Malawi (2015), Tips, Tricks and Routes wanted

[jurjan]

Hiya people,
we're in the early stages of planning our holidays for next year.

Malawi is one of the (bigger) contenders.

We would welcome any and all help and information regarding places to visit (or avoid).
Actions to perform (or avoid)
Bringing Euro's or Dollars?
Take MV Ilala for a bit of cruising on the lake?
What road to take, or (you guessed it) avoid

We'll have around four weeks total (unfortunately not more), period is yet to be decided
We live in the Netherlands, so Amsterdam Airport is our first choice of airport.
Which airline is least awful (especially flying with bicycles)?

Long story short: we would like to hear about your experiences when cycling malawi, in order for us to plan a nice holiday.

Thanks!

 

[rich p]

I doubt many of us have done Malawi on CC
I presume you've read these...
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/locales/?locale_id=129&doctype=journal

 

[psmiffy]

This geezer is in malawi at the moment

 

[xilios]

Nice link psmiffy, thanks for sharing.

 

[talisman50082]

Rather you than me mate lol.

 

[jurjan]

Thanks guys,
yep, I had found crazyguy (one of my first stops for stories)

On searching on this forum I found quite a few references to Malawi.
But those were of the kind: I have been there.
I had hoped that these people
A: were still active here and
B: felt like answering some stupid questions

We have however still got quite a while before the plans will be definate.
Thanks again for replying.

 

[Ticktockmy]

Having cycled down through Africa in the past, I can only say, that situations change so rapidly in each and other country, it very much a case of Suck it and see..LOL At the moment Malawi seems safe enough, the problems in most African counties is the border areas, where people move across invisible borders, and banditry can be rife. Firstly, I have always adopted the scruffy look,if the Bike is dirty leave it dirty, Hide your wealth, ok you will say I am not wealthy..But to a lot of the Africans you will be very wealthy, hide the expensive watch, leave the Rolex at home and use a poundland cheap watch. be prepared to accept hospitality when offered, it can be a life saver. The hard thing to spot sometimes is that friendly guy, really friendly is about to rip you off.
I always carry US dollars, I would leave the Euro behind, as it is classed as funny money in some countries, one thing to watch with US dollars is they have a design date printed on them, make sure you get issued with the latest design, as in the past I have had them refused because they had a older design date on them.
Remember to keep yourselves hydrated, and I would suggest you take a pocket sized water filter with you again because you don't know the state water some strange bugs lurk in the water of Africa.
Check the prevailing wind and plan for the wind to be on your back as much as possible, as red hot and humid wind will soon knacker you.
Last of all be prepared for culture shock, if you have not been to Africa before.

 

[jurjan]

Ticktockmy,
thanks, those are good tips.

We've cycled in Madagascar a few years ago, so most of those tips sound familiar.
(although the WAY to friendly guy happened in Indonesia, not Madagasar)
We'll check the preferred currency before we're going, Euro's of Dollars.
We always specifically ask for new, never used notes, because some countries demand new notes (although change is always given in most atrocious loooking bills).
one of the harder things is not lying but also not directly telling people your bike (and/or your other stuff) is worth multiple months (or even years) of their income.

regarding scruffy look: we dislike bikewashing even at home, on holidays we just maintain stuff, oiling etc.
Our clothing is the same, good stuff, but not new (but even then probably well worth stealing if they would want to).

Keeping hydrated: we'll take our filter along, but plan on buying drinks every possible opportunity.
(and checking seals before opening...).
Normally we hope to end each day with at least 1 litre of water left.
This worked well in the places we've visited so far.

 

[gplhl]

Hi, Im just about to leave Malawi and enter Zambia. I had noticed I'd had a few referrals to my website from here.

Good advice by ticktockmy, definitely USD, if you have a Halifax Clarity card pre-loaded you get a decent exchange rate at no cost from Standard Bank, only available in larger towns. The Kwacha is weak st the moment so you can expect a very good rate changing dollars on the black market (which is illegal). I use the XE currency app to work out what the standard rate is.

30 day visa on arrival, just make sure you ask for 30 and check that's what they write. I've heard of others having only 7 days and having to renew. I was asked how much I want.

Prevailing wind comes across the lake from the west or south west. At the top of the lake it was a killer wind!

SIM cards, TNM has good coverage, 4,000KW for 1 GB. I cut my sims with a pen knife.

