Magical Malawi

Published in the Saturday Star travel supplement 25 November 2006

Staggering up the path on Mount Mulanje, we stood aside to allow thin, poorly shod men to pass by, burdened by planks of wood balanced on their heads. When I tried to do the same I staggered under the weight.

“Years ago, one of them was sentenced to be hung for a crime,” said one of the porters. “They tried to hang him twice.”

“What happened to him,” we asked?

“He survived because his neck muscles were so strong and he was pardoned.”

Mount Mulanje straddles the border between Malawi and Mozambique and is a one-hour mini-bus ride from Blantyre, passing through undulating hills covered with tree plantations. Flying from Johannesburg, the huge massif of Mount Mulanje thrusts through the surrounding flatness, high peaks hidden by cloud, giving the mountain its local name, Island in the Sky.

Drawing closer, the granite walls become more intimidating, but it was too late to turn back. Chitkali was the last stop, so I caught a ride with thirteen others in a matola (bakkie) on the 10km dirt road to Likabula Forest Station where I was lucky to join three hikers and we set off for the four-hour ascent to Chambe Hut, the views escalating with our ascent. It was on the final ‘skyline path’ that we saw the plank carriers, so named because the cableway used to transport timber, but less expensive manual labour is now used. Sadly exploitation of the rare Mulanje cedar, Widdringtonia whytei continues unchecked, despite World Heritage status.

Eventually reaching the so-called plateau, an area covered with pine plantations in the process of being cleared, we arrived at Chambe Hut, one of the busiest but with fantastic views, dwarfed by Chambe Peak.

Next day we traversed around Sapitwa (3001m), crossing a narrow ridge of the Chambe Basin. We wanted to climb Sapitwa but it was covered in cloud.

“Sapitwa means ‘don’t go there’,” informed a porter. And we didn’t!

We enjoyed a memorable evening sitting on the veranda of Thuchila Hut, well placed on a bluff with magnificent views until 20-odd pubescent boys shattered our tranquillity, setting up a tent village along with noisy toilet humour. And they stole our water – twice! Cameras clicked as the sun set, a Trechikov painting of kitsch colours. Later, a flock of storks flew past, followed by dragon shaped clouds. Magic!

Our third day was short, with ever-changing vistas, particularly the Ruo Basin with spiky peaks, boulder speckled lower slopes, huge tree ferns and yellow papery everlastings. On the opposite side of this we saw Chinzama Hut, situated next to rock pools - our lunch spot.

The final day was reminiscent of the Inca Trail, with many steep steps descending to Fort Lister Gap and Forest Station. With no public transport to Phalombe, we had to walk 8km along dusty roads through villages, banana plantations and meilie fields.

The matola ride to Likabula was never-ending, astonishing us with the distance that we covered on the mountain. Covered in dust, we were unrecognisable as we untangled cramped limbs, an unforgettable finalé to an amazing trek.

Having spent four days climbing Mount Mulanje, I needed luxury and relaxation, so, blowing the budget, I went to Liwonde National Park, opened in 1973 and rated as one of Malawi’s finest game parks. But perched on the back of a bicycle taxi with children and dogs running alongside, while the ‘driver’ chattered away about HIV/AIDS, isn’t everyone’s idea of a holiday. Sheltered in ‘first world’ Cape Town I don’t come into contact with people who are HIV positive, so it comes as a shock in Malawi where it hangs over the country like a cloud, decimating the population.

“Most people believe it’s witchcraft,” said my driver.

Arriving on the banks of the Shire River, the only way to reach Mvuu Camp, on the opposite bank, is on the Mvela Ferry. Despite its creature comforts, Mvuu camp offers a taste of wilderness, with no fences. As we sat on the veranda, cameras clicked as a hippopotamus waddled onto the lawn, so close that we saw scars on his body, bearing testimony to a recent skirmish. Hippo males are territorial, defending a 100m stretch of river and exerting mating rights over females for up to eight years, accompanied by tons of testosterone.

“He’s the resident lawnmower,” advised a staff member as acrobatic vervet monkeys and bush squirrels scampered in a baobab tree.

