Day 9

Recovering from the bumpy journey back to Mtunthama and preparing for the long haul home with a visit to the beautiful Lake Malawi.

Lake Malawi is 4th largest lake in the world by volume and 9th largest lake by area. It has an average depth of around 300m!

Base: St Peter's House in Mtunthama

Breakfast at St Peter's House: Rice porridge with jam and peanut butter on toast. Tea

We were joined by Amidu for our Drive to Nkhotakota, which has a large Muslim community, via a game reserve. The game reserve was accessed through large electrified gates and we saw baboons on the road but little else as it was very hilly and dense with trees and scrub.

We listened to Malawian Dance Hall music whilst waiting in Nkhotakota for Andrew to discuss fencing plans with his friend Frank.

We visited Nkhotakota Pottery on the shore of Lake Malawi; we could make out the faint silhouette of the mountains on the opposite shore otherwise it looked just like the seaside.

We all swam in the lake and were joined on the beach by a securty guard with large binoculars who was on the look out for Hippos and crocodiles.

Lunch at Nkhotakota Pottery: Tuna and egg salad. Cheesecake. Fanta.

I managed to survive a hammock and swing, recovered by sunbathing and reading my book.

We stopped at Nkhotokota market for eggs for breakfast and then again drove through game reserve. It was late afternoon so the animals were on the move before dusk. We saw one solo adult male who was huge but well hidden to it was a good spot for Lindsey. We soon after spotted a mum with two juveniles eating shrubs in a ditch at the side of the track very close to the van. It was an evening of super yellow sunlight followed by an extreme red sunset which we saw a few separate times owing to numerous hills getting in our way.

Dinner st St Peter's House: Fried chicken, cabbage, vegetables, rice and nsima. Nsima is the dish eaten by many in Malawi and at all the schools we had visited. It is very thick and starchy and looks a little like mashed potato. You pull a lump off to form into a ball, hollow out a bit with your thumb and then use it to scoop up your vegetables/ saucy bit. Fruit.