Friday 12 August 2011

Day 283 Malawi 12/08/2011, Big Blue Star Backpackers, Nkhata Bay – Kande Beach. 37.66miles/60.88km, 4hrs09minutes, Av 9.0mph.

Back on the road today and heading for Kande Beach. The road leading from 'Big Blue Star' was surprisingly steep, as was the road out of Nkhata bay to join the main road. By the time we reached the main coast road our legs had had a good morning workout.

Far from being flat along the coast, the road weaves inland through rolling hills. The scenery was great, passing palm trees and rubber plantations.

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The constant cry of 'give me money' was once again never far away, but we also encountered many friendly people along the road. It is just a shame that the demands for money are from the majority of the children that we encountered. Still it has got much easier for us to just ignore it.

Before reaching Kande beach, we stopped in the small town of Chinteche with a view to get some supplies for our stay at Kande. Unfortunately the normally reliable 'Peoples Supermarket' was pretty poor. We bought some eggs and bread from a small store instead and will have to hope that the restaurant is either good and reasonably priced, or that there are some supplies available nearby. As it was lunchtime we had some food at 'Mums restaurant' and then headed down the road towards our camp-site.

The last few kilometres of the ride was along an unsealed road to the camp. For the main part the going was ok, but the track soon turned to deep sand and as we neared Kande Beach we were forced to abandon any attempt at cycling. While I struggled to push my bike through the sand, I turned to see Debs surrounded by helpful local children all pushing her along! With a wave of thanks we entered the compound, straight into over-lander truck central!

There were at least three trucks here when we arrived, which were joined by three more as the day progressed. Fortunately there were also a few independent travellers as well, otherwise it could have been a lonely place to be. Breaking into already bonded groups of travellers can be a little challenging.

Aside from being very busy, our first impressions of Kande Beach is that it is very attractive. We are camped under a reed covered area, so the tent will remain pleasantly cool. We remain hopeful that the people in the surrounding tents will keep the noise down during the night.

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Our last experience of an over-landers camp-site was that it was surprisingly quiet, but that time we weren't quite so surrounded. There is a beautiful stretch of beach and the lake looks quite inviting. I would have gone for a swim but there were more important things to do, like watch England destroying India in the cricket, whilst enjoying a cold beer.

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We spent the evening talking to a nice British couple, Will and Jess, who have been on holiday in Malawi and later on two British Canoeists who have been rowing the length of the lake in their packable kayak. I have been quite impressed with the kayak; another trip perhaps?! Later this evening things got a lot rowdier at the bar. One of the trucks was having a fancy dress party which ended with the staff actively encouraging people to dance on the bar. It was good fun to watch for a while but eventually we headed back to the tent for the night.

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We hadn't expected the music and partying to go on until 2am. So far it looks like it is definitely not going to be peaceful here. We will have to consider how long we are going to stay; still tomorrow is another day.

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