Northern Malawi

Once we were done with Likoma Island we had to get back to the mainland. Rather than dealing with the chaos of getting back on the Ilala Ferry I decided to get a smaller local ferry. While significantly more calm than the Ilala, it was much less comfortable. The seats were solid wood, the only shade was from a thin mesh, the boat was full of baskets and bags of several types of preserved fish, and the engine, which was near where we were sat, spewed out thick clouds of smoke which made me cough for about a month after. The journey took about 8 hours and felt excruciatingly slow as the islands we were leaving didn't appear to be getting any further away. While not as chaotic as the Ilala, getting off was still pretty crazy as once again there was no system of allowing the current passengers and cargo off before getting new people on, which lead to lots of pushing and shoving and a few people falling in the water. "This is Africa" as they say!

We eventually made it to Nkhata Bay on the mainland. Having just spent a week chilling on the beach I didn't stay long and moved onto Livingstonia after a couple of nights.
Livingstonia was founded by Scottish missionaries in 1894 high up on a plateau to avoid malaria in the lower regions. I had to get a motorbike taxi up a winding road to an eco lodge perched on the edge of the plateau, with the most beautiful view and great communal vegetarian dinners sourced entirely from their gardens. I went hiking on the plateau to take in more of the spectacular views, hiked to a waterfall that you could walk behind, and went on a tour of the town which had interesting colonial architecture. After a few days there I was back on the motorbike back down the plateau and headed back to Tanzania!Read more