Malawi - Chizumulu Island

Loch Ness Monster?
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The crossing from Likoma was supposed to be 1 hour by motorboat but ended up being about two hours and involving the usual mishaps which seem to mark most of our attempts to get from A to B. It was a pretty rough ride it what amounted to a basic rowing boat with an engine, with the First Mate (7yrs old) constantly pumping out water from the leaking hull! First the engine died with the shore in sight, which resulted in a worrying drift towards the nearby rocks as the boatman tried to restart it before giving up. We put the antique sail up and quickly learned how to duck the boom (a big branch) and were making good progress until the wind died. So then we took to paddling but they were so cumbersome that it was slow progress, with more resting intervals than actual paddling.

Mending the nets - karaoke style
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After an hour's battling Lake Malawi we turned up at Wakwenda Retreat, another  clean and comfortable lodge set amongst Baobab trees and overlooking a bay. Best thing was we were just in time for the communal meal - spag bog.

An extended stay

We had only planned on staying there till the ferry arrived the next day but had become truly hooked on island life and decided to stay on. Our time were spent similarly to on Likoma - drinking, eating, more choking (snorkelling) and a pitiful attempt at paddling on wave skis. We also had the luxury of watching lots of DVDs - a rare treat. We were the only ones at the lodge and took full advantage, slobbing out everywhere. The island is not as picturesque as Likoma but this is mainly due to the beaches being washed away by the lake levels rising two years ago.

It was a struggle to drag ourselves away onto the ferry the next week but we feared we would never rehabilitate into normal life if we stayed any longer so we boarded the colonial Ilala and made our way back to Nkhata Bay.