
The republic of Malawi, once again a former British colony, gained total independence in 1966. It was called Nyasaland and was loosely grouped together with Rhodesia. The name Malawi comes from the former inhabitants, Maravi, an old name for the Chewa people who inhabit this country. The people are extremely friendly, and the country is also called “The warm heart of Africa”. Malawi is also one of the world’s least developed countries. Its main industry being agriculture, tobacco, sugarcane, corn, tea, cotton, potatoes and sorghum. Cattle and goats are also extensively farmed. It is heavily depended on outside aid, but it is getting better slowly, but surely. Natural gas was discovered in lake Malawi and BP applied for the permit to drill for it, but Tanzania disputed the territorial claim saying that the field was on their side of the lake. The matter is being settled in the international court. Just before I arrived, the country was also hit by heavy storms, rain and cyclones and before that an outbreak of Cholera.
The border crossing from Zambia into Malawi on the Mchinji border post was painless and efficient. I think that the whole process took just under an hour. I changed money on the border with the money changers and got a fantastic rate. Later on, I learned that outside Malawi the local currency is worthless, and they pay peanuts for it on exiting the country.

My first stop was Lilongwe. Just before Lilongwe I decided to fill up with petrol and started looking for a petrol station. Then I noticed that there were long lines of cars waiting and that other petrol stations were closed. Got to Lilongwe and discovered that there was a petrol shortage in Malawi. Now I had to decide what to do. I had enough fuel to make it back to Zambia or enough fuel to make it down to Monkey Bay. I decided to stay another day and see if I could source some fuel and to get some more info. The hotel then told me that a TotalEnergies station had just got a delivery and were open. I went there immediately, and they let me jump the queue and join some motorcycle taxi’s who were filling up. I also topped up my jerry can on the back. Now I had enough to get to Monkey Bay and back to Zambia if need be.

Lilongwe, Malawi street scene

Lilongwe Malawi They are using the river to wash sneakers, They have little stands on the street offering their services.

Lilongwe, Malawi Open air workshop

Lilongwe Malawi total engine rebuilt…. in the open air

Lilongwe, Malawi

Orange seller Lilongwe, Malawi

I loved this tree
The next morning, I set off for Monkey Bay. It was a nice run over the mountains. Nice scenery. All the petrol stations were closed. Saw one open with a long line of cars. Squeezed the bike in with the other motorcycles and topped the tank up, payment was cash only. Then I got stopped for speeding. I was in open countryside but there was a 50km limit. I was doing 65. I had a discussion with the policewoman to the effect that they should just let me off with a warning. She replied that unfortunately their boss was there, and I should come over and pay the fine. But she laughed and told me that they were only gonna give me the minimum fine. 10000 Malawi Kwachas or 9 USD.




Got to Monkey Bay and saw that one of the stations was getting fuel from a tanker and was open. They told me to come back in an hour. First, I headed to Mufasa Eco Lodge just down the road…. Or dirt track. Then the dirt track turned into a river, then the river turned into a lake, it was totally flooded out. I walked a bit and saw that around the corner it became impossible to see the road. There was a sign at the beginning of the water with two telephone numbers. I got in contact with them, and someone came in a canoe. They were taking people by canoe and the luggage by raft. There was secure parking for the bike at a neighbour’s house. We loaded the gear onto a raft, and I went to fill the bike up and park it at the neighbours. Then they came back with the canoe and took me to the lodge. The water was really deep in places. I had wanted to camp, but I didn’t want to unload all the camping and cooking gear, so they gave me a little chalet at a reduced rate.

Road gone…. way to Mufasa Eco Lodge was flooded out

Taking my luggage to Mufasa Eco Lodge

Me being chauffeured to Mufasa Lodge
Mufasa is a really good place to stay. The camping spots are fantastic. Unfortunately, it was bit flooded, so the entrance to the hiking trails was too difficult. You had to wade through the water that was knee deep. The little village of Monkey Bay was nice. Some good local places to eat. I cut my stay short because of the floods, I had planned to do some of the hiking trails.

