Cape Maclear, Chembe and Lake Malawi National Park

Aug 2 - 3, 2010
Leaving Liwonde National Park, it seemed like a smart idea to hitch a ride with a group of young British students who were heading to the same destination - Cape Maclear. It turns out that my logic wasn't quite right. Though it did save time and another painful bicycle taxi, with 21 of us packed in the back of a flatbed truck, along with tons of heavy backpacks, there was very little room for all of us, bouncing up and down in the truck over a few dirt road and some unseen speed bumps along the main paved road. Even beginning the trip, our driver had to make a long stop at the local police office to obtain a permit to carry tourists, so he'd be able to make it through the fairly frequent roadblocks along Malawi's main roads. In spite of the uncomfortable, painful ride, I did enjoy passing through some smaller roadside villages, just a few huts and a store or two lining the main road, with the young children often running out to the side of the road to wave and say hello to the passing tourists. Given Malawi's self-proclamation of being the "Warm Heart of Africa," I expected a lot from the people, and most that I did meet were truly friendly, though not a whole lot more than I'd expect from most countries.

As we arrived in Lake Malawi National Park, a few hills studded with huge boulders began to emerge, signaling the change in landscape as we neared the Southern coast of Africa's third largest lake and the world's third deepest lake. Given the vast size and isolation, many unique fish species have evolved in the lake, and with it's amazing size, it mostly just seems like an ocean, as you can't see the other side. Unfortunately, the last 20 km into the park are along another painful dirt road, bouncing us back and forth, hoping the next bend would be the last. We finally arrived in Cape Maclear (aka Chembe) which is just a smallish village along the shores of the lake, featuring a variety of thatched and cement huts and shacks for the locals along with a few small compounds with small hotels for the tourists passing through. The British group opted for a huge, nice compound that was walled off from outsiders, offering a nice beach and restaurant, though it seemed a little too isolated from the village to me, so I walked along the dusty, sandy road to another small hotel with a few huts right along the water. Most of the area here has a nice golden sand beach, though not the finest sand I've ever seen. The views along the shore are improved by a few mountains in the background, evidence of the Great Rift Valley of Africa where two continental plates are pulling apart, leaving a huge valley (and the reservoir for the lake) in its wake. The views from the shore also feature a few nice islands just a few minutes offshore, covered in dry vegetation and lined with a few huge boulders along the edges which are mostly beachless.

Cape Maclear is one of the top tourist destinations in this small country, and it is a scenic place, though I didn't plan on spending too long there. Along the beach are fairly frequent beach touts trying to sell keychains or paintings, though the resorts have their areas clearly demarcated, and the touts obviously can't enter into the area any more than just a few yards from the water, so you can easily avoid the sales pitch if you prefer. The interesting thing about this village is that just next door to the five or ten hotel complexes, locals still go about their daily lives fishing in the mornings and evenings, splashing in the water and even washing clothes in the clear lake. The bad news about that is that a disease called schistosomiasis/bilharzia is common here, basically a little parasitic bacteria that is common in the water that gets into your kidneys and breeds for life, damaging some of your internal organs in the process. Not wanting to deal with the low risk of this, I tried to avoid the water when possible, especially in the late afternoons when it is said to be more risky.

For my first night, I had just taken a quick stroll along the main avenue of the village, waving and saying hello to the little kids along the way. As I got back, there was not really anything to do after watching a scenic sunset, even less so when the power went out. Nevertheless, I pulled up one of the lounge chairs and stared up in the peaceful night sky, watching the thousands of stars come out and light up the clear sky. Watching the shooting stars and trying to put together the constellations, I spent a few relaxing hours staring up at the sky, thinking about anything and everything, a bit disappointed when the power finally did come back on, obscuring the view a bit and pumping in some music to break up my peaceful moment.

On my second day in the village, I walked to the end of town to go inside the national park, heading over to Otter's Point, a scenic spot of beaches and boulders partially submerged in the greenish water, offering great snorkelling and good views of another offshore island and a rugged coastline. There were even a few more vervet monkeys crossing my path along the water's edge as I made my way in the pleasant, sunny day of the dry Malawian winter. Next, I rented a kayak and paddled my way around the closest offshore island, taking in the views of the fish below and the beautiful water above, offering great views back to the picturesque village setting. After about three hours of on and off paddling, I had made my way around the island and back over to Otter's Point for another view of the scenic area, catching some nice current on the way in before plopping down on a shaded lounge chair to just take in the mix of tourists and locals along the edge of the water. In the evening, I met up with two local brothers who first tried to sell me on some of their souvenirs and then just began to talk as we watched the sun set over the islands, one of the few places on Lake Malawi where the beaches face West, offering good views of the sun going down over the water. Though I enjoyed my time there, I didn't want to stay much longer, so I decided to catch the early morning transport out of there, which was an adventure in itself.

There is essentially one driver that carries people back and forth over the 20 km dirt road leading back to Monkey Bay and the paved road, beginning early in the morning and continuing a few times throughout the day. Trying to catch the first one of the day, I walked out of my hostel at 5:30 am, just in time to hear the incessant honking of the flatbed truck coming down the road. In an effort to pick up all available/interested passengers, the truck driver simply runs up and down the one main road about six or eight times, honking his horn a few hundred times in the process, leaving no doubt to anyone in town of his intentions. Once the truck is adequately full (which is much fuller than you would hope), he finally headed down the bouncy, painful dirt road, sending the passengers, backpacks, boxes of fish, thatched mats and anything else up and down around every bump and bend. By the end of the ride, my back, arms and butt were all quite sore from the bouncing up and down, grateful to finally be at the end of the road. Fortunately, just as I got off the truck, I saw the main bus coming down the road, so I was literally able to just cross the road and flag down the bus, making the perfect connection, as I would have had to wait another hour or two if I missed that one. Connecting a few hours later through Salima, I again had an amazing connection, literally walking off my bus in the station and onto the one in front of us, leaving less than ten minutes later. Though, I'd find out that my day of travel wouldn't be all that comfortable.

(Looking excited about my five or six hour ride in the back of a bumpy flatbed truck. While I enjoyed waving to the local kids along the way, I didn't enjoy the lack of any room and constant bumps.)

(The scenic golden sands of Cape Maclear make it a popular tourist stop in Malawi.)

(One of the draws of Cape Maclear/Chembe village is that it is still a traditional town, not solely based on tourism.)

(The main dirt/sand road, with the huge baobab tree marking the spot of my hotel along the waterfront.)

(A nice sunset with some locals paddling by and one of the two large offshore islands. Lake Malawi is so large that it looks like an ocean in many spots.)

(Inside Lake Malawi National Park, moments after passing by a monkey strolling on the beach.)

(Clear water and huge boulders feature in many tourist brochures for the country, shown here at Otter's Point.)

(Despite being "popular" among tourists, I had the whole place to myself for an hour or two to enjoy the serene beauty.)

(Later that day, I took to the water to experience the lake atop a kayak.)

(At this point, I was wrapping up my three hour paddle around the island and over to Otter Point, catching a nice current back down the coast.)

(Not far over the hills in the background is the border with Mozambique, as the country of Malawi more or less just borders the long, skinny lake.)

(In spite of the tourist industry, many locals still go about their daily lives, washing clothes and playing in the water just a short distance away from the few beaches blocked off by the hotels.)