If you prefer to read the typed up journals illustrated with pictures, these are going up during November & December 2020
Rose early. Read, packed, took tea/coffee, showered and took breakfast.
Finish packing – said our fond farewells to all at Kaya Mawa.
McDonald took us to the airport where Cameron awaited us with just one other couple & the small plane, a Cessna Six (just about) seater. Nice couple Tom and Nicole have been in Zambia Mozambique. We should be travelling with them all the way to London I suspect but fortunately they are not like the Taylors.
Nicole scrunches into the back after long-legged Tom takes the front seat and we take the pair. We fly low and smoothly – Daisy takes pictures as does Tom.
It’s a bit bumpy on final descent (we had been warned) .
We have no formalities at the other end, as we’ve already cleared into Malawi, while the other two need to go through customs and border control. Meanwhile we collect our bags and are ably assisted through to immigration by our eager Wilderness rep, for whom a $5 tip seem to be transformative.
Security formalities at Lilongwe was a sticky affair but this time our SAA flight seems to be an on-time thing.
If you prefer to read the typed up journals illustrated with pictures, these are going up during November & December 2020
Rose early – Martin brought his coffee at 6:15 and said goodbye to us.
Daisy watershed at seven under the very patient tutelage of Josh. She tried many many times (I didn’t count but guess 15 times) the antepenultimate go nearly worked, the penultimate one was yet another epic fail but the last go, albeit just a few seconds much of the pleasure of the English (Cornish) couple I was chatting with by that time…and it transpired most of the other Kaya Mawa guests who was spectating from the comfort of their rooms. Daisy reckons she’s got the idea of waterskiing out of her system now.
Back to the room for shower and then down to breakfast. After breakfast we read a while, observing that the water remain calm and the day quite cloudy – so we went down to snorkel c11:15 and snorkelled from the other beach to the main beach via the small island the latter of which seem to be the best source of diverse fish colours and species.
Time to make tea and read some more before lunch.
Then lunch comprising a butternut squash and was with soda bread and seed bun (of which we ate little) followed by a very tasty chicken salad with honey coconut pesto thing.
Michelle presented Daisy with her headbands, which pleased her a lot, plus some small gift bags.
Plenty of time for more reading and enjoying the hazy afternoon on our decks before a sundowner and get ready for the evening.
Then down for an early evening drink – Michelle and Richard join us for quite a while.
Then dinner of poached pear, parmesan & bacon. Then a chicken curry kebab style (I’m sure Richard had promised fish) followed by the bread-and-butter pudding slightly different style but especially good with coconut ice cream. We drank the delightful Chardonnay/ Pinot Noir blend we have enjoyed a few times.
Early night.
Our guard frog was too upset that we are leaving even to come and see us that night.
If you prefer to read the typed up journals illustrated with pictures, these are going up during November & December 2020
Rose early. Read. Took coffee. Read. To breakfast.
Chatted briefly with Nick, nice saffer gentleman who wondered about my journal and stuff. They have a game reserve in the north east of South Africa – game hunting, tobacco farming, maze farming and much besides. Sounds as though their farm is the size of this island!
After breakfast we kayak – more to Daisy’s taste than mine.
Then Daisy tried to paddleboard, quite successfully (just one fall) then we watch Richard and John waterski from the hammock, which was a less appetising place to sit than we had imagined.
Both Richard and especially John seemed very proficient.
Daisy arranged to have a go tomorrow early when it was less choppy.
Read a while before lunch.
Butter bean purée with basil and honey soda bread followed by haloumi salad. We requested an audience with chef Richard & had a good chat with him in the quiet lunch area.
Read, vegged and relaxed the afternoon away very pleasantly – reading Mansfield Park on the Kindle in my case.
We see our guard frog again as the sun is going down that she seems unsure whether to guard from the outside or the inside. He seems to have given up squatting on the daisies hat. Anyway we’re not sure whether to name him grandpa (grams) or Fido because he thinks he’s a dog.
Gramps…Fido…
Go down for an early evening glass of wine, very pleasant in bar area, then a dinner of butternut squash filled crispy wonton starter followed by pork in a wine and mushroom and almond sauce and veg. Nice saffer pinotage to wash it all down.
Ended up coming down to lunch quite late and were exiled to the Mango Tree! The starter of spicy hummus followed by chambo on a tasty fried rice with dried fruits, pine nuts etc was very good. Chatted with”Agent Honour” for awhile about flights and stuff.
More reading on our lovely decks.
We also went and had a look at a viewing point that afternoon A view from the viewing point. As is the headline photo of this pieceBeautiful plumage
Too soon, it starts to get dark – we thought about having a late swim but by the time the idea came up again it was too late.
