thistle epistles: Camping, days 12-13: Senga Bay, Lake Malawi

Day 12 – Wednesday 29 May 2013

Traveled from Zomba to Senga Bay

This morning we left Casa Rossa and drove the first part of the journey north. We got up, ordered breakfast up at the main house (David had scrambled eggs and I had an omelette) and then got camp packed up. After everything was packed, David took a quick shower while I soaked Elijah’s foot in a hot salt water bath because he had a little nick in his foot which was getting infected.

saying goodbye to the Zomba Plateau! this photo gives you a good view of where we were bouncing around on Monday...

We left Zomba at 10:30am, and arrived in Senga Bay just around 3pm. We actually managed to drive the entire distance without stopping, except once to let Elijah use the toilet. That is very unusual! We stopped in the town of Salima long enough to withdraw money from the bank, but we didn’t let the kids out of their seats – an unfortunate decision, because we really should have let them stretch their legs, but we thought we were only about 10 kilometers from our destination. It turned out to be more like 20 kilometers, but the kids hung in there. :)

things we saw along the way - cowboys and cows crossing the river

Now, we had made arrangements to camp somewhere in Senga Bay. The idea was to break up the journey so that we wouldn't have to drive all the way from Zomba to Chipata in one day - it's just too far for the children. So we broke the journey into two reasonable-sized chunks, and decided Senga Bay sounded like a pleasant place to stop - and why not spend 2 last nights beside the lake. :) When we were packing up camp at Casa Rossa, as I was paying the bill the owner asked me where we planned to camp in Senga Bay. When I told her the name of the place where we were thinking of staying, she said to me, 'I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I know that you like quiet places to camp, with privacy, especially with small children who go to bed early - so let me recommend a different place to you, because I don't think the place you're planning to go to will be very suitable.' I was very grateful for her recommendation, which was to ask at the Sunbird Hotel for details about their camping facilities. I was shocked to hear that the Sunbird offered camping - especially at reasonable rates - because they are generally an expensive chain of lodges! But David and I agreed to go with the recommendation because being in a quiet, private place for camping is just... ideal. :)

So, we drove through Salima and followed the road towards Senga Bay. The road literally ends at Sunbird Livingstonia Beach Hotel! We drove up through the main gate and asked at Reception for details about the camping. We were amazed to hear that the charge for camping was LESS than we had paid in the other places we stayed on this trip!! So then we drove around the corner to the hotel's private camping area....

As soon as we drove in the gate, we were amazed. There was a beautiful beach and a large camping area. You could either camp in the grass under the trees, or on the sand. We chose a spot on the sand under the shade of a couple of trees. Camping right on the beach!!

our camp at Livingstonia Beach

The camp ground was well equipped with nice big, clean bathrooms, hot showers, a dish washing station, a laundry washing station, a beach-side bar where you could order food and drinks. It was very secure with 24-hr guards and perfectly private. In short, it was an absolutely ideal place to camp and a wonderful spot to spend our last 2 nights of holiday!

The water was as serene as anything when we arrived and Elijah made a bee-line for the beach, so as soon as David and I got the tent set up, I went down and supervised the kids playing in the water while David finished unloading the truck.

Camp was set up by 4pm, then we all played in the water for a little while. It was fun to see the kids having such a good time in the water, since the waves were small enough that they felt comfortable.

Then we went for an early dinner at the hotel. We walked up the beach to the main hotel and sat on the terrace for dinner, watching the sun set over the lake. The kids had chicken and chips, David had sirloin steak and potatoes, and I had chicken tandoori and rice. As a special treat, we had icecream for dessert!

Then, back to camp for an early bedtime (the kids had had no afternoon nap!).

Day 13 – Thursday 30 May 2013

Senga Bay, Lake Malawi

Our last day of relaxing on the beach!

Another early morning as usual. Watched the sunrise...

The campground was populated by troops of baboons who were very opportunistic and seemed to have a morning routine of raiding the rubbish bins.

We woke up to a stiff breeze and a heavy surf, so we didn’t go in the water until later in the afternoon. The sun was shining, so it wasn’t stormy – just breezy with big waves. Still a pleasant day to be camping!

a local ferry boat passing

We had a breakfast of porridge and then relaxed on the beach – David and Ketzia napped, Elijah playd in the sand and I caught up on more blog posts. :)

By 10am, all the other campers except one couple had left, and we essentially had the campground all to ourselves! :) The afternoon was spent swimming and playing at the hotel's small playground.

Ketzia's first time sliding down the slide by herself!

as usual, having done it once, she was full of courage

I used up our tinned food rations with pasta and meatballs (from a tin) for lunch - we all agreed that tinned food is not the way our family prefers to eat, not even on a camping trip! We made up for it by having another nice dinner at the hotel. It figures that the cheapest place to camp was also the most expensive place to eat. Obviously they have to make their money somehow. :)