Follow Us! NARRATIVE DIARY 06:00 Thursday 23^rd June, Benj, Rich, Kev, Charli and Vince set out from Cape Town after a few minor problems with the trailer lights. Thanks to Mr F for the help with that. The two cars (one high performance Opel Corsa Classic normally used by Charli for drag racing on the N1 and one Toyota 4x4) were packed to the brim and it wasn’t clear at this stage how the other 3 (Franci, Rob and Nick) were going to fit. Trip was pretty uneventful with drivers rotating every 4 hours. Thanks to Benj’s excellent trailer driving skills, Kev let him off after 2 and a half hours and drove the rest of the way himself. We arrived at Nicks place in Pretoria around 10.30 after passing not only a “highjacking hotspot” sign but a “snatch and grab hotspot” sign as well. Apparently the Carkeeks are moving soon. We were greeted by Nick, Franci and Rob and an amazing meal (Many thanks to Mrs C) and managed to grab 3 hours sleep before setting off for the Zim border at 4 in the morning. The crossing of the Limpopo was an interesting experience that eventually took 4 hours and many, many random taxes (carbon tax?). Zimbabwe, for anyone that hasn’t been there, is a beautiful country with amazing people but the state of the country is very depressing. We drove past queues, hundreds of metres long waiting for petrol and even just a loaf of bread stations. We arrived in Harare with the slightly naïve expectations of being able to get petrol but there was none to be had anywhere. We booked into the Holiday Inn and conspicuously squeezed 8 of us into the room for the night. We treated ourselves to Spur that ended up costing R45 for a plain Spur burger and then R25 for a beer. The petrol situation was looking dire as we didn’t have enough to make the Mozambique border. However Charli luckily pulled through at the last minute with a chance meeting of a guy from Pretoria, working in Zim, who generously provided us with enough to make the border – Thanks Gert! The border crossing into Mozambique was a pleasure compared to the issues we had coming into Zim. The drive through the country was beautiful, however the whole place was bone dry. There were a few celebrations going on as 30 years of Independence were being celebrated. We stopped in Tete where we refilled fuel at R20/litre – Zim black market was R40/litre! We eventually hit Malawi and got into Blantyre after dark. We are now sitting at Doogles backpackers properly relaxing for the first time since leaving Cape Town. On average driving 1500km per day, with only 3 hours sleep per night. So far this trip has made us appreciate South Africa and its efficiency greatly! It has been an adventure already, with plenty to look forward to. Tomorrow we hit the lake and the true start to our expedition. Sunday the 26^th of June we leave Doogles lodge and head to Palm Beach, today we cover the last 300km of road of our 3500km journey to the foot of the lake and the place that will see the official beginning of our paddling expedition. Danni and Rita take us on an awesome sunset cruise, for most of the crew it is the first time they’ve seen the lake and we could not have wished for a more spectacular and welcoming evening. 5:30 am on Monday morning we load the boats onto a ferry so that we can begin at the absolute southern tip of the lake at the mouth of the Shire River. Before we even begin a hippo has been spotted in reeds, aware of the potential danger lurking we officially begin the journey. After a good 35km paddle on glassy lake waters we begin to look for a place to set up camp. A few locals guide us to an unexpected lodge, it is an absolute gem. Greg and Lindsay, the owners of K-Lodge, offer us rates that are too good to turn down, fantastic hospitality. Day 2 of Leg 1 we realise we’ll probably be able to paddle a bit more daily than planned for in the itinerary. From K-Lodge we head directly to Fat Monkey’s positioned in the protected bay on Cape Maclear. The sun set directly in front of Fat Monkey’s meeting our expectations, thanks to Boris, the manager, for sponsoring the trip with free accommodation. Howard of Danforth Yachting provided our navigation and invaluable info on the lake. The following day the team packed up and headed directly across the lake towards Senga Bay. This open water crossing of the lake was extremely nerve raking as at one point no land was visible in any direction. The locals at Fat monkeys said that they would pray for our safety on this crossing as they didn’t have much hope for us, and it seems as though the prayers where answered, as we successfully covered the 45km crossing without any hassles. After the crossing the back up team sets up camp at Kambiri Lodge. Thank you JJ and Min for the hospitality, our first braai will definitely be remembered! The 1^stof July marks the beginning of the 3^rd leg with temperatures over 35°c, three days of paddling will take us to Sani Beach. After 38km we look for a beach to camp on, this will be the first night that we actually set up tents on an isolated random beach. We are still cautious