We go down early for a predinner drink and the local singing dancing troop. We bumped into Richard and John running in the other direction with some pre-pre-dinner drinks, clearly keen to avoid the show.
It is a much steamer evening than before – very still.
We join the singing dancing for a couple of numbers. This time no one else joins in.
Daisy is unimpressed by the agents, especially the ones who plonk themselves at the front of the deck. We work up a good sweat dancing two numbers.
After the show, Richard and John re-emerge. They join us and we discuss cricket, corruption and polyhalite mining, like you do.
Then to dinner. The starter was a cold avocado soup with spicy crackers. The main beef with a rich wine and mushroom sauce, with layered potato cakes and sesame carrots for Hippity. Chocolate fondant thingy was surprisingly and a real rarity of a disappointing dish. Still another excellent meal and then to bed.
Put fan on for the first time in days as it was really sticky. Lots of lake flies too.
If you prefer to read the typed up journals illustrated with pictures, these are going up during November & December 2020
Rose early. Wrote up, read, took coffee, took breakfast.
I did backups after breakfast then snorkelled after an hour’s interval. Really easy snorkelling – lake is like a massive paddling pool. Loads of fish to see. We intended to snorkel from one beach to the other, but I lost my bearings around the rocks, thought I’d gone too far, so went back a bit, realised we hadn’t gone too far and then we decided to snorkel back. Water mostly warm but in some dark pools around the rock surprisingly cool.
Lunched a little late – bread with balsamic and olive oil, followed by salad nicoise. Coffee.
Michelle granted us permission to see the honeymooners’ rock room. Realising that we have probably had enough sun, we then relaxed in our room, reading, resting etc all afternoon.
(Daisy stopped off in the shop between lunch and room, buying bangles and kikoi towels).
Got ready for evening and came down early for drinks. A party of tour guides arrive that afternoon and the staff buzzed around them.
Just prior to coming down, we had a lot of water gushing and I run down to alert the team about the burst pipe, but it was just the overflow in overdrive.
Dinner comprised parmigiano (parmesan cheese, aubergine, pasta and a rich tomato and balsamic sauce) followed by chicken on a bed of mash with sugar snap peas, similar to dinner one.
Very pleasant evening and early night. I managed to pull the mozzie net slightly loose!
If you prefer to read the typed up journals illustrated with pictures, these are going up during November & December 2020
Slept remarkably long and well. Rose soon after dawn – coffee came circa 6:20.
Read, pottered, had breakfast and then got ready for our quad bike morning. Our guide was McDonald. He instructed us in the use of quad bikes. Then off we went in convoy.
“I’m not the quad bike type, McDonald. Can you run through that again?”
The quad bike has only forward, neutral and reverse gears. It has a footbrake for the rear wheels that barely works and the front wheel break (left) and a rear wheel break (right) that need to be operated simultaneously to avoid the risk of an upset. Needs some getting used to, especially on the stoney, hilly tracks. Fortunately, the early part of the journey is pretty flat.
First stop, a vantage point at the north of Ngani Bay, where the ferries and boats come in. We took some pictures and got latched onto by some kids who wanted to catch a ride on the back of our quads.
McDonald & I are not considering the kids’ request. We are trying to ignore them in the hope they would go away. (Didn’t work).
Next stop the market (very small) with a strange hollow tree that had taken over another tree and more kids. The teacher gave us a sob story about stolen books which we chose to ignore.
Then on to St Peter’s Cathedral, the largest Anglican church in central Africa and third largest in Africa… Or something like that.
Local guide Hallelujah seemed to take a shine to Daisy and held her hand while he showed us around and clipped me for a donation.
Then on to the witch doctor’s place – a rare request apparently with little hope of fulfilment, as last time someone tried to go there the witch doctor was off sick!
We are instructed to remove shoes and take a stick offering in our left hands.
Then we wait… Quite a long time.
We sing old Macdonald had a farm.
The grandson chats us up a bit and touches me for donation.
We get hot.
We are told that the great man is bathing and preparing to meet us. Then he waddles up to the scene.
Dr Kompalotta
A small gathering inside his hospital and we are invited to the front. Some incantations/prayers. Then we have a conversation with him through our guide. He is Dr Kompalotta. He was born in 1940. He studied between 1958 to 1961 at which point he went mad and spent several years naked in the bush. When his mother died in 1973 he realised that he was healed and could heal so he has been a traditional healer for 40 years. He introduced us to a young man whose mental illness was improving under his guidance. Also a man who had had a massively swollen leg which was now just a recovering foot with post septicaemia/lymphoedema, which Daisy inspected with some interest.
Still crazy after all these years…
Another donation and many photographs. Thanks and well wishes. Then on to our next stop.
