Journeying on the Ilala

Note: 

This post contains a lot of photos of incredible sunsets/rises that will make you want to go on holiday immediately, predominantly to Malawi (something I would highly recommend doing asap).

The Ilala. http://www.malawitourism.com/pages/news/index.asp?NewsID=316. 

The easiest and quickest way to get up the country via the lake shore. She has 4 classes of travel; economy, second, first and cabin. Economy is fine enough for short journeys, just a bunch of plastic seats on the bottom floor full of people and STUFF. Like fish and chickens and furniture and booze and just loads and loads of STUFF. Second class is less full of this stuff and more full of people having a nap on the equally as uncomfortable benches. First class you have access to the small (and quite expensive by Malawi standards) restaurant, bar and top deck, and cabin you have your own small cabin area. Cabin class is ridiculously expensive and just not worth it. First class is the way to go (which is what I did).

I travelled on the Ilala from Monkey Bay where it departs at 10am Saturday mornings, (or did 7 months ago, don't quote me on that), to Nkhata Bay, where it arrives around 11pm Sunday evening. 

Lets start with Monkey Bay; gem of a place. Gorgeous backpackers right on the water called Mufasa, a bit more expensive than the usual as there are no dorm rooms, but it really is just STUNNING. You have your own private beach area, can cook your own food and camp if you want, the decor is really funky and welcoming, and the small town of Monkey Bay is fine enough for supplies (NOT doctors. The doctors is a small hut, you do not want Malaria here!). If I had more time I would've stayed a while longer.

There are hammocks on the beach and seats so high off the ground hung on trees you have to jump in them and can kick off the trunk to swing. Easy-to-climb rocks right next to the beach, a small mountain behind the town to explore, tiny fishermen boats floating at night with their lanterns - ahhhhhh it's my kinda place. So, so beautiful.

Monkey Bay sunset over the mountains of Cape Maclear

So, on the Ilala I went Saturday morning with my Malaria infected pal Greg (hence the knowledge of Monkey Bay clinics... don't go there). First class tickets to Nkhata Bay bought, up to top deck we climbed, and we are rewarded with a departing view of ladies washing their clothes by the lakeshore, naked children playing in the water, and a bunch of brightly coloured boats bobbing up and down with the most obscure names! 'Road Hell 2", "Jesus is my lover" and "bitches be crazy for my boat" to name just a few. The Ilala is not a grand boat. In fact, in my diary I've referred to it as "a bit of a dive". It's not a boat specifically made for tourists, it's a commuter boat; an easier way of getting goods from one end of the lake to the other, specifically to Likoma Island.

The only beds on the Ilala are in the cabins, everyone else sleeps on seats, the floor, or anything they can find space on. A whole lotta locals slept on huge bags of tiny fish being transported to Nkhata Bay which stank. A lot. Luckily for me first class is 2 decks above these

Greg helping Graham erect his bed for the night

stinky beasts. First class held a bar and restaurant, which you have no choice but to eat in unless you bring enough snacks and food that do not need cooking and will last your entire trip. In saying that, it was still only about £2 for a dish and they were amazing. Good cheffing from the Ilala kitchen team. You are also okay to bring your own drink on board, but in first class there are some points during the day when it's unbearably hot, meaning the shaded areas are taken over by bodies, not bags, so your drinks will be a bit nasty by the time you get round to drinking them all.

My bed for the night. Sleeping on the crate didn't last
long, it's much for comfortable on the floor (which
has to be saying something!)

As you can see by this photo, my bed was my soon-to-be Kilimanjaro sleeping bag and liner with a kitenge** acting as a pillow. The floor was a lot comfier than the crate and I had a surprising good night, made all the better by the thousands of stars above me.

Getting off the Ilala, casual bucket being passed
over everyones heads

There are 2 main reasons to love a journey on the Ilala, the first being the destination stops. At each stop passengers are allowed to disembark and chill out on the mainland until the REALLY LOUD horn blows to signal the Ilala is ready to leave. You are transported from the boat to land via small wooden lifeboats. This is a slightly traumatic experience and yet incredibly fun. There is no such thing as queueing in Malawi so you have to push to get on the lifeboat. This is a tad precarious given they are already lowered into the water and you climb down a vertical ladder to get to them, so a shove could send you flying over the edge. The Ilala is not disabled friendly in the slightest. The 'lifeboats' are filled STUFF, before being filled with more STUFF and someones baby and a few chickens and a bag of fish. They can then, and only then, when they are overfilled to the point of insanity, move slowly towards the shore where a mass congregation of people are waiting to claim their fair share of the stuff. Of course there are no actual docks in Malawi (apart from at Monkey Bay which is pure luxury) and so you have to wade a fair bit upon getting off the lifeboat (which is actually wonderful given your so squashed a few seconds before). Wading is particularly hard with a large rucksack on and yet extremely fulfilling when you manage to get onto dry land without getting your main bag AND day sack wet. This was particularly hard at Nkhata Bay at 11pm at night.

I explored Likoma Island a little with another traveller; it is gorgeous. There's not altogether too much to do considering it's an island with one village, but it's perfect for the ultimate relaxing, honeymoon-esque beachy time.

Now, onto why I REALLY love the Ilala.

Sun setting over Likoma Island

A sun fully risen over Mozambique and sun setting in a storm

Sunrise. No picture edits. No filters, no nothing. This is actually how it is.

The sun in Africa is incredible. I have a real thing for sunsets and rises and was rewarded to the extreme during my time in Malawi particularly. They are so full and so amazingly beautiful! Obviously travelling on the Ilala during the dry season helps a lot with the 'capturing-the-gorgeous-sunset' stuff, but I'm pretty sure you'd get incredible photos whatever the time of year. Although sleeping in first class in the rain would suck...






Right, I'm pretty sure not everyone cares about my sunset addiction so enough twaddle about the sun; I'm now in Nkhata Bay. Time to let everyone know why this really is the best spot for backpackers on the lake.



** A kitenge is a brightly coloured wrap-around  African material ladies get tailored into skirts, tops, trousers, hats, bags, and anything you can possibly think of. Kitenges' are the main dress for women and look absolutely fabulous. There are so many different patterns to choose from and ways to wear it, it'd be a miracle to find someone wearing the same kitenge as you!