Tukuyu to Chitimba, Malawi - Tuesday 2nd Feb

All set to go at 8am for the 160 km drive to our next stop in Malawi with an over cast tropical morning as we quickly give the hotel guard some money as he had  washed both cars in the morning. Steph is all nice and clean again.

Lots of tea plantations with workers out picking leaves as well as many banana, corn, and pineapple farms as we approach the Tanzanian border.

We stop for a fuel up before crossing the border as both beer and diesel are not the best in Malawi. A hoard of currency sellers descend on us offering to change our money into Malawian Kwacha as we decline their helpful offer of being ripped off.

Then straight on to the Tanzanian boarder departure area to get stamped out with a quick stop at the bureau de change to pick up our green brick of money- the biggest note being 1000 Kwacha which is about AU$2

and then onto the Malawian boarder crossing to get through their process. They have only just started charging for a visa so after we hand over $150 US for the pleasure of them wasting 2 pages in our passports and after the lengthy wait we are again on our way- both customs were fast today with it only taking just over 60 minutes.

Malawi is a landlocked country is southeast Africa that was formally known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia ,Tanzania ,Mozambique. It is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi.

Malawi is over 118,000 km squared with the lake taking roughly a third of the size. It has a population of 17m people and the country is also nicknamed "The Warm Heart of Africa" and is the amongst  the worlds least developed countries, depending  mainly on outside aid and the economy is heavily based in agriculture with a largely rural population.

We see an immediate change with very few cars on the road and lots of people either walking or cycling so spend most of the time driving in the middle of the road.

Really interesting seeing all the locals transport carrying their various bits around

The locals are very friendly with lots of kids waving at us as we go along

We arrive at Hakuna Matata camp ground just after lunch to quickly set up before an  afternoon tropical shower- time for a quick beer to wait out the rain.

The camp ground is run by Willy a South Africian guy who purchased the property 5 years ago and is right on the edge of the lake- view from our tent to the lake.

Lazy afternoon with a walk along the beach and relaxing looking at the lake view

followed by a nice chicken curry and a few beers over at Willy's bar with  dinner to round off the night drinking AU $ 2 Carlsberg beers.