Mount Mulanje

Above the clouds on the mountain

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It was a bit of a crazy idea to actually climb the mountain but we were all really glad we braved it. The 7 and a half hour climb/hike was pretty darn difficult, and we only just made it in daylight, but at least we made it! The views on the way up were shocking, really good. As we got through the clouds there were some mountain flowers as well, bright colours. We even saw yellow orchids and some monkeys. The hut we stayed in didn't have electricity or running water (the watchman brought the water to us) so it was difficult as it got dark around 5. We spent a day on the mountain where we saw a view over the clouds and swam in some natural pools. I think we were at about 2850 feet above sea level. The photos speak for themselves really I've got loads more for when I get back. We also saw the same view when the clouds had cleared which was good as well. On the third day we set off early and came down the mountain at quite a pace, we bought some stuff at the bottom then got a pick up truck back to the town where we had pizza to celebrate :) Then a minibus back to blantyre, which was a lot calmer than the previous one which had had over 20 people squiched into it. It was a really tough steep hike (we pretty much fell down on the way back) but definitely worth it. Our muscles are totally screwed up now though-it was the way down that did it not the way up. I think people think we're disabled because every time we have to go down hill or down a step there are moans and groans and we have to pick our legs up really slowly- standing out from the Malwian crowd even more than normal!