Day 294 Malawi 23/08/2011, Ngala Beach Lodge – Nkhotakota Pottery lodge. 58.84miles/96.54km, 5hr52minutes, Av 10mph.

Firstly I would have to say that dinner was excellent last night and we had a pleasant evening chatting with the staff and customers at the bar. Unfortunately events this morning weren't so great. Upon paying our bill this morning we found that government tax was added on afterwards, this may have been a small amount at 1% of the bill, but it is the first time we have been charged it since we arrived in Malawi. Bearing in mind the rather expensive camping, bar and restaurant prices of the lodge and it seems a little galling that the tax is not included. What was more annoying was that when I paid, I was told that I was owed 172 kwacha, but was then only handed 150 Kwacha and told that they didn't have any change. Now 20 Kwacha is worth less than 10p, but when the staff member laughs at you because he hasn't got any change, it becomes a matter of principal. No matter how long we stood there saying that he should go and find some change, all we got was more laughter. By now we were later leaving than we had planned and I was so annoyed at being laughed at, that there was no choice but to walk out and leave 'Ngala Beach Lodge' behind.

Things didn't really improve on the road where we encountered a pocket of aggressive, money demanding locals. Horrible children chasing up the road shouting “you, give me money!” and adult women with their hands out. If I hear one more 'Malawi the warm heart of Africa' and Malawians are the friendliest people in Africa I will scream. At the moment they are firmly behind Tanzanians and Kenyans, which quite frankly isn't saying that much. Anyone who thinks these are the friendliest people, should get themselves to Sudan and see what real hospitality is. Debs is finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the begging, demands and often insulting behaviour. Plugging the Ipod in certainly helps block out the constant barrage, but once again I had to pedal hard up the road to catch up with a speeding and upset Debs. Fortunately things improved and we passed through villages full of excited children, who just seemed pleased to see us. It is a shame that our journey through Malawi so far has followed the same pattern.

With only a light headwind today we made pretty good progress. The road was reasonably hilly though and it has to have been one of the warmest days in Malawi yet. Eventually after a longish day in the saddle we rode into Nkhotakota and stopped for some supplies. While Debs was shopping, I kept an eye on the bikes and attracted rather too much attention from the kids when I bought a samosa from one of them. They couldn't seem to understand that I only wanted one. Before too long I was surrounded by children with bracelets, peanuts and more samosas for sale. Clearly the best thing to do is not buy anything at all. When Debs came out we had to push the kids back so that we could pack the shopping away. Stocked up with supplies, it was good to get back on the bikes for the final 15km to our stop for the night. The rest of the journey went without incident until we turned off towards Nkhotkota pottery and set off down the 4km of dirt road to the site. The road was pretty hard packed so riding it wasn't a problem, but the kids lining the track all seemed to be of the 'give me pen/money' variety. At one point they were chasing along behind us shouting their demands. When we arrived at the safety of the lodges gates it was a bit of a relief.

While we were checking in we were joined by Pete, an Australian, who has been travelling round the world on his BMW motorbike for the past three and a half years. He is a fascinating guy to talk to, as long as you don't mention Ewan Mcgregor and Charlie Boorman!

It had been a long day, so we decided against cooking and went to the restaurant for dinner instead. The three course 'meal of the day' had to be the best food I have had in Malawi. Debs had a lovely, if slightly too spicy for her, chicken curry. A few beers and a chat with Pete rounded up a tiring day. We will have a rest day tomorrow and then possibly head to Lilongwe to extend our visas, provided we can leave our gear here for a few days. So far the pottery looks like a decent place to stay.

Day 293 Malawi 22/08/2011, Kande Beach to Ngala Beach lodge, Ngala. 39.98miles/64.60km, 3hr56minutes, Av10.1mph.

After watching one of the overland trucks get stuck in the sand while trying to get off the site this morning, we negotiated the 2km track to the road fairly well. Debs of course managed to find some of the children to give her a push, I meanwhile was left to fend for myself! People seem to come out of the woodwork to help Debs when she has the slightest difficulty; I don't know how she does it, perhaps a winning smile?

Before we rejoined the road properly we stopped in at Kande Horse stables to say goodbye to Sophia, Johnny and Adella. It has been an absolute pleasure to meet them. Every time we have an extended stay somewhere we always seem to meet the nicest people. We have to give a big thanks to them all for their hospitality and a really big thanks to Sophia for the Southern Africa guidebook. We hope to see Sophia again when she comes to England, we will make sure there are plenty of baked beans available!

Despite having largely got over her cold, Debs was still feeling quite weak, so it was a good job that the strong winds of the previous few days seem to have died down. We were also very lucky with the terrain, as barring a few small hills it was mainly flat. The scenery today was amongst the nicest we have travelled through in Southern Africa. Beautifully green vegetation was backed by the mountain range to our west. When the road moved back towards the lake, we were greeted by a calm waters and a constant string of small fishing villages. While riding along we saw two locals standing in the middle of the road taking a photo of something with their phones. Wondering what they had spotted we were surprised to see them posing with what appeared to be half a snake. While I don't propose that I am an expert on snakes, the diamond head and large fangs looked awfully like some kind of viper, so I guess posing besides a dead one is safer than a live one! As if seeing one snake wasn't enough Debs then had a near miss when she nearly ran over a very sizeable, possibly venomous snake, as it crossed the road. Whether it would have tried to bite her if she had hit it, we can't say, but we imagine it would have been a little annoyed! The break must have done us good because we are now much more able to handle the occasional demands for money, today largely from groups of women. The children in general have just appeared excited to see us, or perhaps we are only hearing what we want to hear now.

Weakness from illness and a rumbling stomach because I hadn't eaten enough aside, we had a pretty good day. Getting back on the road after a break is always a bit trying on the muscles, but we managed fairly well. Shortly after 1pm we arrived at Ngala Beach Lodge, which is a bit posh and has turned out to be the dearest place we have stayed. No matter how nice it is we won't be staying for longer than one night. 1500 Kwacha (£6) per person for camping is a bit steep, especially as it appears we are sharing two toilets and two showers with about 20 British teenagers.

Having set up camp, Debs went for a swim in the lake and I strolled into the village to get some supplies. It may have been market day but the food selection was pretty limited. I bought some tomatoes, bread and eggs so breakfast is taken care of, but dinner will be had in the restaurant. Let's hope we have a nice meal and a restful night, we have a pretty long day ahead of ourselves tomorrow.