Malawi – Minivans, chaos and malaria

On December 28, 2010 we crossed the border from Tanzania to Malawi.

Border crossing-Tanzania to Malawi

Guys on motorcycles will take you from Tanzania to the Malawi border. After being stamped in Malawi, waiting taxis will take you to Karonga in about 40 minutes, maybe longer depending on how many obstacles you encounter. There were 7 passengers plus the driver crammed into our taxi.

Karonga

Malawi border taxi dropped us at Karonga bus station. It was chaos with the minivan pestering us to ride their vans to Mzuzu. We decided to take the bus to Mzuzu.

mzuzu

The bus dropped us off at the bus station in the city center. We stayed at CCAP William Koyi Guest House, which is quiet, cheap and central. We stayed for a couple of days while being charged before going to Nkhata Bay as the guidebook said there was nowhere to get money (but there is).

Nkhata Bay

We took a minivan in Nkhata Bay. We stayed in the new air conditioned rondavels at the Chikale Beach Resort which has a reasonably priced restaurant. We also ate a couple of meals at the restaurant at the Njaya Lodge, up the hill. While guide books tend to rave about accommodation at Njaya Lodge, it’s basic at best. Chikale Beach is about a 40 minute walk from Nkhata Bay. It is best to take a taxi when arriving and leaving with luggage. The water at Chikale Beach is warm, clear and clean with a nice sandy beach without the little snails like we found at Cape Maclear. There is an ATM in Nkhata Bay.

Senga Bay

Why Senga Bay is known as a beach resort area is beyond us. Nhkata Bay and Cape Maclear are much better. We stayed 1 night at Wamwai Beach Lodge in a hot room (shared facilities) with a clunky fan. It is right next to the fishing village and the area is very crowded with a dirty beach with a lot of rubbish. The accommodation is spread out over several kilometers and there are only local pedicabs. If we had known what it would be like, we would have stayed on the bus. The bus station is in Salima and from there you need to take a simple taxi (about 30 minutes) to the Senga Bay area.

Liwonde

We ended up spending a night in Liwonde twice. Both times by accident and not by design, thanks to the minivan drivers. There is nothing here apart from a transport hub and the Liwonde National Park. As we had been in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, this did not interest us.

Mangochi

We caught a minivan from Liwonde with a sign to Monkey Bay. Surprise! It only went as far as Mangochi. The driver told us to change and said a single taxi utility would take us to Monkey Bay and it was only a 5klm ride. We climbed into the back of the packed utility. Just after leaving town I noticed a road sign showing it was 60 km to Monkey Bay! We had to stand in the hot sun the whole way and the woman next to us had a burlap bag of wet fish oozing stinky dirt onto the floor.

monkey bay

All transportation ends here. It is a small dusty town without any interest. From here you can take a simple taxi to Cape Maclear, which takes about 30 minutes on a bumpy road.

Cape Maclear

We spent a few relaxing days at Mgoza Lodge, which has a few en-suite cabins facing the beach and is quiet. The owners are very nice and the food they serve is good too. Despite taking our malaria medication, Gavin unfortunately contracted malaria. The owner sent Gavin to the local clinic staffed by European doctors who gave him specific antibiotics that cured the malaria in 3 days. We noticed that the coast was covered with thousands of small snails that were constantly being washed ashore and we decided not to enter the water.

Border Crossing – Malawi to Mozambique

Despite signs saying minivans go from Liwonde to the Mozambique border, they will only take you to Mwanza. From there you need to take a second minivan to Zobue at the border. At Zobue the guys with cars will take you to the Mozambique border post for a small fee (they wait while you are driven out of Malawi). The distance between the 2 border posts is about 8klms. Just before reaching the Mozambique border post, the car will pick up a money changer. The guy gave us a good rate as Gavin had checked the internet for the current exchange rate.

Transport

To avoid the problems we had with the minivan drivers, take the bus whenever you can (sometimes this is not possible). You may have to wait but trust me it’s so much better as it will get you where you want to go!