We are now back at the lakeside in more modest accommodation right on the beach which is nice. This afternoon, provided it is on schedule, we catch the Ilala for the last time down to the far south of the lake at a place called Cape Maclear named by Livingstone after a friend of his. During the 50's it was the overnight stop for the BOAC flying boat service to South Africa, apparently it is now the "Benidorm of Malawi", we can't wait!
Actually we are only there one night as we are then due to paddle ourselves to a tropical island (Mumbo Island) which is about 10km away from the shore.
The company who organise the trip say it takes 2 hours to get there and I have noticed that they intend to bring us back by boat so from that I assume it is wind assisted. We did something similar in New Zealand a few years ago which was great fun although there there were very large ships to avoid as we crossed a shipping lane, there is only one ship on Lake Malawi and the water is a lot warmer so fingers crossed it will be a little easier. They do provide a guide to paddle with us just in case.
The WiFi in the place we are staying at the moment is faulty so we borrow the owners wireless dongle to access the internet. Fortunately I brought a proper PC as the iPad does not
have something as common as a USB socket.
The lady in question is called Muma by everyone (she is black, sounds South African but her husband is a German), we think there ought to be a blues song written about "Muma's got a Dongle" or "Muma can I play with your Dongle".
The pictures are of birds around the hotel, the lake is freshwater so the ducks are happy, not sure about the sea eagle.