Sodas or soft drinks should only be 130 Kwacha for 300ml bottle or 150 if they have the 350ml bottles, but people regularly try to overcharge when your not local. Politely telling them the price works most times. Even had someone try and charge me 5 times the price for a cup of tea today!

On top of the friendly guy bit, several have walked into shops in front of me and told the shop owner how much to charge me! If this happens I confirm the price and I'm not paying him a commission.

The lake does have Bilhazia, but you can buy a treatment at the pharmacy here to take when you get home. It's cheaper here. It's only really a problem in the South of the lake.

Most drinking water here has been fine. I normally have a strong constitution. Rather than lug around a water filter if in doubt I use sodium hypochlorite (un perfumed bleach), 8 drops per 1.5 litre bottle. I have a very small glass bottle with built in pipette, a very little goes a very long way. I don't mind the taste, it's no worse than what I've had in Europe with some water companies treatments.

This time of year it's very hot, earlier is cooler and a bit later is rainy season.

I've had multi tools and cycle computer stolen while staying at a resort in Nkhata Bay, ordinarily I always insist the bike goes in the room if I'm at a lodge/guest house, I was lazy because I was tired, there were lots of steps and they had a guard!

Floja is a really good campsite right by the lake with a great beach 26 miles South of Karonga. It's owned by a Dutch couple.

Mushroom farm near Livingstonia is also great and you can pitch a tent. Just the 10km hill up to it is hard work. From their I took the back dirt roads to Mzuzu. Stopping at Joys Place. Book a few days in advance, the Korean foods great and she's normally full.

From Mzuzu it's a nice downhill to Nkhata Bay.

As I'm heading into Zambia went back to Mzuzu and I missed out Lilongwe and took M18 to Michinji, fantastic road!

Lots of Children shouting "give me money" easy enough to ignore, I respond to the ones that say hello or just Muzungu (white person) most people are great and very friendly and easy to stop and talk to.

Just shout if there's anything else you want to know.

Regards,

Gary

 

[jurjan]

Gary,
thanks for your info (and have a VERY nice trip!).

camping owned by Dutch people: we'll visit, since we're Dutch as well.
Timing: we were planning on going earlier (august/september probably).

Could you give us a little info on some prices?
for food, sleeping?

thanks!

 

[Drago]

A friend of mine is from Malawi. Pm me any general questions you may have - he's not a cyclist - and I'll be happy to pick his brains for you.

 

[jurjan]

Drago,
many thanks, we'll keep this one in mind.
The offer is very much appreciated.
We'll first collect some questions, then get back to you if necessary!

 

[gplhl]

Gary,
thanks for your info (and have a VERY nice trip!).

camping owned by Dutch people: we'll visit, since we're Dutch as well.
Timing: we were planning on going earlier (august/september probably).

Could you give us a little info on some prices?
for food, sleeping?

thanks!

Thanks,

Food is cheap especially roadside, chips or chips with meat/omelette, tourist areas are a lot more expensive (cheap compared to Europe) but expensive compared to Tanzania, Kenya and west Africa.

Doughnuts 20/30 Kwacha (bring your own jam!)
Cup of tea 100 Kwacha
Ice pops - 10 Kwacha
Chips (roadside) 500 Kwacha

You can go in a restaurant or lodge and hotel and get a really good meal for anywhere between 1,200 and 2,500, chicken and chips or beef/goat and chips, I like chips... You can have nsima (made from maize or millet) or rice for the same price.

Lodges also seem to vary greatly, 6,500 in Karonga and it wasn't nice, I'm now in Mchinji crossing over to zambia tomorrow (national holiday today for Zambian presidents funeral) this one was 5,000 KW with a good cooked breakfast, toast and cornflakes and spotlessly clean.

Tourist places by the lake can be expensive but if you use a tent not too bad, anywhere from 2,500 to 4,000. I'd recommend camping at Mayoka Village. Wonderful spot for the tents ( I left mine at Joys Place in Mzuzu as I didn't want to carry it back up
the hill and regretted it).

Best Wishes,

Gary

 

[jurjan]

Gary,
many thanks.

Prices etc. seem comparable to our madagascar experiences.
Like everywhere, quality and price do not have a fixed exchange rate.
We'll plan on looking at accomodation first, then make decisions regarding staying or going.