of hippos and crocs when entering the shore, so the team makes as much noise as possible in attempt to scare them away - paddles banging against the boat we choose a beach to pull into. We spent our first few nights camping in the rural villages being the first white people to ever set foot in these communities who have no road, phone, or any other communication with the outside world. The dogs barked at us and the babies cried when they saw us! The team arrived at the Sani beach campsite and then the fun began for the next few days. After a windswept night we woke up bright and early to waves that one would expect on a beach not on the side of the lake. So we had to postpone the start of our next leg until the following day. The surf was good so we all went of for a bodysurf and had a day of chilling and waiting to go. The next morning was still windy but our inspirational leader Kevin decided we would still head out, the swell was still large but manageable. We all headed out one at a time and the problem was that the swell picked up and we all lost contact with one another. Then the fun happened with Kev and Charli setting off flares and rockets to try make contact with the others but people didn’t manage to see them. With a crowd of hundreds of locals and tourists it was quite embarrassing. Then Kev and Benj set off to search for Franci and Rich who were in fact just sitting behind the breakers, but in all the confusion and stress they thought that they had been swept around the point. Everything ended up fine with no injuries or any damage to the boats, so all in all a good lesson was learnt. We finally had a successful departure at the 3^rd attempt but interesting times still lay ahead, 2 of the boats capsized and some damage occurred so we stopped off at a beach and tried to sort things out. After realizing that we had in fact forgotten the repair kit in the car the decision was made that Franci and Charli to catch public transport and catch up to Vince and Rob whom were setting up camp for the paddlers at Ngala beach lodge and for them to then go back and fetch and hopefully repair the boat. While this was happening the other 4 paddlers continued on. After the now normal camping on a beach on the side of the lake with many interested on lookers the 4 (Benj, Kev, Nick and Rich) set off to smash 56Km in one day and after a few frustrating swims the guys we ecstatic to see the South African flag signalling the site of that nights camp. Dianna and Craig of Ngala beach run an amazing luxury lodge! The next two days we headed towards the popular Kande beach. Arriving in the morning to 2 meter swell was nerve wrecking for all, but the guys pulled through well. In comparison to our rough day of paddling, the campsite, run by Dave and Andy, was one of the best we’d been to. Two more easy days of paddling took us to our psychological halfway point – Nkhata Bay. We’d paddled over 450km so far, having average speeds of 7.5km/h and a top speed of 23km/h while running with the swell. Gary and Lindsay run the fantastic Mayoka Village, always full and pumping with European backpackers. The landscape has definitely become more beautiful with green hills and steep mountains rolling into the lake. From here we head up for the final sections of our epic paddle, and will be in touch again only when we arrive back in South Africa. The team (Kev, Rob, Vince, Ben, Nick, and Rich) set off for Chitimba beach. Three hard days lay ahead for the team with them having to cover between 40 and 45km per day, however due to the drastic change in scenery from flat beaches to rolling hills and mountains that now dropped straight down into the lake the paddlers had much to look at during these long days. The first night was meant to be spent on yet another random beach; however the paddlers managed to find a backpackers on the waters edge near the town of Usisya. The campsite is currently being run by Chris, an English traveller, whom the paddlers met in Cape Maclear. This is possibly one of the most chilled backpackers around, and the loo has a serious view. The next days paddle was highlighted by the guys visiting and exploring the area around a waterfall that dropped spectacularly into the lake, the water was crystal clear and much colder that the normal lake water. The night was spent in a beautiful little bay with a tropical island in the middle of it, after asking the locals if we could camp on their soccer field we were directed to the far end of the beach which seemed all quiet and peaceful, or so we thought. Next thing every fisherman and his dog was launching their dug outs on our front step and they continued to shout to each other all through the night. We left the next morning still to more noisy fisherman and then set off for Chitimba beach lodge and a great time with Roy and Adila. It was one of the nicest campsites that we had seen yet and the bar was even better. There were a couple of over-lander trucks there and a party was being had by them and Rob, being the friendly guy that he is, decided to join in