Roadtrip to Malawi, farm fun with the family and Christmas 2020- week 1

We left Kariba on Friday 18 Dec and drove through to Harare, where we spent the night. On Saturday morning we woke up at 3am and loaded the kids and bags into the car...hitting the road by 3:30am! There is a curfew in Zimbabwe still, but we told the policeman that we were trying to make it to the border as it opened to make the trip shorter for the kids. He didn't give us any trouble.

We arrived at the border at 6am and were the first ones there. The kids woke up feeling fresh, after sleeping for the first 2,5 hours of the trip. BONUS! 

We got duped by a guy 'helping us' get through the border...he gave us a form that he said had cost US$40 and was a 'covid form' that would be valid on the way back too. It was in Portuguese so we were none the wiser. On the way back we presented it and were told that it was the receipt from our road tax! TIA.

It was relatively smooth sailing entering Mozambique. After driving for another 2 hours the kids started getting restless and we had made good time so we pulled into hotel Moatize (just outside Tete) for breakfast at 9am. It was a nice break from the car and gave us all a little recharge.

At one stage we ended up on an off-road detour through a village due to an accident that was being cleared. It added some excitement to the trip and we were glad to be in a bigger rental car.

The Last section of the trip was rather drawn out. We got to the Malawi border by 12 but it ended up taking over 2 hours, with plenty of chancers trying their luck with us. We definitely got ripped off there too, and have learnt our lesson well about trusting all the 'helpful' people willing to show you where to go and what to pay. 

We even tipped them...on top of spending about triple what it should have cost us to get through. Lesson learnt!

With the stressful part over, we tackled the final stretch to Blantyre in just less than 2 hours. We arrived and were greeted by half the family who were very excited to see us. My heart always calms when I am with my precious family. Granny and Grampa were delighted to finally see my kids again. It had been almost 18 months since we last saw them (due to covid) and that is more than half of Lily's life. We were very grateful to be reunited.

Wendy (my middle sister) and Lars arrived back in their new car: mission impossible complete! They managed to fly to SA, buy a car, visit family and friends in Cape Town AND drive back to Blantyre through Mozambique...all in 2 weeks! Their kids stayed in Malawi with the others.

Tim and I had on our annual date night for our 9th anniversary (there were plenty of willing babysitters!). We went to Bombay Palace in Blantyre which still has all the delicious dishes I remember from when I was in high school. Such a treat. It also happens to be opposite the hotel that we had our wedding reception at, so that was extra special.

The next few days we spent relaxing out in Zomba with my eldest sister Shel (and Brent, Jo and Ben). They have been living there for the past year. It was just perfect. We had fun family days where all the family came out and we played games on the beautiful lawn, went for walks, drank coffee, ate Christmas mince pies and caught up. The kids just disappeared on their bikes and I'm pretty sure LJ thought he was in heaven! It reminded me why I love my family so much.

On Christmas Eve we had a delicious dinner at Wendy's House. We all got dressed fancy (just because we love an excuse to dress up!) and once again it was just lovely to all be together. I took some crocodile meat all the way from Kariba to make the croc starter (novel), and it was a definite hit. 

We had home made crackers which was also fun- we'll definitely do that again. Each family had to make crackers according to the number of people in their family (with a joke and a cracker too of course!). They also had great gifts inside, from nail polish, earrings, and nail stickers to hot sauce and mini salt/pepper grinders.

A tradition has developed over the past few years, where the kids have a sleepover together in the lounge on Christmas eve. We made a big Christmas bed for them in the lounge. NB: we did put the kids to sleep in the bedrooms and then move them all together once they were asleep (for anyone who decides to try this at home).

Christmas morning elation!

Tim, LJ, Brent, Gen, Rach, Lily, Granny Marls (& doll), Liz, Jo, Ben, Dan, Merin, Lars, Wends, Shel, Ellie, Nate, Jack, Grampa Mark

Our only full family shot! (only Brad missing)

On Christmas day we listened to a sermon together and then individual families went home to open their presents. We then all went out to the farm for a leftover lunch picnic and had another winner day playing games, with the kids enjoying their presents. We do a gift draw where each adult buys for one adult and each family buys for the kids in the other families. With a family this big we have to get creative!

We spent our last couple of days of Zomba just enjoying all the things that farm life affords. We went on a day trip up Zomba mountain where we had a picnic, Tim learnt to ride a motorbike, the kids rode horses and fed cows, and we went for walks and talks. We played rage cage in the evening with Jo's home made skittle syrup and laughed until our bellies hurt. Not bad at all for week 1 of our holiday!