Cape Maclear

March 9, 2014 kate brand

view of Thumbi Island from Fat Monkeys - it looks a LOT smaller from here...

our kayak route from Fat Monkeys, around Thumbi Island, and back - approx 9km

our first stop on Thumbi Island - in desperate need of a tan

relaxing in the shade after our snorkel mission

enjoying the view of Cape Maclear from Thumbi Island

sunset view of Thumbi Island (Copyright 2006 Andrew Whalley)

Cape Maclear was our last stop on the road trip. the highlight for us was definitely kayaking around Thumbi Island, just off the coast.

this is one of our favourite activities to do together. usually we each have our own canoe or kayak. this time we used a double kayak which is great if one of you needs to take a rest (mostly me!) and the other can keep rowing.

we didn't do any research on the island before we decided to take on the kayak mission. so we had no idea how big the island actually was or how long the route would be. this was definitely to our advantage - we are both at the most unfit we have ever been in our 30yrs (6 day work week desk jobs do that to you) so if we had known in advance that we would have to row over 9km we probably wouldn't have done it!

we're really glad we did though. the water is clear and warm, and the abundance of colourful fish make for brilliant snorkeling. the fish eagles are everywhere and on the kayak you get perfect views of the birds fishing and nesting on the island cliffs.

Fat Monkeys

February 21, 2014 kate brand

monkeys chilling at the entrance way to the restaurant & bar

our last stop on the epic Malawi road trip was Cape Maclear. since we didn't originally plan to stay longer we didn't book any accommodation. it wasn't the smartest move, only just a few days before Christmas/New Years celebrations, when most lodges are filled with international tourists who have booked a year in advance...

Fat Monkeys was the first place we stopped at and could only offer us a room for one night. we went all the way up the Maclear coast and checked out most of the other places but they were either crazy expensive, under renovation, or were fully booked.

luckily for us the friendly people at Fat Monkeys offered us a tent and a mattress, with bedding, in their beachfront campsite at an extremely attractive rate (USD 6 p/night - we're always on a strict budget!)

their rooms and camping facilities are great - we would recommend this place to anyone.

Fly Burgers

February 9, 2014 kate brand

in an earlier post i included a photo of what looks like grey smoke coming out of the lake surface. the "smoke" is actually bajillions of lake flies, mating in mid air, during the rainy season. the BBC: Planet Earth video excerpt above explains this phenomenon a little better.

another interesting byproduct of this "cloud" is a local delicacy, known as "fly burgers". unfortunately i couldn't get a shot of them at the Nkhata Bay market but they are basically made up of a whole lot of tiny flies mushed together into a large black "burger patty".

the flies are normally caught alive, whizzing in the air, with nets but a lot of the time it's easier for the women who make them to sweep dead flies off the floor. hearing this we decided to skip the local culinary delight, juuuuust in case we got a floor fly burger...

Beer o'clock

February 8, 2014 kate brand

the best part about being on holiday is beach time and beer time. and when it's holiday time it's always beer time. nuff said.

Nkhotakota Pottery

February 1, 2014 kate brand

the next stop on our Malawi road trip was Nkhotakota. the town itself isn't much to rave about but there is an interesting spot a few km's past the town. we headed, Nkhotakota Pottery Lodge, for one night before heading further south the next day.

as the name says, they offer accommodation as well as pottery classes & items for sale. if we had stayed a few extra days we would have taken advantage of the workshops - you can either create your own piece from scratch (which is what we wanted to do) or you can paint and existing piece - all done the traditional Malawian way.

the locals' workmanship is evident in the cups your drinks are served in, every table you sit at, even the tiles in the en suit bathrooms.

it's a beautiful secluded spot, right in the middle of a nature reserve, and reminds me a lot of the west cost of South Africa. also, their breakfast is the best we had in Malawi and we highly recommend their coffee too.