Despite the 1000 km that we have cycled
through Malawi, we have emerged in the commercial capital of Blantyre feeling
recuperated and rested. The feeling is down to a mixture of time, we have had
longer to cover less ground, and perhaps, after two months on the road, our
bodies are finally getting used to 6 hours of cycling per day
Having said that as we arrived into Cape MacClear
one week ago, after 440 km over three days, I wouldn’t have said the same, we
were much in need of a rest. The cove faces north-east on the spit of Lake
Malawi National park, and as a result is sheltered from most of the prevailing
winds and faces the setting sun. Although the National Park includes much of
the land on the Cape (and is home to antelope, deer and, apparently, the odd
leopard and elephant), the preservation is most pertinent under water. Lake
Malawi is the most diverse freshwater lake in the world and is home to over 600
species of fish, over 200 of which are endemic. Indeed a whole family of fish,
the Cichlids (‘sick-lids’) are only found in the lake. Although an unlikely
comparison, the diversity places it on a par with the Galapagos Islands.
Whether it was one of these factors, or something else entirely, that inspired
Dr Robert Laws to create his first mission there is unclear. Nevertheless, the
mission’s time there was short-lived, as malaria drove him ultimately to the
higher climes of Livingstonia.
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| Fish markets in Chembe |
We arrived from our overnight campsite to a
slightly bewildered campsite owner, not quite sure how we had made it so early,
and settled in quickly to our rest routine for the next two days. In the
village of Chembe, campsites and guesthouses are pleasantly intermingled with
local houses and shops along the beach shore meaning that we never needed to
stray further than a few hundred metres from our campsite in search of
anything; a convenient teashop offered
sweet tea and ‘scones’ (a bread roll), and ‘McDonalds’ provided cheap and tasty
chips. As with many of our rest days, daily life revolved around foraging and
gathering food, which in Cape MacClear meant we could get fresh fish. In fact, it couldn’t have got much fresher
for one unlucky fish, as from being hooked by a local lad on the beach to
sizzling on our barbeque took under an hour.
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| One hour later... |
After two days we were ready to move on,
heading directly South towards Zomba, and our ultimate destination of Blantyre.
Early on the Monday morning of the 26th March, my bike limped its
way over the hills of the national park, and to the tarmac of the Blantyre
road. The rubber had started to split along the inside of my tyre, creating a
herniation which I could feel on every revolution, although we had thought
local tyres would fit, it turned out that that they are made for wider rims –
so didn’t. It made for a nervous three days to Blantyre, hoping the tyre would
split entirely and burst the inner tube…
We allowed two days for approximately 200k
to Zomba, so were in no hurry. For the first day we strolled lazily along the
flat road, the only moment of excitement coming during our night’s camp in a
roadside field. Shortly after getting to sleep we were woken by a man in a
trench coat, holding an umbrella. He demanded to know who we were and what we
were doing, sleepily we gave a short summary of our ‘mission’ and explained to
him we were just camping here and would be gone in the morning. Still slightly
confused but seemingly satisfied he explained that he was the Chief of the
local village, who were very concerned, having seen lights in the field, that
they were to be invaded. We could safely reassure him we posed no threat,
although unless we were attacking with water pistols, I’m not exactly sure how
he was planning on protecting the village.
As if we needed reminding of what hills
were like, the road slowly started to climb toward Zomba but thankfully did
little to trouble us from the relative comfort of our bikes and we rolled on. The two lazy days allowed time to reflect on life on a
bike, a life that has really become the norm for us. Like most travellers we
pass through towns relatively quickly, striking up friendships and seeing the
sights before moving on to the next spot. On a bike however, the journey feels
as much a part of the experience as the end-points, whether it’s smelling the
burning sugar cane of the Illovo sugar factory, tasting the sweet roadside
maize drinks or cycling alongside a flying Hammercop bird feeding off the early
morning insects on the road. In our efforts to save weight (and more recently
money, our budget was only allowing $5 each/day for the past two weeks), we
enjoy living simply; it’s a challenge to remember the last time we had a
chocolate bar, or other luxury items.
We reached leafy suburbs of Zomba town on
the by lunchtime on our second day. The capital of Malawi for almost 100 years
until the mid 1970’s, it still bears the hallmarks of faded colonial glories.
Grand administrative buildings, a golf course and large, now slightly flaky
houses stream up the hillside toward the plateau. The town has retains an
affluent feel in comparison to much of what we had seen, there is an outpost of
the University of Malawi, and it’s pleasant atmosphere no doubt helped attract
several NGO’s to base themselves in town. I felt slightly bewildered cycling
around town, having to deal with the first semblance of road traffic for the
first time in two weeks.
After a sleepy lunch and buying of
provisions, we chose to head up to the plateau, having gathered reports of
between 4 and 20 km of climbing to get there, not an unusual range of guesses
for a set distance in our experience. Ultimately it was 10 km of steep tarmac,
imaginatively cut into almost sheer cliff which delivered us to the trout farm
campsite, from where we could explore the forested plateau and eek out the best
from the few remaining Kwacha (local currency) we had left. During our climb we
had a comedy meeting with a Danish couple we had met in Cape McClear, who had
offered us an evening out in Maputo, their home town. In Cape McClear they had
felt inspired by our bikes and started planning a bike trip across South
America themselves, seeing us sweating up the steep climb however, they had
started to reconsider in favour of more motorised alternatives…!
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| Relaxing at Queens viewpoint |
After our final rest day, we sped down the
mountain towards Blantyre, with a feeling of excitement and anticipation. In 70
km we would reach the end of our second stage. A stage that in just over a
month had taken us from a home in Moshi, over the rugged terrain of Usambaras,
though the baking coastal heat of Pangani, back across the Rift Valley toward Mbeya
and finally hugging the cooler waters down western shores of Lake Malawi. This
second stage of our journey been a real pleasure, during which we have become
accustomed to the physical and mental challenges of a long distance bike
journey, and have had the time to relax and take in the countryside and its
people.
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| Arriving in Blantyre, end of Stage 2 |
Blantyre was the first major city since
Arusha, and early on exhibited many of the hallmarks of a big city. The ever
present face of His Excellency Bingu smiled down from billboards, while
shopping malls and industrial parks lined the road, ranging from the colourful
‘Rainbow Plastics’ to the smelly poultry farms.
We were extremely fortunate to be kindly received by a family whom we
had met in Cape McClear. It was another example of the stunning trust and
kindness that we have met all the way along our journey, from the smallest local
subsitence farmers, to the biggest of landowners we have been welcomed. After
an afternoon exploring the city, and once again doing our blackmarket money
changing, we sat down for a lovely dinner happy to feel part of a family for a
night.
We now look forward to our final stage, and
the arrival of our third team member, Gunnar Kornberg from Norway. It’s a month
that will take in more of the superlatives of the continent: First of all we
take on the dizzy heights of Mt Mulanje – the highest mountain in Malawi
(hoping not to repeat our mistakes of Mt Hanang…); then to Zambezi valley of
Tete in Mozambique, reputably the hottest city in Africa; and then onto the
beaches of Southern Mozambique, home to some of the best surfing beaches in
Africa.
Finally, a big thank you to all those who
have donated so far. As Rick mentioned,
all through Malawi we have enjoyed the benefits of clean water from roadside
pumps, which for local villagers are an essential part of daily life. The
experience has certainly made us believe in the importance and worthiness of
our fundraising for WaterAid which we hope we have impressed upon you.
