Just one blog entry to cover our stay in 'Kande Beach', mainly because we have done very little. Despite the constant stream of overland trucks we have stuck it out and met some great people along the way. Richard and Rachel arrived on our first full day here, in their rather smart Land Rover complete with mobile-home style back. They are travelling north back to England assuming they can get out of Egypt. It seems that ferry from Egypt to Italy is no longer running and the continuing situation in Syria makes getting back to Europe difficult. To make matters tougher for anyone headed north it seems that getting an Ethiopian visa has become all but impossible, short of sending your passport home to your own country. Travel difficulties aside, they are a lovely couple who very kindly gave us their excellent Malawi and Mozambique map, which will be invaluable as we head south. We wish them a safe and a hopefully trouble free journey.
Aside from watching the rest of the cricket and some rugby, I have contented myself with laying in a hammock and reading.
There have been a constant stream of trucks in and out, but never as many as when we first arrived. For the main part the atmosphere hear as been fairly subdued, not all of the trucks are party trucks it seems. Debs meanwhile has been working on her tan, although any attempts to get rid of the cycle tan lines have been largely ineffective. It seems we will be both stuck with them for the duration of our trip!
Since arriving the weather has remained warm but a strong wind has got up making the lake quite rough. Looking at the waves, beach and no visible sign of the other side it is easy to think that you are looking at a sea. Not having to wash off the salt water is a pleasant reminder though.
Seeking excitement Debs booked to go on a two hour horse ride with the local stables. Having been met by Sophia from 'Kande Horse' at 2pm, Debs and another rider Jess set off to the stables to meet their horses. Meanwhile, I chatted with a group who are driving a fire engine from Cape town to Germany. They were an interesting bunch having made the trip once before in the 1960s, although that time not in an old fire engine! For details of Debs' horse ride I will pass the blogging duties over to her:
Arriving at Kande Horse stables, we were issued with helmets and half-chaps and were then introduced to our mounts. My horse was a beautiful grey 16.2hh mare called Clover. With Sophia leading the way, we set off into the forest for the start of a wonderful ride. It was a great way to see the scenery with the track taking us through farmland, forests, open grassland, villages and finally along the wide beach. The reaction we got when we rode through the villages was much akin to when Matt and I cycle through them, with the kids becoming totally overexcited. However, on this occasion they were much more interested in the horses than in us!
We finished the ride back at Kande Beach resort where we un-tacked the horses and changed into our swimwear. Riding the horses bareback we headed to the beach and into Lake Malawi. Clover was very glad to have a drink and to cool off in the waves. It was an amazing experience and a fantastic memory to take away from Malawi. Kande Horse is a very professionally run stables with well-kept, happy horses and Sophia was a brilliant, friendly guide.
Having got on very well with Sophia from the stables, Debs and I were invited down to join her and Johnny (the owner) and his wife for a coffee. It was good to get away from the site for a while and have a chat with some lovely people. It was also very generous of them all, to let us have some fresh vegetables and salad from their well stocked garden. Getting fresh vegetables, at least of any great variety, has been a challenge in Malawi. For two days we were able to make a delicious salad for lunch which has been a nice change to the soup or noodles. The camp-site's restaurant is unfortunately rather expensive, in fairness food in Malawi has been dearer than in Tanzania, and not really that good. We have had a few meals there but, I would suggest that self catering is a better option! On the way back from the stables we stopped in the village and bought a few supplies. Heading back to the camp we had a lot of fun giving the local children rides on our bikes. By way of thanks they helped us push our bikes through the thick sand. The village children have been great and we have given several rides to them, during our trips to get supplies. For once we have been largely free of the requests for money, in fact the worst that has happened; is that occasionally the kids have got a little boisterous and started fighting over who gets to ride next. We have managed to quickly quash most fights, but three children per bike is all we can push. Fortunately one of the older children normally comes to the rescue when it gets a bit much!
Back at the camp Debs got to have another horse experience when Sophia asked her to lead one of the horses into the lake, while she took another rider in. This time the lake was quite rough and it looked like all she could do to stop from being submerged. The grin never faded though, another time and she may have found her dream job!
It is amazing how quick the time has passed, we had planned to leave yesterday but Debs has been suffering with a cold that seems a little better today. From a less than auspicious start, we have had a pretty good time here, but the road once again beckons. Let's hope the kids are available to help us push the bikes tomorrow morning, otherwise we may well be worn out before we make it to the road!
Another day has passed and we are still here. We ended up having a drink or two with Sophia last night, which added to the ones I had while watching South Africa beat New Zealand in the 'Tri Nations', meant that we weren't in much of a state to move on. Still, some good has come out of it, Debs has another day to get over her cold and we have managed to fill up our petrol bottles thanks to the local dive school. We are definitely off tomorrow, it will be an early night tonight!
Just a quick addition: We had another great chat, plus a few too many beers, with Johnny and Sophia at the bar last night and thanks to Gary and Kirsty (who are running the camp while the owners are away) we have a better idea of where to go when we leave Malawi. We also, credit where it is due, had a lovely meal of sausages, mash, veggies and gravy from the restaurant last night. I won't go into the comedic struggle we went through to get the food, but cheers Owen for sorting it out. It rounded up what has been a very entertaining stay!
It sounds as though you are both having a good break. Your horses looked lovely, Debbie. The bay particularly seemed to enjoy the waves - who was doing the leading?
ReplyDeleteLove from Mum and Dad xx