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At 5:30 we are busy checking that everything is packed. (Ken has already told me off for not packing my own camping equipment - he reminds me of my Dad when I was a kid!). Even so I forget a couple of things, but nothing vital
Day 19. Wed 5th May Lilongwe to Mwabvi, first trip.
DaveMidgley2005-10-22 11:01:35
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At 5:30 we are busy checking that everything is packed. (Ken has already told me off for not packing my own camping equipment - he reminds me of my Dad when I was a kid!). Even so I forget a couple of things, but nothing vital.
Auxies arrives at seven, and we are on our way.
Like his tourists, all Ken's Land Rovers have nicknames. We are in Dusty for this trip. We stop at the first petrol station we come to as the gauge is reading empty. Unfortunately it is still reading empty after we've filled up. Auxies dismantles the dashboard and fixes it and we drive on. I then notice that the temperature gauge is not working either.
On Ken's advice we take the lakeside road to Blantyre (I'm never quite sure of the reason for this).
There is a funny smell coming from the engine, so we stop in Salina, which is just as well as we are leaking oil. Auxies fixes that too but cannot fix the temperature gauge. We drive on, and I notice that the speedo is not working either.
I am paying the transport and subsistence costs for the trip, so we stop in Blantyre to change travellers' cheques and buy food. Charlotte has given us a load of stuff out of the freezer, but we still need a few essentials - bread, water (a lot of water!) and beer.
Now Dusty will not start at all! A wire has come off the starter motor and Auxies has to open the bonnet and hold it in place while I turn the key.
It is two o'clock by the time we get off again, and we have a long way to go, so we munch samosas and meat pies on the move.
South of Blantyre the road descends into the Shire valley in a series of hairpins. The view is breathtaking and I try to imagine David Livingstone battling his way up the river.
In the middle of nowhere we come across a guy dressed up in traditional dance costume, apparently performing for the benefit of the local kids. They are not camera shy - as soon as we stop they come
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See photographs from:
Malawi Gallery
