4 Days Exploring Lake Malawi

I spent a month traveling through Africa on a 27-day camping trip with G Adventures. After passing through South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, it was time to make our way to the country of Malawi.

Crossing the Border

We had a short drive from Zambia to the Malawi border. The processing was expected to take 3 hours, but our group made it through in record time in only an hour and a half! You could see a difference in population density as soon as we crossed the border. We passed cows with huge humps on their necks carting goods and chickens in baskets being biked around town. There was trash everywhere and many half-finished buildings. I was wondering what I had gotten myself into for the first time during the trip.

At one point we had to drive through a national park where we were warned about the dreaded tsetse fly. This dangerous insect can cause hallucinations and can even kill you! We had to make sure all of our windows were closed, and there were blue and black flags on the side of the road to attract the flies since they are drawn to dark colors. Thankfully we made it through without incident.

As we continued making our way to the first campsite in Kande Beach, the scenery changed and things became nicer. We were greeted by lots of waving children who were super excited to see us pass through their village. Many group members decided to upgrade to chalets at this campground, but I opted for my tent (I was on a camping trip, after all). We watched the sunset on the beach and I tried Kuche Kuche, a brand of Malawian beer that was surprisingly good. We had a relaxing rest of the night at the campground; Malawi was shaping up to be very interesting.

A pretty sunset on Kande Beach

A very interesting name for a beer

Kande Beach

For the next day’s activity, we would be participating in a village walk led by a local guide. As soon as we left the campground gates, we were “mobbed” by a group of men (which we were warned about). They walked and talked with us the whole way to the village and wanted to learn more about us; the man I spoke to was going to agricultural school in a different town and was home for a school break.

Soon we were at our first stop, which was a small house with a cat on one of the roofs and several free-range chickens. We then headed to the local chief’s house and learned about the village’s family planning, health care, and free primary school along the way. Next we met a group of children who were so excited to see us; they would hug us and hold our hands and were just happy to be around us. I connected with an older girl named Este and it was a really neat experience.

One of many Malawian children we met on our tour

Our last stops of the tour were the cassava fields and brick-making areas, where we watched our guide make bricks from the nearby mud. As we headed back to camp, we had to walk through the makeshift shops of the men who were walking with us at the beginning. They taught us how to play bao (a traditional board game) and I felt guilty and ended up buying a handcrafted board. It was a cool souvenir at least.

After lunch we hung out near the beach. Then we headed back to the local guide’s home for a village dinner. We sat on mats outdoors and tried some Malawian cuisine which was really tasty. The kids also put on a performance for us and invited us to sing and dance with them. I could see why Malawi was referred to as the “warm heart of Africa”; the people were extremely kind and welcoming. We ended the evening back at camp with a bonfire on the beach and lots of laughs about the past two weeks together. We also spent some time stargazing along the “Lake of Stars” (Lake Malawi’s nickname) which was incredible. I was sad to be leaving Kande Beach so soon!

A traditional Malawian dinner

The Milky Way from the Lake of Stars

Chitimba

We woke up early to head to the village of Chitimba, our second stop on Lake Malawi. We had to take a long and winding road to get to the campsite, and I was one of the few who didn’t feel sick since I had taken Dramamine beforehand. The views along the way were beautiful at least!

Beautiful scenery along Lake Malawi

We arrived at the campsite, and some group members decided to go to the beach. I had wanted to join but there were a lot of kids begging us for money and I wasn’t in the mood to be harassed (I felt a bit like a celebrity as we were constantly being approached and followed around by children).

Instead, I stayed at the campsite with some others where we enjoyed popcorn before our amazing t-bone steak dinner. We then spent the evening trying to relax, which was difficult since we kept finding tons of weird bugs everywhere. Some group members had decided to upgrade from their tents to cabins, but the majority soon switched back to their tents due to all the centipedes, roaches, and other disgusting bugs they found in the cabins. Chitimba was definitely not as enjoyable as Kande Beach had been!

A Witch Doctor and a Farewell to Malawi

I slept in on my second day in Chitimba and was so glad that I didn’t sign up for the full-day hike! Instead, I went with two group members to see the local witch doctor. We walked 25 minutes into the village and were waved at and followed by children along the way. The adults were really friendly too!

The witch doctor started our ceremony by snorting something (very interesting…) and made us participate in a special dance. He then told us our fortune’s one by one, with a guide translating since he didn’t speak English. Supposedly I would soon have a new career (does unemployment count?) and a lot of good travels in the future. Some of the children who had followed us were listening in on the ceremony which was a funny touch. The “doctor” also showed us his potions which all looked the same and included Love #7 (for the drinker to find love), Love #9 (to maintain your current relationship), a hangover cure, a stomach calmer, and a good luck charm.

The village of Chitimba

Before long we headed back to the campsite where we were of course followed by more friendly children. I spent the rest of the day catching up with group members and trying to avoid the creepy bugs. We stayed up fairly late and made even more inside jokes; I was really going to miss my new friends! Overall Malawi was a very interesting place full of incredible people. While I wouldn’t go back to Chitimba, I really enjoyed my time in Kande Beach and was thankful for yet another eye-opening travel experience.