Cape Maclear

Since the devaluation, prices in Malawi are rarely stable, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to give an overview and price breakdown of my recent trip to Cape Maclear from Zomba. This will either prove helpful to others looking to visit the area or a good laugh for those who come later and can't find anything so cheap....




As it often is with travel in the developing world, it's neither simple nor particularly enjoyable to make the trip between Zomba and Cape Mac if you have to do it via public transportation. If you're lucky and time it right, you can get on a big bus that provides a relatively safe and reliable ride. If you're not, you get the minibus experience. Also keep in mind that this is no straight shot trip. My itinerary was as follows: Zomba to Mangochi boma bus depot (4 hours); transfer to another bus to go from Mangochi to Monkey Bay and wait while it fills up (1 hour + wait time); hop in the bed of a pickup truck with a handful of others for the ride out to Cape Mac (20-30 minutes).

 Private taxis were also available to take you to the Cape for MK6,500 per car (without negotiating it down), split by as many people as you could fit in the vehicle. On the return, we took another pickup ride back to Monkey Bay and found a minibus going directly to Zomba. This one cost us only MK1,500 for some unknown reason, despite being the same distance and not including a transfer. Perhaps the discount was meant to offset the olfactory trauma we endured from the dead fish tied to the front of the minibus that wafted in the window continuously while baking in the African sun for 5 long, smelly hours....

A side-note: travel by minibus (also known as matatus or dalla-dallas in other parts of East Africa) is a test of endurance, patience, and cross-cultural comprehension for any distance. You are crammed into decrepit vehicles four to a row that is meant to comfortably seat 3 and alongside any number of screaming children, small livestock, foodstuffs, and random men asking for your phone number...repeatedly. Multiply that by the approximately 5 hours it takes you to get to Monkey Bay and you have yourself a personal test of will. (Luckily, the lake is THAT beautiful and enjoyable, so it's worth it in the end.)

Once at the lake, we stayed at Mufasa's for MK2,500 per night, which got us double occupancy rooms with bed nets and access to  dorm-style toilet and shower areas. It is also literally ON the beach with a gorgeous view. I only ate breakfast there and it was tolerable, although I've certainly had worse in this country.






I assume that the trip for people living in Lilongwe and its surrounds is much less arduous. Regardless, Lake Malawi is not a sight or experience to be missed, no matter what the trials involved in getting there. In the long run, what's a little dehydration, fish odor, and, 5-7 hours of cramped travel when you get to swim it all off in a gorgeous lake infested with shistosomiasis? I mean, there's a pill (or 3) for that.... :)