on their party and after getting to know them quiet well he knew them well enough to tell an Aussie called Haggis that his name was kak should change it! The team switched with Vince and Rich now subbing out to be replaced by Charli and Franci and them setting off for Karonga. The team set-off early the next morning to beautiful conditions, flat water and blue skies. However, by the afternoon the wind picked up and we had covered 46 km’s by 2pm that afternoon. At that stage we had estimated Karonga to be approximately 60 km further north and thus decided to retire to shore and set up camp. What initially appeared to be a rather pleasant stretch of beach on which to camp turned out to actually be the spot where locals parked their unwanted possessions. It soon came to be known as ‘turd beach’. After having erected the tents and cooked dinner, we all climbed into our tents in preparation for a long day ahead. Due to the extraordinarily harsh stench we managed to eat brekkie and pack the boats in record time, and enjoyed a solid morning of strong paddling. Things however took a turn for the worst just before midday when one of the rudders snapped. Unfortunately once the rudder is broken the boat tends to swivel and it is virtually impossible to maintain a direct heading. We were forced to take action and rig two of the sails with the broken boat in the middle and head directly to shore in order to fix the problem. Once on the beach it didn’t take long to drill a hole in the rudder and re-connect it to the cable. The three boats were back on the water in no time, and the team managed to complete 48 km’s to Karonga – welcomed by Rich and Vince at Mufwa Campsite. That evening we squeezed down numerous cold beverages and enjoyed catching up on the last few days. The next day was a scheduled day of rest. As it happens it turned out to be a busy day organising a boat to take the team to the top of the lake, re-packing the entire trailer and vehicle, and discussing the last remaining days of the water. By the end of the day we had managed to organised, what appeared to be a monster of a speed boat in apparent working order. The proposed plan was to set-off early the following morning and paddle 50 km’s to the top of the lake in the direction of Matema on the Tanzanian side. We set off at 5am that morning launching the massive speed boat which Franci and Rob would follow the paddlers in first. This in itself took an hour as we had to haul the huge boat through the soft sand. None the less, at 8am we were all on the water. This however did not last long. We had not paddled 10km’s before we realised that the boat with a 200hp motor was not keeping up with the paddlers…. After a short paddle back to where we had last seen the boat, we found Rob tending to a rather broken engine. It was decided right there that it would not be a wise idea to take this particular boat into Tanzania. We managed to get the boat to shore and waited while Charli and Kev caught a taxi to fetch the car. Getting the boat out of the water however turned out to be even more of a mission than getting the damn thing into the water. Two hours later we managed to drag the boat out of the water and return it to the owner. The boat idea that was supposed to save us a day had now ended up costing us half a days worth of paddling time. After a short discussion, it was decided that the paddlers would paddle a further 15km’s to Kapora which is 8km’s short of the Tanzanian border. We met the car there once they had dropped the boat off. We had also previously decided that we would have to leave the following morning at 3am and cross the border as this would be the only way that we would be able to cover the massive 70km’s if we wanted to finish that day. So at 3am on Wednesday the 20^th we set of the longest leg to date. Paddling in the dark was a great experience for us, and I’m sure that several of the local fishermen on their dugouts were thoroughly surprised when three slick looking boats glided past them in the darkness. By the time we reached Itungi point the sun had just broken above the mountains in Tanzania. A sunrise none of us will forget. From here it was a short 15km paddle to the top. An hour and a half later we arrived at Matema beach, and after a few congratulations and a short lunch we set off back to Kapora for the “real” finish. Rob and Franci were waiting on the beach with all the flags blowing in the wind and champagne. After we had all got over the excitement we hurriedly packed and headed straight back to Roy's place at Chitimba for a well deserved party. From there we made our way back to Blantyre. We over the past few days we have been making our way back down the lake. We have all arrived at Blantyre and are staying at Doogles. Tomorrow (Sunday 24^th) we leave for Zimbabwe after stocking up on fuel, and hope to arrive in Cape Town on the 26^th.
		5 Silwood Rd., Rondebosch 7700
		Cape Town, South Africa
		Cell: 072 6011948 (Kevin Flanagan) or 082 4649678 (Charles Denison)
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