenue Authority) and 'Trouble' (who we decided to stay clear of!). You would be forgiven to think ...