Tag: vacation

Mutanda Falls

On By CheetahTravelsIn ZambiaLeave a comment

A nice day trip from Solwezi is going swimming at Mutanda Falls.  You can get to Mutanda Lodge (not Mutanda Nature Lodge), either by hitching out of Solwezi (best place to start is after Chowama market), or taking a taxi if you have money or can split it with people. At the Lodge there is a place to swim in the water, you’ll need to pay about 20kwa to be allowed to do so, or hang out in the nsakas by the water. Keep in mind that as rain season starts to pick up the water might be too strong to swim in. Rain season starts in October and goes until about April. I would think August/September would be the best time, although I went in April/May and it was pretty good. They also sell food at the lodge but I can’t attest to how good it is. Mutanda Falls isn’t very big compared to other falls in Zambia but its still a nice and relaxing outing nonetheless.

Mutanda Lodge is the yellow pin in the map below, the orange road going of the top of the picture goes to Solwezi.

Mutanda Lodge

Mayoka Village – Nkhata Bay

On By CheetahTravelsIn MalawiLeave a comment

I absolutely loved this place. It’s a little haven away from reality. The prices were great. Accomodations range from camping, to dorms, to private chalets. I stayed in a chalet for most of the trip, and then switched to the dorms for the last few days. The chalets are clean, with mosquito nets and fans. Our chalet had a beautiful wrap around porch, outdoor shower, and a nice indoor one too. The dorms are clean as well, and I felt safe keeping my belongings on my bed. There is a nice outdoor shared shower and a compost toilet for those of you that are eco friendly. Everywhere you go on this compound overlooks the bright blue lake. It is on the edge of a cliff, there are a lot of stairs so this place definitely isn’t wheelchair friendly, or “I have bad knees” friendly. It’s a good workout though. They have different dinners scheduled every night for decent prices. There were other travelers coming in and out all week, so it was a great place to meet people. The owner was very friendly and helpful, I suggest getting to know him and his family, they have a ton of interesting stories and advice. As far as the lake, Mayoka has kayaks for guests to use, a raft out on the lake, and they occasionally do boat trips out to a cliff that, if you’re brave enough, you can jump off of into the lake. Occasionally you’ll see a monitor lizard, they live among the rocks, but they try to stay out of your way. Everything you buy here is put on a tab. You can pay off your tab in Malawian Kwacha or USD whenever you’d like. Butterfly Space is a lodge right next door and they sometimes have small concerts and art activities going on that you can join in on. I’d recommend going to visit it at least. Mayoka is about a 15 minute walk to town with gorgeous views of the lake the whole way, it also passes through a pretty decent art market. The men will be pushy with getting you to buy their things, but don’t forget to bargain for prices!

http://www.mayokavillagebeachlodge.com

Mayoka Village Map

Malawi – December 2015

On By CheetahTravelsIn MalawiLeave a comment

Malawi is a small but very beautiful country. It is filled with rolling hills covered with beautiful farms. Lake Malawi is HUGE, and filled with beautiful turquoise-blue water. The lake is a great destination for scuba diving. A few of my friends got scuba certified while we were there. When we went they recently raised the US visa to around $80, about double of what it was a few months earlier. We thought that was pretty steep for such a small country, seeing that Zambia next door was $50, and it has a number of famous waterfalls and national parks. BUT we paid it. I was traveling in December with a group of 28 Peace Corps Volunteers. That means we travel cheap. We stayed the night in Lundazi, Zambia near the border and arranged for us to ride on the back of a cantor from Lundazi, across the border, all the way North to Mzuzu. Crossing the border was easy, but at the time they couldn’t issue visas at the border so we were instructed to go straight to immigration in Mzuzu. We made it there alright. Immigration was so slow. Granted we were 28 Americans trying to get tourist visas, but the staff was busy watching a football game. We did alright. I heard that a second group of volunteers that came by a week later were sent away and told to come back the next day, which was a pain. Getting around Malawi is very basic, you take a minibus. We bought out a minibus to take us back a little south to Nkhata bay. I loved my week and a half in Malawi. I feel like I saw enough, and had enough of the transport that I don’t need to go back again. Malawi