Matima Beach

A Weekend Away

Last weekend was a 'long weekend' in Tanzania. A Muslim holiday was scheduled so classes were cancelled on Monday. It was an opportunity to see another part of the country and a visit to Matima beach Resort, on Lake Malawi (called Lake Nyassa here), was planned. It's only about 170 km, but it was a four-hour trip.

For almost 100 kms we were on highway. The Tanzania to Malawi section was the best road we have seen here so far, but then we turned off. The last 50 km was over gravel road, and through the country.

The scenery was magnificent, the villages, houses and crops along the way were quite fascinating. On the way to Matima we passed through one town with footpaths, a rarity in Tanzania. In another area we also saw women riding bicycles, another local 'oddity'. At a stop at a local intersection and market we bought a few bananas for the weekend, and on the way back were able to stock up on some fruit for the week ahead.

At Matima we enjoyed warm days and magnificent views over Lake Malawi. We took the opportunity to swim in the cool waters and in the shadows of the Livingstone Ranges.

We watched the locals fish from their dugouts, and I was amazed at their skill in handling these small craft. They moved eaasily through the water, seemed very stable, and on land were very heavy. In the darkness of the early hours we could see lights on the horizon - it was the local fishermen working by lamplight.

Sunday we rose to watch the sun come up over the mountains. I was up a little early, and sat on the beach for about two hours (taking too many photos) as the light broke through and finally peeked over the top of the hills.

A little detour on the way back took us to some unexpected places. David took a left turn when we should have gone straight on. At bridge under construction forced us to turn back, and some local advice saw us winding back towards our destination via a 'shortcut'. Consulting a few more locals on the way we made it to the 'main road', and still had 40 kms of gravel road to travel.
Another detour took us to the border, and allowed us to step into Malawi before returning to Mbeya. As was the original plan we arrived home before dark.

The plan was to have Monday to recover. After eight hours of driving in two days it was a good plan. What was not planned was the confusion over the holiday. It was actually TUESDAY. Some of the holidays are 'moveable', and are only confirmed via radio or TV a few days before. It led to a little bit of confusion on Monday and Tuesday with some schools and major businesses open one day or the other, and many students opting to take both days as a holiday. That almost made me feel like I was back home!