Coronavirus: I were President of Malawi

If I was the President of Malawi, this is what I would do:

1. Stop domestic travel: I would do this because there are alot of remote fishing villages in Malawi that won't get coronavirus in them if there is no domestic travel.
2. Close hospitals: The hospitals in Malawi will kill more people than they can help as there are only 7 ventilators meaning 2.5 million people to 1 ventilator and they have 25 intensive care beds for the whole of Malawi.
3. Close schools: People walk so far to get to school if they get coronavirus at school and then bring it back to their village then there is coronavirus in the village.
4. Export more tobacco to make up for the loss in other sectors of the economy: Even if people in the tobacco factories get coronavirus, it will help as there is now no tourism which is one of Malawi's main exports.
5. Fish more: It will impact the lake massively but it will prevent lots of people from dying from starvation. I would do this by relaxing all the restrictions on fishing.
6. Ask for more aid: 45% of Malawi's economy is aid, and being the 3rd poorest country in the world, they have a good shot at getting extra aid.
7. Open the borders: It will encourage more tourism, and Malawi will need it as its exports will fall.

My Article about our trip for First News, before editing it down to 170 words

I have just come back from six months of traveling in Africa with my dad, mum and brother. We have visited Ethiopia, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda. My favourite country was Malawi because we could wake up and go swimming in the lake every morning before breakfast. My best things in Africa are probably our 3 day kayak trip up Lake Malawi, hiking up the sand dunes in the Namib Naukluft Desert, and seeing amazing animals in national parks.

I enjoyed kayaking up Lake Malawi because I enjoy kayaking, love being on the lake all day, and cliff jumping might be my favorite sport.

I enjoyed climbing the sand dunes in the Namib because I enjoy really extreme things (like after already climbing a sand dune that day going in the middle of the day when it is over fifty degrees and trying to climb Big Daddy Sand Dune which is one of the biggest sand dunes in the world), and I enjoy feeling like you are the only person in the world which is what it feels like looking at the desert from the top of Big Daddy

My favorite national parks are Etosha, South Luangwa and Mafia island. In Mafia Island, I snorkeled with endangered whale sharks, the largest fish on earth growing to 15 meters long, hiked across uninhabited islands to sea green sea turtles hatch and snorkeled in incredible reefs seeing many amazing and endangered fish including sea horses. In South Luangwa, after charging through the bushes knocking down trees and whatever was in our way we finally found critically endangered painted wolves, one of the rarest animals in Africa. After finding the painted wolves, we found a leopard, lions guarding a kill that we watched hyenas steal, and a big herd of buffalo. Etosha is an amazing national park where in the middle of a desert on what seems to be a suicidal salt pan water comes up from underground and all of Namibia's wildlife comes together to drink. We saw 7 rhinos White and Black on our first day of safari there, and one on the second day. My favorite animal is a Black-faced Impala, which only lives in one part of Etosha, and we got to see a lot of them as well.

I'm writing to breweries to build my collection

Dear brewery,

I am Rafael aged 10. I have been travelling across Africa for six months and have developed a fine collection of beer labels. I was wondering if you could send me a set of labels from your beer. Thank you for helping me to grow my collection even more making it even finer with your beers!

Yours sincerely

Rafael

P.S. This is me with my family at Devil's Peak Brewery learning about brewing and collecting labels:

African sports

If you are reading this and would like to try it, 50% of these sports follow African safety standards which are slightly different to what you have in England. In each category I will list sports of that type from favourite to least favourite. At the bottom there is a paragraph on each sport the paragraph numbers match the sport numbers. If a sport requires African safety standards this is the symbol AFSS sometimes I will explain why and sometimes you will understand by looking at the photos

Sports where you paddle

1. Sea kayaking
2. White water or sport kayaking
3. Makoro AFSS
4. Open top kayak
5. Canoe

1. We did a three day trip in these. Although you can't play around as you can do in a white water kayak, crashing through waves getting your skirt full of water is definitely still fun. They are also a lot more practical, as you can put your bags in with you to do multi day trips and you can paddle long distances in them to use them as a mode of transport instead of an activity for the day.
2. These are just fun boats to be in!
3. An absolutely useless boat! I should have put this in sports that get you into the water. The reason these are fun is because it is such a hard boat to get into and once you are in it you should be happy with yourself if you get a meter. But it does make you respect the fishermen a bit more.
4. They are just a boring kayak you can do everything you can do in a normal kayak apart from any of the exciting parts as you can’t attach a skirt. I don't know why anyone invented this boat; you could just use a real kayak.
5. These are hard to paddle slow, and as they are big, you end up with the fish that you bought from a fisherman (still alive) flapping around in the back.

