Friday January 7th.
Today was a very long day. We got up, organized and left by 6:30. We arrived shortly at the Zambia - Malawi border. The border crossing was a manned swing fence on a dirt road in a parking lot. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos as apparently it is a security risk. We all went in to sign out of Zambia and then Vernon took all of our passports and signed us into Malawi.
We stopped for gas and bought 300 litres which cost 70 000 kawcha. Vernon had to pay with 140 - 500 kawcha notes!
Then we drove for a couple of hours to reach Luango, the capital of Malawi. There Vernon had to do more shopping. When we parked he was mobbed by a group of young men. I thought they were trying to sell themselves as protectors of our truck, but Vernon was selecting a few to run and do errands for him around town. They went and got some fresh vegetables, ice and a few other things while Vernon shopped. That stop took about two hours.
Then we drove for a long time. The scenery is beautiful, lush, and hilly. We passed lots of small villages along the way with lots of perfect picture opportunities, but we can't stop. We passed a large rubber tree plantation. They tap the trees for sap, like we do with maple trees. The sap is pretty toxic but they process it to make rubber.
We did stop a couple of times for pit stops along the side of the road in the bushes. So it felt a bit like the great race across Malawi to get to Lake Malawi. If Botswana had livestock all over the roads, Malawi has people. They don't have many vehicles, just some bicycles. But people walk along the highways and nearly get run over as the roads are narrow and have no shoulders.
We finally arrived at our new camp at 7:00 at Kande Beach when it was already dark. So we put up our tent and get ready for dinner.
Today was a very long day. We got up, organized and left by 6:30. We arrived shortly at the Zambia - Malawi border. The border crossing was a manned swing fence on a dirt road in a parking lot. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos as apparently it is a security risk. We all went in to sign out of Zambia and then Vernon took all of our passports and signed us into Malawi.
We stopped for gas and bought 300 litres which cost 70 000 kawcha. Vernon had to pay with 140 - 500 kawcha notes!
Then we drove for a couple of hours to reach Luango, the capital of Malawi. There Vernon had to do more shopping. When we parked he was mobbed by a group of young men. I thought they were trying to sell themselves as protectors of our truck, but Vernon was selecting a few to run and do errands for him around town. They went and got some fresh vegetables, ice and a few other things while Vernon shopped. That stop took about two hours.
Then we drove for a long time. The scenery is beautiful, lush, and hilly. We passed lots of small villages along the way with lots of perfect picture opportunities, but we can't stop. We passed a large rubber tree plantation. They tap the trees for sap, like we do with maple trees. The sap is pretty toxic but they process it to make rubber.
We did stop a couple of times for pit stops along the side of the road in the bushes. So it felt a bit like the great race across Malawi to get to Lake Malawi. If Botswana had livestock all over the roads, Malawi has people. They don't have many vehicles, just some bicycles. But people walk along the highways and nearly get run over as the roads are narrow and have no shoulders.
We finally arrived at our new camp at 7:00 at Kande Beach when it was already dark. So we put up our tent and get ready for dinner.
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