16 June, Thursday Park Nyika to Mzuzu to Nkatha Bay
We see our campsite in daylight and it is beautiful as low lying
mist covers the valley below us. We eat an unusual camp breakfast: BLT’s! I’ve
realized the night before that we have bacon, lettuce, tomatoes and not too
fresh bread, so voila…Willie toasts the bread on the grill and all of us agree
that this is a breakfast that we need to repeat.
We pack and strap and take a 4x4 road back to the
main road. Hugo and Andrej sit on the roof again, chatting up a storm. It is
truly 4x4 country and I take awesome video clips of some of the rough, dense
terrain we negotiate. I put my foot in my mouth and every now and then Hugo will
remind me of it: Dense grass has overgrown the road at one patch, so Willie asks
the guys to walk out in front of the car, because it is so difficult to see
holes or rocks. Hugo wants to know if Sammie can walk with them and my immediate
response is, “rather not, I am afraid there might be snakes!” Well…Hugo, “that’s
really nice, mom, not Sammie, but your son can be bitten by a snake – especially since we are so close to a hospital.! On and on to this day. Sorry Hugo!
Even though the going is slower, we enjoy the views and scenery
of a place where only a 4x4 can come. We do not see many animals at all– a few
bucks, zebras and birds. It might be because the grass is so high, but if the
idea was to see animals then it would have been a disappointment. The road from
the park entrance to Rumphi is bad and we are glad when we finally are back on
the tar. Our next stop is Mzuzu – the largest town north of Lilongwe where we
stop briefly to stock up on food supplies. It is really hard for me to buy,
because it feels as if everything is so expensive, although it is not all that
much more than Tanzania.
From Mzuzu we drive back to the Lake – Nkatha bay. It is a
beautiful drive through tropical vegetation. The drive is slow, because small
villages line the road and there are lots of people and animals crossing the
road. Nkatha is a small, scenic lakeside village and we find a place to stay at
Big Blue: a campsite right on the edge of the water under big shady trees. The
staff is friendly and welcoming and we have a nice relaxing evening around our
meal. Mealtimes have become an important time of our day…and it is really a
pleasure to cook for the guys, because they are so appreciative. They call me
the ‘kos-towernaar’ (the food magician) Andrej is the ‘broodjie-towernaar’ (the
bread magician, because he finds us nice bread); Willie the ‘ry-towernaar’
(route-magician) and Hugo and Sammie…?
We see our campsite in daylight and it is beautiful as low lying
mist covers the valley below us. We eat an unusual camp breakfast: BLT’s! I’ve
realized the night before that we have bacon, lettuce, tomatoes and not too
fresh bread, so voila…Willie toasts the bread on the grill and all of us agree
that this is a breakfast that we need to repeat.
We pack and strap and take a 4x4 road back to the
main road. Hugo and Andrej sit on the roof again, chatting up a storm. It is
truly 4x4 country and I take awesome video clips of some of the rough, dense
terrain we negotiate. I put my foot in my mouth and every now and then Hugo will
remind me of it: Dense grass has overgrown the road at one patch, so Willie asks
the guys to walk out in front of the car, because it is so difficult to see
holes or rocks. Hugo wants to know if Sammie can walk with them and my immediate
response is, “rather not, I am afraid there might be snakes!” Well…Hugo, “that’s
really nice, mom, not Sammie, but your son can be bitten by a snake – especially since we are so close to a hospital.! On and on to this day. Sorry Hugo!
Even though the going is slower, we enjoy the views and scenery
of a place where only a 4x4 can come. We do not see many animals at all– a few
bucks, zebras and birds. It might be because the grass is so high, but if the
idea was to see animals then it would have been a disappointment. The road from
the park entrance to Rumphi is bad and we are glad when we finally are back on
the tar. Our next stop is Mzuzu – the largest town north of Lilongwe where we
stop briefly to stock up on food supplies. It is really hard for me to buy,
because it feels as if everything is so expensive, although it is not all that
much more than Tanzania.
From Mzuzu we drive back to the Lake – Nkatha bay. It is a
beautiful drive through tropical vegetation. The drive is slow, because small
villages line the road and there are lots of people and animals crossing the
road. Nkatha is a small, scenic lakeside village and we find a place to stay at
Big Blue: a campsite right on the edge of the water under big shady trees. The
staff is friendly and welcoming and we have a nice relaxing evening around our
meal. Mealtimes have become an important time of our day…and it is really a
pleasure to cook for the guys, because they are so appreciative. They call me
the ‘kos-towernaar’ (the food magician) Andrej is the ‘broodjie-towernaar’ (the
bread magician, because he finds us nice bread); Willie the ‘ry-towernaar’
(route-magician) and Hugo and Sammie…?
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