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Day Five - Zambia/Malawi
Driving again today - but we crossed the boarder from Zambia to Malawi which didn't take too long. Because I'm part of the commonwealth I didn't need a visa, which saves me a bit. I also had to pay to use a toilet at the boarder crossing, so I was expecting it to be a nicer one, but I was absolutely shocked to find a DROP BOX!!! A filthy, disgusting, horrible smelly drop box! I almost threw up. And I PAID to use that repulsive thing!!! I don't think there's enough words in our English language to describe how I felt about this instance. There was also no toilet paper. Ew.
Anyway, after going through the customs/boarder crossing we were on our way again until we stopped in a weird town to get money from an ATM & stock up on water/alcohol (which I bought some because ITS MY BIRTHDAY TODAY).
We stopped again shortly after to have some lunch on the side of the road again, and there was a small school hidden behind the trees. At first there were a few small children that looked like they had seen monsters when they saw us and ran away, but our tour leader, Masevu, coxed them over to us & we played a bit of soccer with them & gave them apples & pears. We were then told this school had never seen/been visited by tourists, which explains why they were quite scared of us. Before we left we gave them all our left over water bottles & they went crazy for them! It's amazing how excited they get over the smallest things, it shows how poor these countries really are.
We got to our campsite, which was called 'Kande Beach' and we were camping almost right by the water! It was incredible! Even though it looked very much like a real beach, it was really one part of Lake Malawi, and it's freshwater. As soon as we set up our tents, I was meant to be on cooking duties but was told to take the night off for my birthday, which I did not complain about, it was so hot and all I wanted to do was swim! The water was amazing, it was perfect, clear & refreshing. Of course I lathered in sunscreen before I went in.
That night for dinner, the group cooked:
Butternut pumpkin soup & garlic bread for our entree
Massive T-bone steaks
Baked potato
And a bean & onion sauce thing for our main.
It was DELISH!!!
After dinner we had a few drinks when one of the girls asked to use my scissors so we went back to the tent & when we got back to where we were eating, everyone was gathered around a massive purple cake with candles singing happy birthday!! I was so shocked & touched I actually started crying! It was a vanilla sponge with cream & icing, omg, it was so good! I cannot believe I had no idea what was going on!! This is a fantastic bunch of people :) they really made my birthday one to remember.
After that we had a few more drinks & went over to the bar to continue the festivities. To top the night off we went for a midnight swim which was so good, the water was warm. I had a fantastic birthday on Kande Beach!!!!
Day Six - Malawi
I woke up for the sunrise this morning at 5am and struggled. I don't think I really knew what was happening at that time of day after the night before. After about 20mins of sitting on the steps barely awake I retreated back to the tent to nap a bit more but woke @ 7.30 for breakfast. I was extremely happy to see bacon, eggs, sausages, hash browns & toast. Lets just say I wasn't feeling too good.
Most of my day consisted of sleeping, whether it was in a hammock or on the beach. By about 11am, I couldn't take it anymore so I took some painkillers & hydrolite and went for another nap. When I woke up I felt so much better! So I spent the rest of the day on the beach, in the water, all around. There's a rock island about a kilometre from the shore so a group of us got a canoe and went over to snorkel. It was so cool! The water was somehow even nicer and there were all different kinds of fish we could see. I swam for what seemed like ages. I love swimming! When some of us got back the main part, there were heaps of locals wanting to teach us games & probably wanting us to buy stuff which made me feel uncomfortable so I decided to swim back the main beach. It was far away, but I was confident I could do it! It was a struggle, but I made it all by myself! I was so proud of myself. It was also good to get some exercise in, I'm so lethargic here! There was one of the girls from my trip on the beach so I sat with her for ages talking & playing in the sand.
When we got back to the campsite I was feeling so sore, and sunburnt! The sunscreen must have worn off while I was snorkelling and my legs, my bum, chest & back are red raw :( it was absolutely terrible trying to sleep, I was so sticky, and sore and the sand in the tent was not helping :( I barely slept! For some reason my face & arms were fine though, which is the main part I care about!
- comments
Heather Good heavens child....you'll ruin your skin....I hope you're moisturising regularly!!!! Love the toilet story....welcome to Africa!!! And I was thinking of you on your bday. Obviously so was everyone else. Excellent. Fancy experiencing a special birthday at the end of the earth....!!!! Glad you enjoyed it so much. I'm thinking by the time you get back, you'll be the same colour as the Africans.....