I want to begin by saying what a privilege it has been doing this trip and I can’t thank our supporters enough. Without you guys this trip would not be possible.
The trip from Likoma Island came with exciting times and it was probably the wildest section of all. One day we were paddling quite close to the reeds and not 20 metres behind us a hippo decided to pop his head out of the water and snorted which gave us the fright of a lifetime. I have never seen Matt paddle so hard in his life. That was the beginning of the hippo and croc fiasco. At times it has been very nerve racking paddling when you know that hippo can pop out at any moment. But when they do surface it is amazing seeing these beautiful animals in their natural environment.
The trip from Likoma Island came with exciting times and it was probably the wildest section of all. One day we were paddling quite close to the reeds and not 20 metres behind us a hippo decided to pop his head out of the water and snorted which gave us the fright of a lifetime. I have never seen Matt paddle so hard in his life. That was the beginning of the hippo and croc fiasco. At times it has been very nerve racking paddling when you know that hippo can pop out at any moment. But when they do surface it is amazing seeing these beautiful animals in their natural environment.
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The Mozambique coastline was epic, from mountains falling into the lake to plateaus stretching as far as the eye can see. The people in general are very nice, they are interested but not overbearing (as we have found the Malawi locals to be), except the government officials! They were absolutely terrible and they left a sour taste in our mouths. We found they would try everything to fatten their pockets and they were persistent. One day in Meponde they actually searched our boats. They made us take everything out which I think was a little over the top but anyway we got away without paying a cent. The malaria has been rife down the east coast - both Guy and I got sick but luckily a course of Coartem did the trick.
Have you ever seen a bush-pig swimming about 200 metres out from the coastline? We have! We actually had the privilege of herding the poor animal back to shore. A lot of thoughts were thrown out there about eating bush-pig meat but the mere size of the animal would have sunk our boats and the war- wounds would not be worth it. There is really no joke when it comes to the wind on Lake Malawi. For about 3 days we were pumped in the face by the Mwera winds which made paddling such a mission. Thus the idea for a moonlight paddle was brought to the table. For two days in a row we woke up at 2 in the morning and paddled through until the winds picked up again. It is quite satisfying paddling 20km before the sun has even risen.
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We came across 2 South Africans on the lake shore who decided to drop everything back home and build a hunting Lodge (Lake Niassa Lodge) Guy was in his element chatting about the bush and all his hunting experiences. We are currently 64 days into our trip and we have seen both the top and bottom of the lake. The bottom part of the lake was the perfect occasion for the “naked paddle” which gave us a few weird looks from the local fishermen.
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Guy lost a bet and had to shave his head which lead to the rest of the team doing the same thing, so we all have no hair and long beards which is going to put a dampener on the female following - but its chilled.
Our parents are going to join us in the next couple of days which is very exciting. Yeah so it’s the last leg of an amazing trip and we are quite sad that it is coming to an end.
