This is the second waterfall we visited during Day 1 of our hike up Mt. Mulanje in Malawi. I went for a swim which was very cold but refreshing.
After the Safari, I headed south to Zanzibar. I heard a lot about the islands from backpackers in Arusha and had to check them out for myself. It was like living in a postcard. I spent one night in Stone Town and the rest of the time on the northern tip of the island in Nungwe. It was a great couple of days but I could not afford to stay long. The highlight of the visit was going fishing on a dhow. I tried to organize a fishing trip with my hotel but they wanted too much money. In my broken Swahili, I was able to negotiate with a local fisherman a much cheaper price. Once on the water, I realized that we did not have fishing poles. It turns out that instead of fishing poles the fisherman just wrap the fishing line around their feet. I did the same and I was almost pulled out of the boat. I luckily got the line off of my foot just in time before I went into the Indian Ocean. We caught three yellow-fin tuna over the course of the morning while suffering from seasickness. It was a blast.
My original plan was to head back to northern Tanzania after Zanzibar. Instead, I met a guy from Malawi that assured me I could work on a farm there. He flew back to Malawi and gave me his address. I decided to bus it to Malawi. I took the ferry to Dar es Salaam and then a bus to Mbeya the next day. I then took a combination of minibuses, taxis, and bicycles to get to the border crossing. That was an experience in itself. I crossed just above Karonga. As soon as I crossed the border into Malawi, the atmosphere was completely different. Malawi is often referred to as ‘the warm heart of Africa’ because the people are so friendly. This is the main reason that I liked Malawi so much.
I made it to Livingstonia to meet the guy I met in Zanzibar. There was not exactly a warm welcoming party ready to greet me. I stayed for a couple of days and then decided to move on. I headed south to Nkhata Bay. On the bus ride, I started a conversation with a very nice man that turned out to be the local agriculture agent in the region. I could not believe my luck. He agreed to meet with me on several occasions but I could tell he did not necessarily enjoy it. I stayed in Nkhata Bay for a couple weeks and then headed south once more. I hitchhiked to Lilongwe with a very nice Zimbabwean man. We had a very sobering conversation about the current state of Zimbabwe. The country’s currency at one time was valued higher than the British pound but now inflation is over 1000%. There is no food, running water, or electricity in most parts of this once booming country. The economy is so bad that the money actually has an expiration date. He gave me a $100,000 note that expired July, 31 2007. I finally made it further south to Blantyre. I was able to negotiate a reasonable flight to Johannesburg, but it did not leave for a week. I decided to fill the week by hiking Mt. Mulanje in southern Malawi. It was an incredible hike, which deserves its own entry.
I loved Malawi and was sad to leave. Although I did not have much luck with my project, the local people made my stay very enjoyable. I just never felt threatened or hassled like in Tanzania. For instance, when I crossed the border into Malawi, I shared a taxi with three locals. After travelling for 15 minutes, we came to our first police checkpoint. I had a very bad experience in Tanzania with a corrupt immigration officer and since then always cringed whenever I would hand over my passport. The officer simply handed me back my passport and with a smile said, “Have a nice day Mr. Long and enjoy your stay in Malawi.” That first encounter set the tone for the rest of my stay in the wonderful country.
