The Ilala, No Buses and No Hotel

I’ve had more than my fair share of long bus rides, so when I got to Malawi I decided to switch it up. Lake Malawi makes up 1/5 of the country, and essentially runs lengthwise down the east side. Traveling via ferry for a day seemed like a better option than the cramped buses. Of course I had to get to the port first.

After three minibuses, one private taxi and two bicycle taxis (while wearing my backpack and daypack), I made it from Mbeya, Tanzania to Chirumba, in the north of Malawi. Chirumba itself is an insignificant town, but it is the most northern point on the lake that the Ilala services. The Ilala is a ferry that runs up and down Lake Malawi once a week. It is used primarily by inhabitants of lakeside villages to transport themselves and goods to other parts of Malawi. Often, the Ilala is their only form of transport, as most of these villages don’t have access to roads.

The "original" Ilala Ferry

Malawi is considered to be part of Southern Africa, so I no longer had a guidebook. I’m not sure if that really mattered because Lonely Planet usually has everything all wrong anyway. By asking enough people, I was pretty sure that the Ilala was going to depart from Chirumba this day, but I really had no idea what time.

I arrived there around 3:30pm, and as I was searching for food, I ran into an Australian couple I had met on a bus to Mbeya. I joined them at the bar, which was packed even though it was only 4pm! The manager of the place bought me a beer, and then another. I was surprised that a Malawian bought me a drink, because usually I’m being asked to buy others beer. Now that I had drank two beers (a beer is 17oz in Africa) and not yet eaten today, I was officially tipsy. The Australians had the same problem, so we made our way to a restaurant. We had to wait over an hour as they killed the chickens to make dinner, and by the time we finished eating the Ilala had arrived.

We boarded around 9pm onto the 1^st class deck, which is the top level of the ferry. After hanging out for a few hours and watching the lightning in the distance, I lied down on my rented mattress and fell asleep (thank you, earplugs!). At around 2am the boat crew stumbled back from the bars in Chirumba and we got on our way. Not bad! Only an hour later than the scheduled departure time. But I think the apprentice had to sail because the captain was out of commission, if you know what I mean.

At 5:30am, I woke up to the sun rising. It was indescribably beautiful to watch the sunrise over Lake Malawi with the rolling hills in the distance. The water was strikingly blue and the lake so vast that it seemed more like an ocean.

Sunrise over Lake Malawi

We made a few stops at small villages along the lake. Dugout canoes brought passengers and their belongings to the boat to board. After several more hours of enjoying the view, the boat docked at Nkhata Bay, where I disembarked. I would have loved to stay on the full 3 days to Monkey Bay, but I was advised by other travelers to spend some time at Nkhata Bay. Still, the Ilala was a highlight and was certainly a nice break from the buses. And what’s better than accommodation and transport all in one price!