Day's trip schedule
Fat Monkeys
Distance & time taken
0 km
0 hrs
Accommodation
The Fat Monkeys, Cape Maclear, (www.fatmonkeysmw.com)
in the village of Chembe in Cape Maclear on the southern banks of Lake Malawi
Trip Notes
Up just after 05h00 this morning after a broken night's sleep due to the all-night party in the nearby village & the waves on the beach in front of us. We couldn't believe the noise these small waves made as they broke onto the beach (about 10m away from where we were camped). We decided to move our vehicle further back in the campsite & thereby possibly reduce the intensity of the wave noise.
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| Moving camp further back in the camping area |
En route to the shower, I met with our fellow campers (Piet & his wife) who originate from Kleinmond & have been working on & off in Malawi for the last 30 years in the district clinics. They had their daughter, son-in-law & grandkids visiting them & they took them all down to the lake before the family head off back to Montagu on Thursday.
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| Early morning bathing |
While we had coffee, we watched the world surrounding the lake wake up. The local women came down to wash clothes & dishes while he men that weren't going out fishing, came down to bathe. We spent the rest of the morning catching up on admin as Ang had bought a local sim card & we thus had our own wifi which proved to be very efficient. Around 10h30, a steady on-shore breeze started blowing & lasted most of the day - we would therefore need to rent a kayak for either early morning or late afternoon to discover the lake.
There wasn't much birdlife around the camp which was probably due to the village surrounding the lodge. The bonus was that this area of the lake is home to many fish eagles who drifted over our heads on fishing expeditions - we even witnessed a few failed attempts just off the beach in front. I had a chat to Piet's wife regarding Bilharzia as we had heard it was prevalent in the lake & I had seen her grandkids playing in the shallow water. She confirmed its presence but also said it was easy to treat with a course of tablets but this must only be done after 12 weeks as the eggs first have to hatch in order for the meds to work.
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| Kuche Kuche beer |
After lunch, I went off to the pub to watch the Monaco F1 GP & suck down a few of the local brews - Kuche Kuche. Ang spent the time catching up on her Unisa work as well as some of the restaurant financials. After the GP, I went through the paintings of a local resident, Kennedy & bought 2 for $30 - it was probably too much but at least the money went into the village. I also booked a boat trip onto the lake through the lodge with a guide by the name of Blessing for $70. He would collect us at 08h30, take us out to watch the fish eagles being fed & then onto a protected bay to snorkel for a while.
We hit the sack early in the hope that we would have a better night's sleep.
Costs for the day
| Accommodation |
Fat Monkeys Lodge |
US$12,00
|
There wasn't much birdlife around the camp which was probably due to the village surrounding the lodge. The bonus was that this area of the lake is home to many fish eagles who drifted over our heads on fishing expeditions - we even witnessed a few failed attempts just off the beach in front. I had a chat to Piet's wife regarding Bilharzia as we had heard it was prevalent in the lake & I had seen her grandkids playing in the shallow water. She confirmed its presence but also said it was easy to treat with a course of tablets but this must only be done after 12 weeks as the eggs first have to hatch in order for the meds to work.
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