Day 83 to 89 ( 8th October to 14th October 2015 )

We entered Malawi on the 8th October 2015 and without any drama headed straight for Lilongwe Golf Club on recommendation of fellow travellers. The campsite was very basic but offered what we needed with a guard on duty during the night.The next day we did the necessary shopping , stocked up on fuel, airtime etc. and seeing that it was Friday night we thought that it was time for socializing and joined the locals at the club. It was surprising to see how many people came to enjoy the music provided by a local band that was a regular feature every Friday night. We enjoyed dinner, drinks, good music and chatter with the locals and a good time was had by all. The next day we packed up early and moved as there was a soccer match being played and a wedding ceremony later in the day. The road to the campsite is shared by both soccer field and wedding venue and we feared that we could get parked in for the rest of the day and most probably the night.

We drove through town and our destination was Cape Maclear some 260km further on lake Malawi to Chembe which was nicknamed Cape Maclear by Dr David Livingstone in honour of  a friend in 1861. Cape Maclear is a fishing village and Chembe Eagles Nest Lodge sits on the far northern end of Cape Maclear beach. In order to get to the lodge you have to snake your way through the narrow village streets where all the goods and stalls have been put out on display for the days business.The lodge sits on an idyllic spot on a beautiful stretch of beach with shaded trees.

The campsite at Eagles Nest is situated on a spot higher than the lodge. Max had to engage 4 wheel drive  to get over the rocks and a steep hill to where we would park for our stay but like before Bhejane did not disappoint. The view was not so great from our end of the campsite but with this size vehicle it is not easy to always find the ideal spot.

The newly appointed managing team Gordon and wife Diana who arrived just three days before our arrival at the lodge had many new plans and ideas for the future. Diana did her best to supply us with contacts and information for our trip further up the lake. We experienced our first freshwater Scuba dive ever with Fred the D.M. with a diving concern in the village. It was not a such great experience as the visibility was between 5 to 6 metres but diving always remains a fun experience for us and this time was no exception. We explored the village and surrounds on our scooter through thick sand and dirt roads. It provided much amusement to the village children and later decided to abandon the excursion in fear of making utter fools of ourselves if the bike and us should not stay on  track.

The Highlight for us was the Rugby and SA beating their opponents and meeting young Ryan from Cape Town who chatted so excitedly about the SA team and who he thought should and should not be playing, reminding us of our own grandsons back home in SA and feeling so terribly homesick.

The downside was swarms of small insects appearing from nowhere that forces you to abandon all activities at night and sit in total darkness as these little pests are attracted to the light. All in all our stay at Cape Maclear was a most pleasant one.