Day 16. Sun 2nd May
Lusaka to Lilongwe
Up at 5:30, I dig out a couple of emergency Fruesli bars for breakfast,
and we are on the road by 6:15.
We stop at Chongwe to fill up with diesel. After that there are very
few towns and we just drive. We discuss books, Africa and Ken tries to
teach me to recognise birds, without a great deal of success. The Land
Rover is still running hot, and we have to stop a couple of times to let
it cool down.
The Barn Motel has provided a packed lunch of Hungarian sausage and
toasted sandwiches and we stop under a convenient tree to eat them.
After Nyimba the road deteriorates rapidly and the pot holes make our
progress much slower.
Shortly before Petauke I see a strange sight that puts me in mind of
C. S. Lewis's book "The Last Battle" - there is a door standing all by
itself by the side of the road. I am just about to remark on this surreal
phenomenon when Ken pulls over. I asking him why he's stopping and he says
he wants to buy some doors.
It turns out that this is an area of hardwood forest and there is a
string a small carpentry businesses all along the road selling doors, beds
and other wooden items. Ken needs some wooden doors for his house and for
the buildings at Mwabvi, and these are a good deal cheaper than in the
shops in Lilongwe. The doors are handmade of solid hardwood. Each takes
about two days to make and they sell for 50-60ZK (about $15).
Ken has no Kwacha and must pay in dollars, which causes problems for
the sellers. At the first place we try his offer of $60 for four doors
is turned down after a great deal of discussion, but the second emporium
decides to accept his dollars as long as he gives one of the lads a lift
to Petauke to change the dollars. Ken says yes, but they must load the
doors for him. A bargain is struck, and four doors are hefted up onto the
roof of the Land Rover.
The border crossing into Malawi is fairly straightforward, although an
over-zealous customs official tries to charge duty on the doors. He finally
trots off to ring his boss for advice, but after a short chat Ken instructs
him to say "Barefoot Safaris" and he is immediately allowed through.
When asked by an official where we have been Ken tells him Botswana
and jokingly remarks that we have brought back a couple of Bushmen and
would they like to buy one. It becomes obvious that the San are as much
of a curiosity to them as to us. One of them asks in all seriousness "are
they human, like us?".
We just manage to make it to the first petrol station in Malawi - fuel
in Malawi is half the price of Zambia.
Malawi is one of the poorest, and one of the most densely populated,
countries in Africa. Of course, by European standards, saying Malawi has
a lot of people is like saying the Sahara gets a lot of rain, but nevertheless
there are noticeably more people around.
We arrive at Barefoot Headquarters at about half past five and I finally
get to meet his wife and kids. Charlotte is charming; Carla is captivating
and Kenny talks the hind leg off a donkey. I am immediately made very welcome.
The house, set in several acres of garden/farm, is single storey and all
open plan. They moved to Malawi from South Africa about thirteen years
ago and bought this plot of land. The house was designed, as far as I can
gather, by the simple process of Ken drawing a plan on the ground with
a stick, followed by Charlotte redrawing it with all the rooms a good deal
larger. They then hired some builders and said "build that!". I never did
manage to get a decent photograph of it.
The house-boy, nicknamed Picaninny, has Sundays off, so Charlotte has
roasted a leg of lamb (how did she know it's my favourite?), and after
dinner we relax and actually watch television. They have a satellite dish,
and it is very strange to be sitting watching Alan Titchmarsh and The Weakest
Link in the middle of Africa.