Malawi: Part II (Nkhata Bay to Lilongwe)

With the crew down to two and the car noticeably more nimble in corners, we set off south from Nkatha Bay along the lake. The scenery had become familiar but no less enjoyable and we decided to take our time as we made our way towards Lilongwe, Malawi's capital, and on to the Zambia border. So, having covered nearly 2,000 kilometers in the first week, we split the next 400 into four days, stopping at lakeside campsites along the way and making the most of the sun and water, whose temperature was perfect for a midday swim.


A few words about our lodgings along the lake, namely Makuzi Beach Camp, and Ngala Beach Lodge, and to some extent thr campsite at FloJa Foundation. These three spots are part of a large and seemingly growing network of camps dotting the coast of the lake. They all are excellently located and have great facilities and attentive local staff. But invariably they are foreign-owned, usually by Europeans or white South Africans, and cater to tourists of the same demographic. Setting aside the somewhat uncomfortable implications of this dynamic in this part of the world, the set-up also calls into question how much tourism in this form actually benefits local Malawians. One can only hope that as the country sees ever more visitors each year, local entrepreneurs are able to step in and start tapping into the opportunity. And this might also permit more Malawians to enjoy some of the more upscale tourist infrastructure in their own country (we didn't see any local visitors at any of the campsites or lodges we stayed at). This does not take away from the splendid time we've had here but serves as a sobering reminder that what we have experienced is out of reach for most.

Pondering these matters as well as the more mundane question of what we would have for lunch, we set off southwards from Ngala Beach on Day 9. Shortly thereafter, disaster struck. As we entered one of the usual single-lane bridges on the highway, I noticed a small car speeding towards us from the other side. Naturally, I slowed down expecting my counterpart to do the same so we could negotiate our way past each other. Inexplicably, the other driver bore down on us at speed until we collided head-on. Fortunately the impact was quite minor for us so I got out to assess the damage, particularly to the other, much smaller, car and its give passengers. Fortunately nobody was seriously hurt so we reported to the police to settle the damages. The same could not be said about the other car, however... (I am reluctant to post these fairly gratuitous photos but am doing so as an expression of both my gratitude as to how things turned out and my admiration of the inventor of the bull bar.)

Minimal damage

Less minimal damage
We managed to resolve the paperwork fairly quickly and be back on our way. The local police was very friendly and professional and did not try to overcomplicate the reporting process, as we had feared based on experiences in neighboring countries (which will remain nameless).
Equally importantly, we had no trouble with the local villagers who had inevitably congregated around the accident site to observe the fallout. The first moments after an accident like this can be explosive if the local community decides to enforce justice, as I observed a few years ago in western Kenya where the locals had caught a thief and were deciding on the appropriate punishment. I didn't stick around to see how that ended...
If anything, the accident really drove home the real risk of driving in this region and the fact that this will be the single biggest danger during the trip (not getting eaten by lions, as my grandfather firmly believes!)
Having committed to driving even more defensively, we decided to skip the last night on the lake and head straight for Lilongwe to get the car checked. A thorough inspection confirmed that the damage was minimal but I used the opportunity to get a number of niggling issues with the car fixed while in town.

We didn't see a whole lot of Lilongwe apart from the mechanic's garage and Mabuya Camp where we stayed, but the city seemed very pleasant - compact and very green, great qualities in a city (ahem, Addis...) We also had a nice dinner with my McKinsey colleagues Tombo, Chania and Reuben, who are on assignment in Malawi, at the beautiful Latitude hotel. It was a collision of two worlds, work and leisure, but good fun and hopefully a catalyst for them to do a similar trip in the future!