Day 2 | Chigudu to Nkhotakota | Kaliba Beach Resort Distance: 111.6 km total (79.4 km cycled + 32.2 km hitch through reserve) | Terrain: Rolling hills, lakeshore Stage 1: Cycling to reserve boundary | Stage 2: Hitch through Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve (no cycling allowed) | Stage 3: Final leg into Nkhotakota town Up by 04:15 with village life already wide awake. Music playing, wood being chopped, people starting their day long before sunrise. Rolled out at 05:30 into cool, misty hill country, perfect cycling weather until around 08:30 when the sun broke through and the heat arrived. The route took me through rural Malawi where most people travel by bicycle or motorbike. Farming is mostly subsistence-based, using very simple tools, and daily life is tough. There's always someone watching the passing cyclist here. Kids call out, sometimes asking for money in the little English they know. It's not malicious, just learned behaviour, but it leaves me conflicted. Wanting to help, yet knowing handouts create expectations that don't serve anyone in the long run. At Nkhotakota Wildlife Park I caught a lift with Smart on his cement truck for the 30 km crossing, having stocked up on tomatoes, bananas, and frozen cold drinks from roadside vendors. No entry fee required, and the wildlife sightings amounted to monkeys only. No elephants today. The last 17 km into town were hot and punishing, but I eventually rolled into Kaliba Beach Resort. At 40,000 kwacha a night it's simple, neat, and perfectly fine. I kept to tradition and jumped straight into Lake Malawi fully clothed since the shower wasn't working. Warm water, incredible setting, a proper bucket-list moment finally ticked off.