Get your motor running; head out on the stone track…
We tried unsuccessfully to take Michelle’s suggestion of Mango Drift off the agenda but McDonald is very insistent, so we go rather a long way and it was very very rocky terrain – at one point losing a rather irate Daisy. We go back to find her waiting for us in the shade, so we walked down to Mango Drift, enjoy Ginger beer in the shade, then return to rescue a quads and head to our last stop. The Textile workshop, where lisa took our order and Charles measured as up for two made-to-measure dressing gowns (me) and to for Daisy.
Then back to Kaya Mawa circa 2:25, our morning ending late. A little hot and bothered but we had great fun. We take a late lunch of lentil appetiser with flatbread (we both just tasted) and an oriental style chicken and chickpea salad with sweet coconut sauce. A glass of green coffee.
We potter and beard trim after lunch. We chat with Ian and Nicky for a while, him KPMG, her CIMA. Lewisham based via Skipton, Bromley, Cayman Islands and Sydney.
Then come down early to do these write-ups and read others! Fabulous dinner of Thai fishcakes, fillet of pork medallions in sauce followed by an excellent bread-and-butter pudding.
Relatively late night by Malawi standards circa 2200.
If you prefer to read the typed up journals illustrated with pictures, these are going up during November & December 2020
Rose early and were brought coffee at circa 6:00/6:15. Wrote up. Pottered about and then took breakfast around 8:30 or 9 o’clock.
Prior to breakfast I discovered a sizeable frog on Daisy’s hat when I returned from backing up all our photos. We also observed and photographed a pied crow drinking the milk from our morning coffee.
We strolled around a bit to orient ourselves, sat on the sunbeds, enjoyed the plunge pool.
Enjoy the delicious lunch – guacamole with sourdough bread followed by a fish on a bed of couscous main. Coffee to follow.
Retired for a sunbed snooze in my case. Daisy wake me up at circa 15:30 so we had time for a quick swim in the lake and siesta proper before dark.
Got ready for evening went down early as there was a song and dance show from the local church/street/village choir/dance troupe. Soon we were joining in the dancing and soon after many others also joined in much to the delight of the staff.
After the excitement, the dinner. Chicken liver pate with a tomato relish and soda bread, then beef fillet with dauphinoise potatoes and sesame beans. Treacle tart desert, washed down with most but not all of a jolly pinotage.
If you prefer to read the typed up journals illustrated with pictures, these are going up during November & December 2020
We rose early and struggle to make the kettle work without help from Jane (housekeeping).
Birdlife at Hueglin’s Lodge is stunning – we sat out before breakfast and took it all in. Chatted with Marianne briefly.
To breakfast – saw Becca briefly (not talkative in the morning!) Then arranged a brief tour with Mike.
A new hotel in Lilongwe
He showed us the Capitol Hill, with many government buildings, the parliament building and a huge memorial to Hastings Banda. We discussed his track record and legacy.
Parliament BuildingsHastings Banda Memorial
Then in search of Trysh’s (Chip’s daughter’s) coffee shop. Mike erroneously takes us to Land and Lakes Safari, where they have a coffee shop, but actually the place we want is part of Ulendo [Ulendo Airlink is an internal airline] and we have had a more extensive tour of Lilongwe than planned.
We see markets and malls as we drive around – nothing much of note.
Trysh is not at her coffee shop, but we do meet her daughter Jeanie who is feeling poorly and goes off for a malaria test. One of our pilots and some of the other Ulendo crew are taking coffee there.
Later, Julie (Chip’s other daughter) appeared – she gave us some of the family low down and showed us a picture of the extended family. She also gave us some travel tips e.g. for negotiating Johannesburg airport.
We returned to Heuglin’s to collect our things, said goodbye to Pam and all and then off to the airport.
Despite our best efforts to downscale our luggage, Scarface tried quite hard to refuse my big bag, although the two together are within weight. We say goodbye to Mike after leaving our other baggage with Wilderness at the airport.
Soon we board the little plane and sit up close and personal with the pilots. The flight only takes 35 or so minutes and is very smooth.
We were met by Becky at the airport, who transported us in a couple of jeeps – 10 of us arriving at Kaya Mawa simultaneously – very unusual.
The weather was glorious – they had a couple of cloudy days on the back of our chiperoni but that’s all gone now, hopefully.
We are oriented by Michelle (one of Hippity’s cousins [Irish] and wife of chef Richard) then taken to our room and brought a light lunch of salad.
We oriented ourselves a bit after unpacking and speak with Josh who is a bit of a bouncy livewire.
Then we bath/shower ready for dinner – a pear with parmesan and pancetta starter, chicken in bacon sauce, mash and veg, a cheesecakey thing (least interesting but nice base) first two would have had walnuts but for us alerting them on orientation.
