Working in Cape Maclear

We signed up with WorkAway in hopes for finding an opportunity to let us stay in one place and experience more of the way of life there.  After spending weeks on the Orange River, we wanted to make similar connections with locals.  Noleen from Thumbi View Lodge reached out to us as they needed pictures and the timing worked out perfectly.

We agreed to arrive in the morning, but as usual, the transportion took longer than expected and we arrived mid-afternoon.  Once we were introduced to everyone, we had the rest of the day to relax as work would start the following day.  The owners, Noleen and Chris, would be going away for a week and it would be up to the staff with the help of the volunteers to keep the lodge running.

 

The Work

Tico’s assignment was to take quality pictures of the lodge and surroundings and also make some promotional material.  He easily stayed busy with his work and was found on his computer when he wasn’t out looking for the perfect picture.  Although the view of the lake made it an office that was hard to beat.  One of the perks of needing pictures was getting to go on a couple sunset cruises.  The day after we arrived we joined the boat as it was taking out 2 guests.  We sailed around Thumbi Island and jumped in to feel the current.  Even though it’s a lake, the body of water is so large that it looks and feels like the ocean.  We dried off and took our seats as we watched the sun drop below the horizon.  A few days later, the lodge offered another sunset cruise with the purpose of getting pictures.  We took the same route, but this time the fish eagles were more interested in us.  Tico snapped pictures while the rest of the group took our positions and posed.

 

 

 

 

My job was to help 2 other volunteers, Gülçin and Dorothee, run the lodge.  They had both been there for over a week and had a much better understanding of what was happening.  I watched what they did and helped when I could.  Gülçin left after a few days so I picked up where she left off.  We would help get breakfast orders and encourage people to preorder dinner.  The highlight of our mornings was sitting down to do the MRA report, which was to determine how much VAT would be paid to the government.  At first, we spent a good amount of time calculating and punching in numbers, but by the end we were pros.  The rest of the day was spent helping in the bar or wherever help was needed.  I was also in charge of closing so once there were no more customers, the barmen would lock everything up and I was sent home with the keys and money.

 

 

 

As a thank you, on our last full day they offered us a day trip around the lake.  The boat arrived mid-morning and took us around Thumbi Island to see the fish eagles.  We had heard their call from the mainland, but we were given the opportunity to see them closer.  The eagles were perched in their trees waiting.  This company baits them with fish so they would whistle and then throw out a fish.  The eagle would come swooping in to grab the floating fish and then quickly fly back to eat its lunch.  While we’d watched fish eagles hunt before, it was nice to get to see them fly so close as they typically fly away from us.

 

 

We worked our way to the other side of the island and stopped to snorkel.  There were colorful cichlids surrounding our boat.  They threw in some bread which made them go crazy, but it was unbelievable how many there were.  Then, we got to jump in and see them up close.  They started to scatter once we were in or maybe it was because all of the bread was gone, but we took advantage of the time in the water to swim to our lunch spot.  By the time we arrived, the fire had been started and the fish was on the grill.  We enjoyed the meal with a beer before heading back to the lodge.

 

 

 

 

 

The Village

From the minute we arrived, the locals started to offer us their goods.  The lodge opened up to the beach, which meant it was free range.  There were the beach boys that had their own bands.  They used plastic jugs as drums and sang and danced to songs that were remixes of Shakira and other pop singers.  There were men selling paintings and clothes tailored from colorful fabrics.  Everything was at an ‘hakuna matata’ price, but we quickly told them we’d be around for a while and they backed off.

 

 

After seeing them day after day, we became friends to the point that the kids would invite us to share their dinner.  It was common for the children to make a fire in the sand and prepare their nsima and fish or eggs.  We wandered around the village, Chembe, and met more people.  When they weren’t trying to sell us something, they walked and talked with us.  We’d see the lodge workers around town and say hi.  Joe even gave us a recommendation of where to get Tico’s hair cut.

 

 

 

 

There was a soccer tournament going on in the village and we went to see the action.  Emmanuel, one of the lodge barmen, had a game so we got the details from him.  As walked to the soccer pitch, most of the merchandise stands were empty.  Once we arrived, we realized that it was because most of the village was at the game.  The out-of-bounds was lined with people standing and seating on broken bricks.  The teams were warming up and everyone was waiting for the action to start.

 

 

The referee blew his whistle and the teams met in the middle.  Many of the fans went to see what the discussions were about so we followed.  We couldn’t understand as they were speaking in Chichewa, but a man next to us explained what was happening.  Apparently, Emmanuel’s team had picked up players from Monkey Bay, which was not allowed.  As we were told, the rules are like FIFA and once the roster is set, it can’t be changed.  In the end, they considered the match a tie and no game was played.  

On our walk back to the lodge, we wandered through the village.  We passed a choir practicing and a girl pounding something in an oversized morter and pestle.  After watching for a bit, the rest of the family came out of the house and explained.  She was beating the rice out of its husk and then her mother would shake away the husks using a large straw plate.  We each took our turn pounding the rice and got to see as the rice started to look as we were used to.