Mufasa Eco Lodge

Mufasa Eco Lodge

Mufasa Eco Lodge my little chalet
Next stop was Senga Bay. This is an actual working fishing village. I stayed at a place called Cool Running. It is a camping site with some chalets and access to the beach. The nighttime activity of the fishermen setting out to fish is really good to watch, as is the early morning return and the fish market. The people come up to the returning boats and buy the fish. This happens every morning. There is also a food market in the little village, this was also really fun to visit. I love to sample the local delicacies. But with not eating meat it can get challenging sometimes. I did manage to buy an extra jerry can and got 4 Liters of petrol from the local station. They were only selling to the fishermen. They charged me normal prices.




Senga bay

My Chalet at Senga Bay

Local people buying the fresh catch early morning Senga Bay

Local people buying the fresh catch early morning Senga Bay
My next destination was Nkhata Bay. I had intended to stop along the way at a Lake Front Lodge. But the main road was in terrible condition, and I was making really bad time. The roads were badly damaged in the cyclones. When I finally reached the turn off for the lodge it was getting late. I started down the track but after a couple of kms the track turned to deep sand, and I got stuck. I managed to turn the bike around with the help of two men who just happened to pass by and headed out of there. There was no way that I was gonna make Nkhata Bay, so I started to look for somewhere to stay. There was not a lot of options. I found one place one and a half kms down a dirt track that was doable. By now it was dark, and I was really glad of my high intensity spotlights. I reached the lodge, and it was open, and he had some food, I was now exhausted and starving. The lodge was really simple and on the lake shore, but I was really welcome. He made me an omelet, chips and salad and that was a feast. I slept like a log with the lapping of the waves from the lake as a lullaby.



On the road to Nkhata Bay

Fellow travelers I met at the Lodge
The next morning, I wasn’t feeling to good but I only had a short distance to go, destination Nkhata bay. I was getting sicker by the km. I headed straight to a place called Butterfly Space, but unfortunately it was full. I saw another motorbike parked in the car park and I met the rider, Milan from Switzerland. I had a drink in Butterfly Space and had a quick chat with him and an Irish guy. I fear that I was not making a brilliant impression. My next choice, Mayoka Village, was right beside it, so I wandered in and they had a place.


At this stage I was really coming down with heavy fever and everything was slow motion and people talking seemed so far away, but I wasn’t too far gone not to haggle, and I got an en-suite chalet. In the condition that I was in, it was impossible to camp. These places are built onto the side of a cliff with parking on top and hundreds of little stone steps winding down from the different terraces, where the chalets are, to the lake. Everything on different levels. I was having difficulty at this stage walking in my riding gear and enduro boots in the burning sun, on the uneven steps. Once back up at the bike the security man asked me if I wanted help with my luggage. I told him no, I needed him to carry it all. Which he did, I carried some of the lighter stuff. Then once in the chalet I took my gear off and collapsed on the bed. I had heat exhaustion or sun stroke. Lucky, I had a private bathroom because both ends were in full song. I had fever for two days and then it started to get better. I carry food on the bike, and I made a soup and plain white rice and that stayed in so it was time to slowly eat again and build my strength back up. I stayed 4 days there.

Nkhata Bay

Nkhata Bay

My view at Mayoka Village

My diet of plain rice in Mayoka Village

Local water taxi running to the villages along the lake

This boat takes people and freight

Nkhata Bay

I now had enough petrol to make it to the Tanzanian border. But I really wanted to go to a place called Mushroom Farm. This is a vegetarian ECO lodge, situated on top of a cliff overlooking lake Malawi, far down on the bottom of the mountain. It is in a place called Livingstonia. This place is famous for being the first site of the missionaries and has a small church and museum. Mushroom Farm, being an all-vegetarian place, was a must for and me. I had heard so much about it. The road there is really bad though. I managed to fill the bike up in a place called Mzuzu and this meant that I now had enough fuel to get to Tanzania via Mushroom Farm. The last piece of the road, the S 103 was bad. 4.8 km of deeply rutted dirt. But the scenery on the way there was fantastic. I managed to get down that track ok. But 400 meters before the entrance to Mushroom farm I stopped to get my bearings and my foot slid out on some loose stones and down went poor old Tiggy Moondust. I was mad ‘cos I had managed to negotiate the track without mishap. Still, it is all part of the journey







