Travels South

Here are a few pictures from our last week spent in Malawi. After saying our last goodbyes we set off south visiting Mua, Zomba, Blantyre, Cape Maclear and Dedza before returning for our flight at Lilongue. Our journey took us over 2,000 kms. The 1st picture shows Mr Banda (head teacher), Thumbeko, Kingston, Lilian and Immelda who came to see us off from St Peter's.




Here are the merry group at St Peter's who made our stay in Mzuzu a very enjoyable one: Fr. Joseph, Petrus, Paul & Tobias (the cooks) and the watchmen.







1st stop was at Mua, where the 1st Catholic Missionaries came to Malawi. Now it is a cultural centre with a fantastic display of exhibits, artifacts and information regarding history of the Catholic Church in Malawi, tribal history and customs.














At Zomba we stayed in Malawi's top hotel for one night: the Ku Chawe (Sunbird hotel), our biggest extravagance on the trip, but well recommended for the food, facilities and views overlooking Zomba, the old capital .

This picture shows the market in Blantyre, Malawi's 2nd largest city. Blantyre was a complete contrast to Mzuzu. In Blantyre we went to hear the Black Missionaries playing: a fantastic experience and one of the many highlights of the trip.





The Black Missionaries are Malawi's top band, playing Reggae. The locals at the concert were very eager to show us some of the dance moves.

At Cape Maclear we spent 3 nights recharging our batteries. The 3 pictures are an attempt to show what it looks like. However, they don't do it justice; it was very beautiful and very unspoiled; apart from a few lodges for the passing backpackers and a few tourists there were few facilities. We stayed at Gekko Lodge. Despite the area having a population of 15,000 it was unbelievably very peaceful and relaxing.

The water of the lake was inviting but we were put off swimming here by the fact it is one of the worst areas for catching bilharzia. The island in the picture is Thumbwe; it is one of 2 islands closeby, the other is Domwe.

Finally on the 28 July we arrived in Lilongue, spending the customary night at Nelly's Lodge with dinner at Don Brionne's in the centre. For our farewell dinner we were joined by Frs. Chunda, Charles and Robert. Our flights via Amerstdam and Johannesburg back to Glasgow passed without incident with us arriving safely on the 30 July.



Paweme

Paul, Bernadette, Celia & Anne