January 2013 – broadband!

 

We all  adored our holiday and spending time with mum, especially Joshi who obviously does not spend as much time with any of his grandparents as neither he us nor they would like. The most important thing we did in January was change internet subscribers and suddenly we have fast reliable internet. This has transformed skyping to make it a real conversation rather than on and off pictures with endless shouts of ‘turn your video off mum!’.   The other facility we can now access is Mike’s slingbox that he has installed on the Dreyer family TV in London. This means we can now watch UK TV over the internet from Malawi. If you don’t believe us – check out this picture of us with some friends watching Andy Murray lose the Australian open.

Tennis in Sunnyside

 

Jen compere's the funniest Burn's night ever

We have escaped town a couple of times including lunch at Huntingdon House in the tea estates with Peter, Cal and Ellie who are sadly leaving soon, and day trip to Zomba to see a spectacular garden on the southern slopes of the mountain. It is owned by a man who used to run Agriculture for Africa for the world bank and is the person behind the fertiliser programme. He certainly knows how to fertilise his garden, it was beautiful. It turns out the chief gave him the land in 1986 for free as it was next to the graveyard and too steep to grow maize, so he has turned it into a mini English paradise with views of Mt Mulanje in the background.


6ft Dahlia's on Zomba mountiain

Happy Joshi in Zomba

amazing giant flowers

 Joshi has adored going to nursery this month without Annie, and is learning so fast. He can now count to 14, he can recognise all the letters in the alphabet and is starting to try to read letters in his books, along with now speaking amazingly fluently and displaying more of his own personality and exerting his will which is entertaining. He is a ball of energy and such fun to hang out with.

The artist in residence

peekaboo



Joshi learning to count



swinging the cat

 

Joshi tucks into passionfruit

Work has been hectic for both of us, underpinned by the minister for health publically admitting the country has run out of 95% of drugs and last made a procurement in 2009 – this was not news to me who had just done ward round without insulin, injectable penicillin or blood and watched patients die as a result, but it is shocking nonetheless and we all hope the situation will improve this year. Gav continues to keep his dialysis unit going under such difficult circumstances and at least I know I can pay my nurses for the next year. We are all waiting for the fuel to run out again and we all think that Joyce’s days in power are numbered, the chances of her getting re-elected with 40% inflation, worsening poverty and disasters in the hospitals are pretty slim.

headline last week in the paper

my study team

We are getting excited about gav’s many trips this year, he has been awarded travel bursaries to Ghana and Hong Kong to present his work that he has been doing here and we are all very proud of him. We are also really looking forward to Jason’s wedding in Cape Town at Easter – friends, family,  Joshi’s second birthday,wine and fresh fish,  we can’t wait.

Lots of love from rainy and not very sunny Malawi

Emma Gavin and Joshi

Christmas 2012: our first foray to Northern Malawi.

Mum arrived on the 16^th of December for a two and a half week holiday. Sadly Dad was not well enough to come too, and he stayed in London with Imo, Ros and Simon. It was the first time the family had been split like that over the festive season and was difficult for all of us, but we were delighted that Mum could come and have a holiday with us. We set off for our first trip north of Lilongwe with a long drive to Ntchisi forest lodge. We were originally due to have Christmas 2010 with Helena Nick Ruth and Steve but had cancelled due to my pregnancy with Joshi, so it was fab to finally see the lovely lodge. It is perched in the rainforest overlooking the lake with fabulous views and garden. We did some hiking although it rained too much to go into the rainforest itself and we ate ourselves silly on the fabulous food and recovered after such a long journey to get there driving in the dusk through thick fog following directions relying on landmarks we could not see properly.

Moo-cow on the long drive north



Attempting to hike in the rainforest



The lake in the sunshine from Ntchisi lodget garden



View from Ntchisi mountain



Rainclouds from Ntchisi mountain

Joshi with the python skin at Ntchisi

After three nights at Ntchisi we drove down the mountain into the heat of the Nkhotakota game reserve on the edge of the lake and spent two nights at a beautiful tented camp on the Bua river – our tents were actually in an island in the river and we ate in the evenings in a tree house table lit by candles and fireflies and the moon, it was beautiful. Sadly the reserve has mostly been poached so we admired the birds and lush vegetation plus the occasional crocodile and hiked to a huge waterfall where Joshi could play in the sand.

lunch at Bua River

river sand castles

sundowners by the river

'fertility tree at Bua river

Joshi chills out at our 'campsite'

Jungle hike to the waterfall

who needs pen and paper when you have a stick and some sand?

tree house dining under the stars lit by the lanterns, the moon and the fireflies

Next stop was our Christmas location, Mkudzi beach lodge which is my new favouriate place on the lake to stay (thanks Karen for the recommendation). We had a beach front rondavel on a small private bay with the most beautiful white sand and shallow schisto free water. Joshi adored it shouting the moment he got up ‘play in the puddle mummy!’. There were lots of other children to play with , easy going staff, and a lovely festive atmostphere. We ate Christmas dinner on the beach by moonlight and swam and slept and relaxed. On Boxing day Gav and I went to Kande horse stables for a ride – and ended up after cantering through the mountains riding swimming horses in the lake – fabulous and completely surreal, particularly as our horses were called Emma and Joshua! If anyone in Malawi is reading this you should check it out, it is amazing.

 

Christmas supper

Gav and Joshi on Mkudzi beach

Mountain ride

Beach ride

swimming with the horses

after the swim none of us want to come out of the water



After swim rub-down

 

Mango for breakfast lunch and supper

beachfront christmas lunch

play in the puddle mummy please......

sunrise at Makuzi

Dawn at Makuzi

Mazuki beach

Boxing day dinner by moonlight on the beach

 The day we left we visited the Bandawe mission, which was established over 100 years ago and is memorable for the fact all the missionaries died of malaria and are buried on the point overlooking the lake. The Church of Scotland did not know what was killing them but it was recognised that the ‘bad lake air’ was responsible so eventually the mission was moved inland and into the high mountains where miraculously fewer people died. It was tragic to see the graves and sparked a long discussion about the role of the missionaries and their legacy in Malawi, both good and bad.

Graves at Bandawe mission

We then wound our way slowly back south via the pottery at Nkhotakota where we found the tree under which David Livingston failed to end slavery (contrary to popular belief he did not end the trade in Malawi and was actually dependent on the slavers for his existence there). The trade was only ended 50 years later by the first commissioner for Nyasaland. We learnt a lot of Colonial history on the trip.

Ruins of the mosque at Nkhotakota

storms brewing over Mozambique

'Livingstone's' tree

One of the reasons the ferry is not running on the lake at the moment - the pier is in the lake.....

 



African toddler on the beach

New year was spend relaxing at Jane and Mac’s cottage on the lake doing very little after all the driving- apart from admiring the most fabulous rainbow over the lake and chasing away invading scorpions.

Lunch en route home was at our favourite Italian restaurant in the skies, casa Rossa where they make their own cheese and pasta and you eat on the terrace with fabulous views.

Mum helps Joshi in Zomba

All too soon it was time to take mum back to Chileka to fly home, rested and relaxed after hanging out with her wonderful grandson to go back to snowy London, regular power, and of course Dad.