The park is full of magnificent baobabs, surrounded by folklore and legend. The traditional story is passed down through generations about how God, angry with the baobab, pulled it out and flung it back into the ground headfirst.

Mvuu is the local Chichewa word for hippopotamus, of which there are approximately 520, their laughing grunts echoing up and down the Shire River at all times of day and night. Large groups of submerged hippos are a comic sight with only their eyes and nostrils showing, but our guide was careful not to get too close, in case they surfaced unexpectedly. They leave the river at night to graze on the banks, sometimes travelling considerable distances overland.

Liwonde’s setting is unsurpassed, lying to the south of Lake Malawi, including part of Lake Malombe, the Shire River and the eastern Upper Shire Plain. Downstream the river changes into a large flood plain, or in years of high water levels, a marsh.

Next day, on the game drive through cicada-infested air, wildebeest kicked up plumes of dust; waterbuck males fought, their long, shaggy coats glistening in the sunshine. Liwonde has approximately 800 sable antelope, probably one of the greatest concentrations in the world. We drove through the rhino sanctuary but only saw warthogs, their tails vertical as they run-glide through bush. Occasionally a prehistoric looking monitor lizard crossed the road leaving behind an intricate pattern in the earth.

Animal tracks crisscrossed the road, the air scented with wild sage and earth, the vegetation a combination of grassland and riverine mopane attracting a variety of bird life. More than 420 species of Malawi’s 650 species have been recorded here, including Boehm’s Bee-eater, Livingston’s Flycatcher and the only population of Lilian’s Lovebird in Malawi.

Next day was exciting as we floated along the river as kingfishers hovered and wiretailed swallows darted in and out of the canopy busy constructing a nest. Extensive stands of mature mopane woodland, fever trees, wild mango, candelabra trees and sausages hanging from sausage trees line the river bank, as well as palms, originally from Arabia, noisy with Ibis building nests and feeding on fruit. Locals have used the fruit for years to make beer but elephants and baboons also enjoyed it.

“Keep quiet,” warned our guide.

Satisfied hippo grunts and elephants crashing branches, so close that we could almost feel the breeze from their flapping ears. Suddenly, nearby, we saw a group of elephants chomping leaves and tearing bark.

The final evening we were driven into the bush where a table overflowed with food, illuminated by a bonfire and kerosene lamps, surrounded with tables and chairs. Waiters served drinks and food to a background of animal sounds, eerily close. A memorable end to my visit.

This tiny country, wedged between Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique may be landlocked but boasts the third largest lake in Africa, covering almost one fifth of the country. Lake Malawi runs through a trough, part of the Great Rift Valley, and may be the country’s most well known tourist destination but there is far more to ‘the warm heart of Africa’. Malawi’s scenery is stunning and the saying rings true, Malawians are among the friendliest people, taking pride in their country and heritage. Come and explore for yourself.

DETAILS:

Liwonde National Park: getting there, easier access than by bicycle taxi is to join a boat trip from Liwonde town and float along the Shire River, alternatively, by car, which can only be done in the dry season between August and November, but even then, the state of the road can be precarious. Boat transfer US$60, from Ulongwe to Mvela Ferry by bicycle-taxi US$4. Game drives cost US$18 per person, guided wildlife walks US$10, boat rides US$18.

Entry to the Park is US$5 per day and US$2 per car with US$2 entrance to the Rhino Sanctuary with the money going directly to the project.

Best time : end of the dry season, from late August through to mid November. At this time most of the animals are concentrated within easy reach of the Shire River for drinking. The temp. can be around 27degC in November.

Accommodation and tariffs : Mvuu Camp offers both self-catering and full board. The full board option includes 3 meals a day and 2 game activities, costs US$130. Chalets US$50 per person bed only, or camp in your own tent US$8.

Luxurious Mvuu Wilderness Lodge accommodates only 10 guests on a fully inclusive basis in five furnished and en suite tents overlooking the lagoon, at US$230.

Bookings : Central African Wilderness Safari’s, P O Box 489, Lilongwe; e-mail info@wilderness.malawi .net