 

One day while having lunch at Thomas’s, Tico asked to get the music that was playing.  He copied their songs and left them a few of his favorites as well.  While there, we saw an advertisement for a concert that weekend.  We asked about it and over the following days everyone was talking about it.  The Black Missionaries would be in Cape Maclear and we wanted to see them.

Several others from the lodge wanted to go as well so Noel, one of the barmen, showed the way.  We were left behind as we moved slow, but we knew the general direction.  As we walked, we found 3 locals walking with beers in their hands and we assumed they must be going to the concert.  We followed their direction until they asked where we were headed.  The rest of the walk was spent talking and asking questions about the concert.

We reached the venue, Uncle Charlo’s Booze Den, which was crowded with people around the gate.  Most were there to hear the music from outside while others were trying to get in.  We decided to go a nearby bar to grab a drink before the concert started.  It was an open building with a roof that had people sitting on the ground and on plastic crates.  As it turned out, they had run out of beer so we headed back to Uncle Charlo’s.

There was a line to get in as the band had started and security was pushing back people that were trying to force their way in.  We made it in and went to the bar to get a drink.  It was lined with bars and the barmen were handing out beers as fast as they could.  We found a spot to listen to the music and watched as people danced.  As time passed, friends we’d met over the past week would come say hi or hung around to enjoy the music with us.  After we couldn’t dance any more, we said goodbye to those that hadn’t left yet and walked back to the lodge.

 

Around Cape Maclear

We got one full day off to explore the area around the lodge.  The lake, islands and nearby mountains are all part of Lake Malawi National Park.  We followed the road out of town and to the gate of the national park.  The guard was having tea, but one of the guides nearby went to find him.  There were baboons wandering around, but they were so accustomed to humans that they didn’t pay any attention to us.  Once we paid our fee, we followed the road into the park and back to the water.  There was a youth hostel for the secondary school so the beach was lined with uniformed boys as the teachers were on strike.

We followed the signs to Otter Point and found an inlet of rocks jutting into the lake.  There were a few locals enjoying the water, but for the most part we had the area to ourselves.  We walked along the rocks and shimmied our way to the edge to get the best viewing point.  Then, we walked to the other side to see the colorful fish swimming near the rocks.  We took the path back towards the hostel and asked someone how to get to the peak.  They pointed around the side so we took the first trail we found.

 

The path led us around the other side of the mountain and we slowly started working up.  We tried to climb up on rocks a few times to get a view, but there was always a tree in our way.  We weren’t sure if we were on the right path and took a shortcut up at one point.  It landed us on another path and we started going up at a faster rate.  We reached a good viewpoint, but still weren’t at the peak.  As we continued on, we finally saw spray paint on a rock with an arrow that said ‘peak.’  We could hear voices and waited for the other hikers to arrive.

 

Our questions were aimed at making a decision of climbing to the peak or not.  It was later in the day and we weren’t sure if we wanted to add another 2 hours to our hike.  After getting their information, we continued along the path towards the bottom.  Not even 100 meters later, we debated if we’d made the right choice.  Since neither of us are good at making decisions, we pulled out a coin and flipped it.  The lion on the back of the Kwacha sent us to the peak.  So we turned around and worked our way up.  The path was hard to follow and we lost it multiple times.  There were blue dots on the trees so when we lost them we’d return to the last one and start again.  It took us just over an hour to reach the base of the peak.  The last bit was the trickiest.  There were large boulders that would have to be climbed to get the view.  Someone had drilled holes in the rocks and cemented short metal rods to use as a ladder.  They weren’t placed with any organization, but there were dead tree trunks between the boulders to be used as stabilizers.

Tico went up first and I wasn’t too excited to follow.  In the end, I made it up, but was not looking forward to getting down.  The view from the top was worth it as we got to see 360 degrees around us.  We could see the lake for kilometers and the mainland behind us.  Chembe and Cape Maclear were below us and we identified different places.  After having snacks, we were ready to try to get down.  Again, Tico went first and I tried to follow his movements.  I complained as I struggled to find the right footing, but eventually made it down.  We followed the same path down and then found a more direct trail back to Otter Point.

 

 

There was only one other couple there when we arrived to the water.  We passed them to the same viewpoint and watched as the sun was setting.  There was a fish eagle hunting nearby, but was continually unsuccessful.  When our stomachs couldn’t handle the hunger any more, we made our way back to the lodge to get dinner.

 

 

Our time at Thumbi View Lodge let us learn more about what it would be like to run a hotel while making a connection with the locals.  We spent a week and a half in Cape Maclear and were happy to not have to pack and unpack our bags almost daily.  By the end, we had to say goodbye to the friends we’d made and gather our things to move again.  We’d return to the lake, but we were at one of the only places were we’d get to see the gorgeous sunsets.

Helpful tips:

• There are lots of accommodation options in Cape Maclear, but we’re a little biased towards Thumbi View.  The food was delicious so if nothing else, preorder a dinner before 1 pm and enjoy the meal with a great view.
• Make sure to wander away from the main road and discover more of the village.  Try to watch a soccer game to get a real feel of the culture.
• We recommend seeing the fish eagles being fed.  It is incredible to see them swoop in and grab the fish.