Karonga to Mwanza, October 2022

There is a lot to be said for slow travel. When we traveled through Namibia and Botswana we spent a good amount of time in a lot of places but we were always on the go. In Malawi (and Zambia) we stopped for much longer in fewer places. Which is the right way to do it? Our current philosophy is its good to mix it up. Maybe do one country with longer but fewer stops and then another country the opposite. Don’t pre-judge a country to decide on your method though. I would have zoomed through small Malawi and was rewarded by learning more of it by taking it slow and seeing less than we would have in the time available to us (the visa was only for thirty days from memory). With Namibia, I am glad we kept on the move and with Malawi, I am happy we lounged on the shores of Lake Malawi for a week.

Our slower travel through Malawi has however created a problem in that our visas and old carnet are going to run out in a few days. We have also stayed in Malawi longer than we originally intended and the rainy season is looking to start up again in a few weeks up north in Kenya and Tanzania, our intended next destinations. This shouldn’t be seen as a major issue for the adventurous but on your first time it’s always nice to have the slightly easier mud-free roads. There are also a lot of headlines about an Ebola outbreak in Uganda. I specifically wanted to skirt near Uganda on the trip to follow the lakes and forests, but we feel little inclined to mess with a potential epidemic situation given recent fun covid times.

So we change our plans. The nice thing about long term travel is that you can do whatever you want. The thought of having to scamper through East Africa in a shorter amount of time than hoped isn’t appealing. We want to see as much of the Tanzanian coastline as possible and as much of the lakes and as much of the forests as we can. That isn’t even including Kenya with all of the savanna, lakes, archeology and coast lines to experience there. We had already cut off Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi from the plans as too much. Maybe if we delay we can do some of those also.

The decision is made! The Ebola outbreak in Uganda is the tipping point. We are going to delay to next year June. We’ve only seen the southern part of Mozambique up to Tofo.. and I have been missing the beaches of Mozambique. In a space of about 10 minutes we decide to cancel East Africa and do an about turn down south to head for the Mozambican coastline! A change in adventure.

Looking at our visa’s and old carnet, it turns out that we only have two nights legally remaining within Malawi’s borders. We need to get from the extreme north all the way down to the extreme south and into Mozambique in just a couple of days.

To be honest, the drive down Malawi is excellent! Malawi is easily one of the most picturesque African countries we have been to. It is one of the very few countries with a high population density that I can truly say I found enjoyable and picturesque. We barrel down the M1 enjoying the sights of the people of Malawi existing on the shores of the ancient lake. A brief stop in Mzuzu to stock up on some supplies (a cream donut) and then we drop down the escarpment once more on the M5 via Nkhata Bay. The drive down to Nkhata Bay is through the rubber tree forests and as we listen to the end of Dipo Faloyin’s audiobook, Africa is Not a Country, teenage boys stand by the side of the road bouncing DIY rubber tree balls with impossible skill in hope of a sale.

The long, long stretch of Lake Malawi is beautiful and we stop the night at Ngala Beach Lodge, another recommendation from my cousin. The lodge turns out to be the best campsite so far in Malawi and one of the best spots we have stayed in Malawi as well as our Africa travels. Lake Malawi is kind enough to provide another beautiful evening. The fishermen in their dugout canoes drift by creating ripples in the mirrored sunset and cattle amble home along the beach.

The next day is a big drive all the way down to Mwanza, a border town north west of Blantyre. We decide on this border crossing rather than Dedza so that we can travel along Lake Malawi as much as possible. Lake Malawi disappears after a few hours while the escarpment draws nearer to the west of us. The number of people on bicycles also increases. We skirt along the inside of the escarpment and then begin a slow ascent up towards Mwanza. 

By complete luck we find a great hotel aptly named Mwanza Hotel. Every once in a while you find a hotel which meets some fairly hopeful adventurer criteria. Namely: safe parking, relaxing, cheap, clean, hot water, good cheap food, and good cheap beer. This hotel has every single one of the criteria. The outside bar is even next to a well maintained pool. A few beers in the late afternoon followed by some excellent stew from the restaurant in the evening. The double bed mattresses are ridiculously hard. They may as well have put a sheet over a wooden board. The single room beds are humorously plush and comfortable though. Tired adventurers with beer and good food in their bellies only laugh at tiny inconveniences like a ridiculously hard mattress, and we fall asleep quick enough.

We wake up the next morning surprisingly rested despite the plank/bed. The breakfast is impressive with a choice of eggs and plenty of coffee to go around.

We lose our way quite badly driving to the border based on google maps. A few locals watch our car drive by them four or five times and then we head in the correct and, to tell the truth, fairly obvious direction.

We buzz through the Malawian side of the border post quickly. The Malawian border official is very officious but we just smile and laugh until he realises he only has the option to stamp the passport. Customs is a small room with a knowledgeable officer and we breeze through that with our carnet quickly also.

The Mozambican side of the border is a little crazier as an entire team of Mozambican soccer players is heading to Malawi by bus. The passport stamping is still very quick and we bought insurance online before crossing so no issues there. Some of the fees were payable in Mozambican mets from memory. Turns out there is (possibly, I never confirmed this) something like a US$10 road tax to be bought from one of the prefab rooms outside also. The very man who had been insisting on this twenty minutes beforehand turns out to live in the prefab room. I hand over US$10, it had to be US dollar, and leave with a very official piece of paper with stamps, shiny stickers and filigreed borders.

Back to Mozambique and endless tropical beaches, but first a few Mozambican roads to navigate before we get to the Indian Ocean.