Sports that get you into the water

1. Cliff jumping AFSS
2. Rope swing AFSS

1. Both of these sports are in my top five, but I think I like cliff jumping better. My favourite Cliff jumping phrase is me:"can I do the highest jump." Kumbo our kayak guide: "first try the smaller jump and see if you can jump 2 meters.” At the edge of the rock face. Kumbo:" are you sure you can jump 2 meters because if you can't you will hit those rocks and die.”
2. Rope swinging is also really fun and almost as good as cliff jumping. You start at an elevated level sometimes holding onto a handle, piece of wood, or just the rope. You jump off the platform and swing into a body of water letting go after swinging away from the shore and shallow water. You let go and fly forward falling toward the water. However if you let go at the incorrect spot you will either fall into the shallow water that is not deep enough or the rope will leave you flying back toward the land getting closer every second to hitting the floor and hurting yourself badly, plus if your legs drag in the water you have a good chance of falling into the shallow water.

Other sports that use water

1. Tubing
2. SUPing
3. Fishing

1. Here you sit in a truck innertube and go down rapids hoping not fall out whilst going down rapids on the nile. Sometimes you are on a smaller rivers, like the Palmiet, where you can go down waterfalls and different types of rapids, some that are more enjoyable as you can go round bends in the rapid and choose what channel to take.
2. This is AKA stand up paddle board. You paddle this through the waves. This is one of my favourite sports, but there are no rapids so tubing is better.
3. I enjoy this, but it is a bit boring sitting and waiting for a fish.

Once you are in the water

1. Canyoning afss
2. Swimming
3. Snorkelling

1. I like this for the same reason I like swimming, but you swim down rapids which is why it is better than swimming.
2. This is just swimming, but I like swimming.
3. Snorkels are weird. I enjoy this as well, but if you just want to swim having a snorkel is irritating. If there are fish, it is much better to have a snorkel as then you can see the fish.

Sports where you ride

1. Cycling afss
2. Horse riding

1. Even though in Africa it is not as exciting as in England, it is still fun despite how terrible the bikes are, and sometimes they are really bad, you can still enjoy it. It Is African safety standards because of the helmets if you are fortunate enough to have them.
2. I tried this for the first time in Ethiopia in a crater lake outside Addis and really enjoyed this.

Sports that use a harness

1. High ropes afss
2. Rock climbing

1. This I did for my first time in Africa, as in England you have to be older. You do some really cool courses that you would not be allowed in countries where it matters if the thing you are standing on breaks. For example, when my dad jumped onto a bucket it snapped but unluckily my dad did not fall.
2. Climbing is climbing. You climb up a rock face and reach the top.

Other

1. Mountaineering afss
2. Caving afss
3. Sand boarding
4. Hiking afss
5. Boules
6. Football

1. I love climbing mountains.
2. Caves are really cool, and you see really cool thing inside them
3. This is my brother’s sport, but I have to admit it is extremely fun.
4. This is really fun if it is not too hot, and I will hike for 24 hours if the reward at the top is swimming
5. I don’t see the point in heaving these balls down to the beach so you can throw them at each other.
6. I really do not like football.

My favourite African quips

These are different short conversations I have collected during the trip.

1. Me: what do you think a rhino looks like? My dad: a cross between an elephant, a dinosaur and a lawnmower.
2. Me: here are the chic shacks. My mum: these chic shacks are false advertising; they should be called shabby chic.
3. My brother: look at the great migration. My dad: I think there are 4 million. Me: don't exaggerate -- there are only about 12 million
4. A person who worked in a lodge we stayed at called veronica: I am veronica what is my sons name. My mum: my son is called Azai. Veronica: my son is handsome (referring to Azai).
5. My dad: should I go right or left. The lady who had hitched a ride in our car: yes.
6. My dad:where is the noah bus. A bus driver: over here. My dad: this is not a noah bus. The bus driver: yes it is. My dad: no where is the noah bus. The bus driver: but this one is more express than noah.
7. The nurse: I am just going to flush your cannula. My brother: no. The nurse started. My brother: I'm going to shoe you out of the hospital. The nurse continues. My brother kicks the nurse on the belly. After being kicked three times the nurse storms out. I'm glad my brother doesn't speak Swahili.
8. My brother: why is it so sunny. My dad: then put on your sunglasses. Me: they call it a desert for a reason. My brother puts on the sunglasses my brother: it just went darker; it is like someone turned on battery saver.

Tazara Part 2: On the Train

If you haven't read Tazara yet, you should as this is the second part of Tazara.

I did not know what a 24hour train ride would be like as the longest train ride I had been on was 4 hours, and I got bored on that so I did not know what it would be like; but it was not bad at all.

What to do on a train

1. Breathe, the air is not toxic
2. Eat, the restaurant was not bad at all
3. Drink, the water was not poisoned (at least the bottle water--the water in the tap probably was!)
4. Sleep, the beds were ok
5. Buy bananas out the window
6. Go to the bar to get my dad (who doesn't deserve it) a beer; as he thinks Zambian beer is the best beer and our train started in Zambia
7. Play on our tablets
8. Look out the window

This might not seem very fun, but I enjoyed it, mostly because the toilets were a hole in the train and you had to pee and poo on the tracks. We have heard the train breaks down sometimes, and there were also delays so our ride was not the worst it gets.

Information

I am not the one who usually does this as my dad is the one always telling people to stay longer; but in this case it is my job as I am sitting in a car whilst writing this. Don't blame me if this is not all correct, as I am not the one who tells people to stay longer but I think it is right.