Road to Mushroom farm….Stopped to get my bearings and to choose a line and my foot slipped…… Had already done over 4 Km over a really bad track without falling
Mushroom Farm is an eco lodge supporting the local community and promoting ecological farming and vegetarian way of life. So, I just had to go there. It was founded in the 90s as a camping spot. It was overrun with wild mushrooms, hence the name. It has changed owners and is now a camping site offering a choice of accommodations for all budgets, from camping spots, dorm rooms, glamping tents to chalets. It has a restaurant and bar. It is the perfect place to go hiking with many trails in the area or just to hang out. There is no internet, and the power is solar power. The mobile network is also extremely erratic and this all adds to the peace and quiet. The views though are amazing.

Welcome to Mushroom Farm

Mushroom Farm

My tented hut on Mushroom Farm

Compost toilet on the right, two buckets contain ash and sawdust. Look at that view!
Two English guys, whom I had met in Nkhata, arrived. They were travelling together in a Toyota Hilux. Mushroom Farm has a restaurant and every evening they do a set family meal, that was really good. The first night I didn’t eat as I had already eaten some of my own food. The next morning I was up early, to walk a bit and to watch the sunrise. Two other bikers had arrived late night Farouck and Olivier. They are French guys living in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and working in the oil industry. We had a good talk. They were on their way to Johannesburg. They had come up the S103, a really bad twisty dirt track and they had earned my respect. Farouck was not an experienced off-road rider but he did his best and succeeded. They had miscalculated the road conditions and the time needed to cover their planned itinerary which meant them riding at night, they also rode up the S103 at night, no mean feat. He did go down about 8 kms before the lodge and was able to make it with the help of some of the Mushroom Farm staff. We had breakfast together and swopped contact details, before they set off for Zambia.

Farouck and Olivier, French guys living in Tanzania

Farouk getting ready to go

Olivier on his way
I went on a hike up to the Manchewe Waterfalls with the two English guys, two German girls and one Israeli guy. This is the highest waterfall, at 125 meters, in Malawi. Behind the falls is a cave where people used to hide from the slave traders 100 years ago. The hike is through some really nice, lush green rainforest vegetation. The next day I did another hike around the gardens and the area around mushroom farm.

My companions on hike in the Manchewe Waterfalls

Manchewe Waterfalls

Hiking trail

Cave behind the waterfall
Then it was time to head off, destination Tanzania. I cheated on the dirt track. A motor taxi passed me, and I followed him, that way I didn’t have to do the technical stuff like looking and calculating where and when to change lines. I have to admit it went fantastic. These guys run up and down the dirt road loads of time per day and do it blindfolded, wearing flipflops and no helmets, they ride small Chinese 150 or 250 cc machines.

Sunrise before I left Mushroom Farm


S103 out of Mushroom farm

S103 out of Mushroom farm…steep as well

It was a short run to the border, but I stopped for the night in a town called Karonga. I wanted to cross the border in the morning, makes it easier for me. They are building a water processing plant here on the lake.



Road to the Border with Tanzania
I went into a little bar to get a drink when a guy greeted me. He was sitting drinking a beer with another guy. He was from Zambia, and I had met him in Lilongwe, we were staying in the same lodge. He was an engineer specializing in waterworks and worked all over Africa. Whilst in Karonga I went to a Medical Centre to buy some tablets against Bilharzia. This is an infection caused by a parasite that lives in lake Malawi. I won’t go into that; you will have to Google it. They weighed me and took my height and gave me 5 tablets which I had to take within two months of swimming.

If you would like to see some of the sights of this beautiful country, then plonk yourself down in your favourite chair with a nice wee cup of tea and a nice big sticky bun and click your way through the like named photo album, if you have Facebook…. enjoy. Facebook RideLiveExplore Photo Album Malawi
My real time location is Nairobi, Kenya. Thank you for reading the blog and looking at the photo albums, thank you for commenting, in short thank you for being part of this amazing journey.
Asante Kawaheri hadi wakati mwingine ……. Swahili for “Thank you bye until next time”