Mount Mulanje

YOU MAY SEE ARMED GUARDS

DO NOT BE ALARMED
THEY ARE THERE FOR YOUR PROTECTION
PLEASE INTERACT WITH THEM
WELCOME TO MOUNT MULANJE

So that was the sign posted upon entering the forest - it was a bit strange, made me feel like I was entering Jurrasic Park or something. We didn't end up seeing any armed guards, or many other people for that matter. It was an amazing, but hard, 3 days though.

We got the base of the mountain in Mulanje town on Tuesday morning. The mountain looked rather impossible, as the top of it is just rock. I couldn't figure out how we'd get up there. It is the highest peak in south, central Africa, at 3000m above sea level and has various huts scattered around the top. It also has 5 different habitats on it, rainforest, long grass land, bare rock face....everything. It was also the inspiration for The Hobbit setting when J.R. Tolken visited here. Enough facts though.

We got a local guide and porter arranged (there was NO way we were carrying all out stuff, including our food!) and we went to stay at the local church run hut at the base of the mountain.

The next day out guide, Felix, and out porter, Pitman, met us at 8am. I was a bit nervous because of the season here the mist can set in really fast and then you are in trouble. But we set out and after a STEEP and difficult climb through the various landscapes we made it to our hut in 4 1/2 hours. Quite please with out time. I think it was getting so tiring that we all just wanted to get it done. We stayed at the CCAP hut that was built in something like 1890 (I'm not joking). It was weird - very Little House on the Praire. We got to the top and there is a massive grassland plateau with the hut on the edge of it. It hadn't fallen apart or anything but felt and looked like it was built in 1890, complete with an open fire for cooking, a pit toilet and a hut to wash in. At least the water was warmed from the fire!

In the evening we went out to watch the sunset and it was one of the most amazing sights I have seen. We sat out on the edge of the mountain and it felt like we were sitting on top of the world. To our left were the mountains of Mozambique, to the right Zomba Plateau and the sun setting over the mountains directly ahead of us. It was incredibly beautiful. And we were the only people out there.

We spent the next day exploring out the other huts before heading down yesterday. In some ways coming down was harder than going up. It took us just as long. We walked across the plateau, back to the edge and down the side. We started on the rock face, through the grass lands and back through the rainforest. It was really quite frightening on the rocks because there was nothing to stop us from going over.

All in all, the 2 nights up there were enough! I am grateful to have lights, a shower and a toilet now!

Once we got down Jo and I went to the tea farms around the base. Tea plants were bought here from India originally and now there is a massive tea plantation at the base of Mulanje. It grows best in the area and we had a cup, it was lovely! I have a new appreciation for how much work goes into tea picking and the manual labour involved from the pickers. I will endeavour to buy fairtrade tea from now on!

I am back in Blantyre for the night and back on my 12 hour bus tomorrow back to Mwaya. I have only 4 weeks left out here. No more travelling for me. The next 4 week will be spent focusing back on my work here.