We woke up today at a blessed 5.30am, something that felt like a sleep in compared to the crisp mornings at 3.20am. We were all packed up & waiting to get on the truck by 6.45am, the traffic jams & police harassment is nonexistent in Milawi & we don't have a big drive. A few people, including us, had carved items to be delivered to the truck just before 7am. Ours was the last to be delivered & by far one of the most disappointing things we've brought due to the quality & the argument it caused between Tom & I.
It's not the same keyring he showed us. It's a very different design without the engraved animal on the back, instead it has a crude 2018 engraved into it. It is made of a different looking & feeling wood & it's significantly lighter in weight, I'm concerned it will snap when used to open a bottle. It's very rough engraving and hasn't been finished let alone polished or varnished, potentially done by someone else. Unfortunately with the truck ready to go we aren't in a position to ask for a refund or at minimum to have it finished. I dont necessarily know if we would ask for a refund, given the time, the knowledge of the poverty these people face on a daily, it creates an aspect of guilt when engaging in business. What makes it worse is another Aussie couple on the trip brought a carved piece of wood shaped like Africa with the big 5 also engraved inside. It's a beautiful piece of work & is varnished to perfection. It leaves an even worse taste in my mouth to learn they paid $15 US for it!! The tension from yesterdays argument is palpable, it's the first time a bottle opener has not started our day out on the right foot.
We drive for 3 hours with no problems, to a supermarket so we can restock on necessities. The 3 hours goes very quickly. Tom is using the laptop to update the budget, while I nap & then get involved in a loud & merry game of uno with Sarah & Simone.
At the shops we buy some toiletry type necessities, clothes washing gel & beer. Unfortunately the washing we did at Zanzibar hasn't had the opportunity to fully dry with the humidity, early morning dew & inadequate day time between stops. It is now starting to smell, very bad, & we are running low on some items & will have to wash it all again. After we all hop back onto the truck it's a short 2 hour drive to Kande Beach Campsite. Another nice campsite on the side of lake Milawi. After we set up our tents & eat lunch, we have the rest of the day & the following day free!! This is amazing news after being stuck in the truck on those long days. Tom & I get straight to work re-washing all of our clothes and hanging them in the sun. This takes us more than an hour, but we are very happy with our washing gel that does a good job of removing the smell. After this we buy some wifi & start the huge job of uploading all our photos to the online storage account. While this is happening we both retire to the hammocks with a cold drink. It's amazing how 1 afternoon of free time can go past so quickly. After dinner, Sarah, Tom & myself play some ping pong before going over to the pool tables for a few rounds of Kelly pool. By 8.30pm we are ready for bed & retire!
- Alli
It's not the same keyring he showed us. It's a very different design without the engraved animal on the back, instead it has a crude 2018 engraved into it. It is made of a different looking & feeling wood & it's significantly lighter in weight, I'm concerned it will snap when used to open a bottle. It's very rough engraving and hasn't been finished let alone polished or varnished, potentially done by someone else. Unfortunately with the truck ready to go we aren't in a position to ask for a refund or at minimum to have it finished. I dont necessarily know if we would ask for a refund, given the time, the knowledge of the poverty these people face on a daily, it creates an aspect of guilt when engaging in business. What makes it worse is another Aussie couple on the trip brought a carved piece of wood shaped like Africa with the big 5 also engraved inside. It's a beautiful piece of work & is varnished to perfection. It leaves an even worse taste in my mouth to learn they paid $15 US for it!! The tension from yesterdays argument is palpable, it's the first time a bottle opener has not started our day out on the right foot.
We drive for 3 hours with no problems, to a supermarket so we can restock on necessities. The 3 hours goes very quickly. Tom is using the laptop to update the budget, while I nap & then get involved in a loud & merry game of uno with Sarah & Simone.
At the shops we buy some toiletry type necessities, clothes washing gel & beer. Unfortunately the washing we did at Zanzibar hasn't had the opportunity to fully dry with the humidity, early morning dew & inadequate day time between stops. It is now starting to smell, very bad, & we are running low on some items & will have to wash it all again. After we all hop back onto the truck it's a short 2 hour drive to Kande Beach Campsite. Another nice campsite on the side of lake Milawi. After we set up our tents & eat lunch, we have the rest of the day & the following day free!! This is amazing news after being stuck in the truck on those long days. Tom & I get straight to work re-washing all of our clothes and hanging them in the sun. This takes us more than an hour, but we are very happy with our washing gel that does a good job of removing the smell. After this we buy some wifi & start the huge job of uploading all our photos to the online storage account. While this is happening we both retire to the hammocks with a cold drink. It's amazing how 1 afternoon of free time can go past so quickly. After dinner, Sarah, Tom & myself play some ping pong before going over to the pool tables for a few rounds of Kelly pool. By 8.30pm we are ready for bed & retire!
- Alli
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