• Take the express train for the same price but nicer
• They are always sold out, but if you are there on the day you will be able to get them, as in Zambia they always have extra cabins
• The express train runs on Wednesday from Mbeya to Dar.
• It is always late
• The queue is long
• Bring water with you onto the train, as the bar only has small bottles.
• Don’t bring beer: I can’t drink but my dad likes Zambia's beer, which you get on the train, much more than Tanzanian beer.

MY DAD IS NOW DOING HIS JOB FINISHING THE INFORMATION AS I FOUND IT BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Malawi itinerary by my dad. He is boring but likes telling people to stay 6 weeks longer and go to malawi.

This runs from Zambia to Tanzania, but you can do it either way round.

Start at beautiful South Luangwa National Park in Zambia.

Get a taxi or the green bus to the border.

Cross the border, get a taxi to the next town, and then get a shared mini-bus to Lilongwe.

Buy supplies and get money in Lilongwe--lots of places in Malawi don't have ATMs. There are good ATMs in the shopping centre with Game. The bar at Mabuya Camp is a great place to meet people, but the accommodation there is a bit tired. We stayed in an A Frame because we hadn't bought our tend yet--Raf was right that we should have bought a tent as soon as we arrived in Malawi--but we would have been happier camping. If you meet someone from the tobacco industry, ask them to arrange for you to visit the sales halls or one of the factories--really interesting and a real antidote to smoking. We met the founder of Mosamba Cafe and Gardens, and although we didn't get a chance to visit, it sounds really good.

Visit Dedze Rock Art on the way to Cape Maclare. We didn't, but I wish we'd known about it when we were planning our transport from Lilongwe to Cape Maclare.

Cape Maclare is fine, but there are lots of nicer places on the lake, so go straight to Kayak Africa's beautiful Domwe Island for a few nights (or even more beautiful Mombo Island if you like spending money more than we do ;-) If you want to stay with a really helpful local and get a sense of Cape Maclear as a village rather than just a resort - and you don't need air con - Jay and Siobhan's place is a good bet.

From Cape Maclare, head down to Zomba to hike the plateau. If you plan in advance, you may be able to get space to stay at the CCAP Cottage on the top of the Plateau--we were too last minute, so we stayed at the bottom at Pakachere, which has a great vibe in the bar, nice workspace and a nice garden, and is currently getting refurbished. Zomba deserves at least two nights.

From Zomba, head down to Likhubula to climb Mt Mulanje. Mulanje is a fantastic (and very affordable) climb. Stay at Likhubula Forest Lodge and enjoy their great food and hospitality. Reception at Likhubula isn't great, but fortunately my lovely wife has gotten them on Airbnb, so you can book online. To learn about getting a guide a climbing the mountain, check out my Trip Advisor on this.

After climbing Mulanje, go hang out in Blantyre to rest, recover and resupply. Have a great Italian meal in at L'Hostaria, one of the only Italian restaurants in Africa that could make it in Europe, visit Food Lovers Market for a western-style shopping experience, and resupply at Game and Shopright before heading onwards.

From Blantyre, you can cycle with antelopes and fish at Game Haven or do a coffee tour at Satemwa, but when you're done in that end of the world, head up to Monkey Bay, stay one night at Mufasa Eco Lodge, and the get the once-weekly Ilala Ferry to beautiful Likoma Island. Make sure to resupply with cash in Blantyre or Monkey though, because there's no ATM on Likoma. You can easily walk from Musafa to the Ilala Port, especially if you have a jet pack like Rafael and Azai.

The Ilala is really cool. The food is good and reasonably priced. If you can't get a cabin, get a first class ticket and pitch your tent on the deck. Here are the details to book a cabin, which the Ilala seem to keep as a closely guarded secret!

The Ilala is definitely African transport--it will arrive late and getting off is a stressful and wet experience, but once you're in Likoma, stay at Mango Drift to relax, swim, and eat Mangoes from the trees. The communal dinner in the beach is particularly lovely. If you have time, there's a single lodge of Chizimula, which is really cool. When you're done with the Islands, take the Ilala or the Chambo to Nkata Bay, where they have a dock that let's you quickly disembark without getting wet!

In Nkhata Bay, stay at Mayoka Village, enjoy pizza night, and sub and snorkel--fabulous. Butterfly Space is also great. If you have kids, send them to school at Good Hope or Stepping Stones, and enjoy some time without kids.

From Nkhata Bay, kayak up the coast with Monkey Business (based at Butterfly Space) for three days to Usisya or four days to Zulukoni. We went to Usisya Beach Eco Lodge, but if I had had my way, we would have gone on to Zulukoni. From Zulukoni, you can hike and boat to Mushroom Farm--call Mushroom Farm in advance to organise that leg. It will be a real adventure and much better than just driving from Nkata Bay to Mushroom.

Enjoy the vegetarian food at Mushroom, and then head across the border to Tanzania. Go hiking in the mountains, and then consider getting the Tazara Railway to Dar. Raf's written a great post about that!