Day 65 Saturday March 16 Karonga to Chitimba Beach

by Henry
When we crossed the border into Malawi, the time zone changed. Even though it rained overnight, I rested well and enjoyed the extra hour gifted. 

Fisherman with dugout canoe just outside our camp organizing his net in the morning.

92 km, 516 m total ascent, 31°C. Today’s ride was relatively flat, basically paralleling the lakeshore, but we could only see Lake Malawi at certain points.


In the traffic circle before we left Karonga, there was a model of a Malawisaurus, discovered in northern Malawi.


Vehicles stranded at the roadside with major problems are not uncommon in Africa.


This river was flowing high and fast; the waters were extremely brown and muddy.


One of our first views of Lake Malawi. Many fishing vessels are seen in the distance.


Hard to appreciate the detail in the picture, but the tables are laden with fish drying in the sun. In the foreground is a pile of garbage.


The smaller fish are sun-dried sardines. The larger fish are smoked.


Any rider with a flat tire will often have many “helpers”. 


As we descended down to the lake level, we appreciated a view in the distance of the bay in which we would be camping for two nights.

We arrived around noon to Chitimba Camp, owned and run by a Dutch expat couple (Eddie and Carmen) for the last 17 years. It was a lovely contrast to the place we stayed last night. They offered a buffet dinner, and there was a well stocked bar. We are a captive audience; there is no other choice for meals. All of this came with typical western, rather than African, pricing. 


Men with their laundry buckets.


Comfortable cabana overlooking the lake. We chose not to swim in the lake because of the risk of schistosomiasis (bilharzia). 


With a lovely beachfront location, some chose to upgrade to rooms, but most camped.


Owner Eddie in background has two very friendly dogs with convenient cushions everywhere.

Owen, our medic who stayed behind with the injured rider in Mbeya, arrived at camp late this evening. He took a taxi from Mbeya to the Tanzania-Malawi border, where one of the TDA staff picked him up.