Malawi - part 1

Malawi – wow!

Deciding to head further north to Malawi was the best decision I made on my trip. Malawi was amazing and the highlight country of my trip.

I headed to Nkhata Bay first as this would be my turn around spot. I would have loved to have traveled further north but sometime I had to turn around. It would have been great if I had a plane ticket back from somewhere further north, but I still had to make ground back to Cape Town and my money started to become tighter. Zambia was ridiculously expensive. While I was there a Liter of Petrol cost R22 and I paid R130 for 10 beers from the local liquor store. These are just a few examples. In Malawi prices were cheaper and compared with South African prices.

I tried to avoid African Cities as I think they all look the same. I did not stay in Lusaka and also didn’t want to stay in Lilongwe. I arrived in Lilongwe at lunch time and immediately boarded an overcrowded bus to Mzuzu. From here it’s an hour’s drive by minibus to Nkhata Bay.

Nkhata Bay is truly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I stayed at a backpackers called Mayoka Village. I rate this to be the best Backpackers I have ever stayed at with amazing views, lots of activities, cool like minded travelers and amazing food. This is a place where you can get stuck for a very long time and I going back there as soon possible.

I stayed at Mayoka for a weekend and then turned around and started heading south. I wanted to catch the Ilala Ferry, but did not have enough money for first class all the way and would not have made it in 2^nd class for 2 days to Monkey Bay. So I opted to travel by road to Nkhota-kota where I would board the Ilala to Monkey Bay.