Lengwe count and the Hash in Bangwe

a Vervet monkey at the camp



warthog and baboon



warthogs would love coming to the watered lawns of the lodge where they could get good grass



Our tent and campsite



the view from the first hide, where, with the help from the WESM (and Malawi's) bird expert we spent a really enjoyable few hours ticking birds.



Nyala antelope, Samango monkeys and bushpigs



sunset at the camp



the pool at the lodge, which we could use to de-sweatify



there is a bird called Arnot's Chat!...pretty rare, and much sought after I'm sure!


What to do when the temperatures soar, up in the highlands of Bangwe? Well, one option was to go down the hill to Lake of Stars festival (unsurprisingly it is held at Lake Malawi), but nothing really grabbed us from the line up, so we couldn't face the sweat-fest it was bound to be and were looking for an alternative. One arrived in the form of the Wildlife and Environment Society of Malawi’s annual game count at Ridiculously Hot Hot Hot National Park…or at least that’s what it should have been called, but actually its official name is Lengwe National Park.

This was the 44th annual ‘game count’. To my mind it sounds like we are producing an inventory for people with guns to come in and peruse, but actually WESM are very much about protecting the wildlife, and are strongly against hunting. We were to count Nyala Antelope, which the park was established to protect in the ‘70s. By the early 1980s there were literally thousands of the animals, but relaxation of the political regime (i.e. less ‘disappearances’ of people who dis-pleased the president), constant poverty, increased population, and probably loads of other factors have meant that numbers have fallen significantly to a much lower but stable level now.

Down in the Shire Valley, Lengwe is even lower than the lake. However, as the temperature soared to 41.7 degrees Celsius on Friday (mother’s day here) we met up with J & L, and S, who we knew from the Majete hike. Their air conditioned vehicle was lovely, and the best surprise was in the back – a fridge! WESM certainly know how to camp without suffering! J & L had also very kindly lent us a tent and roll mats, so we were all set. There was a lodge next to the campsite, and some people were staying there, so the Friday night briefing was at the bar, where more deliciously cool beverages could be purchased. We were told the details on the animals we should look for, and the amount of info we were expected to include in our various sightings-forms. Quite an onerous task, but an enjoyable one.

On Saturday and Sunday we had 2 three hour shifts each, in pairs, with a different partner each time so you get mixed chat (and mixed spotting ability!). One shift would be in the heat of the day, and one in the cooler times. Saturday we did 9-12 and 3-6. Temperatures rose to 42.6 degrees Celsius so really the best thing to do (if you could not sit in an air-conditioned space) was to sit still in a hide watching wildlife at a watering hole.

The end of our shift on Saturday was quite exciting, with rare sightings of old male water buffalo and a hyena – both rare and potentially dangerous as we walked back to the lodge!

Sunday morning we were on the early shifts 6-9 and 12-3 so we could leave early in the afternoon. The day was much cooler, probably only reaching 30 degrees. The weekend was a really nice thing to do, really enjoyable to spend time in huts with people who know so much about the wildlife and are so passionate about it. I spent 3 hours with one of Malawi’s best bird-spotters, and had a great time pointing out birds for her to identify. Other sessions were spent discussing Holland vs. Netherlands, and the ubiquitous conversation of How to Solve a Problem Like Malawi (but in a very good natured way). For those that are interested, the WESM consists of African Malawians, White Malawians/Zimbabweans/South Africans, Very Long Term Ex-pats (i.e., since the ‘60s and ‘70s), medium term ex-pats and short-term visitors like Rach and I. So a real mix of people to chat to (quietly) in the huts and at the bar – very interesting group, and many of them were really lovely individuals. A great weekend, very relaxing and informative, and DEFINITELY the best thing to do when the temperature spikes above Ridiculously Hot on the thermometer!

On Tuesday we hosted the running club, “the Hash House Harriers” for the first run in Bangwe in a long time (if not the first ever). I went out with one of the Swedish volunteers in the afternoon to set the route with dots of white lime powder, and then the ‘hashers’ had to follow the trail (including many dead-ends) through the township, up hills, across streams and through the market – all the while accompanied by kids at a ratio of about 3 or 4 kids to each ‘hasher’. The bloke who was meant to turn up with the beers got stuck in traffic and had to turn back, so the evening ended up being even more of an ‘authentic Bangwe’ experience as we headed up to the local bar for our after-beers and songs and ceremonies under the watchful eyes of local kids and drinkers. The evening was topped off with a power cut, which Rach and I were really glad about. The ceremonies (including our friend A’s leaving beer as she’s moving back to London to save the world from there) were conducted in moonlight. It was all we hoped it could be, a truly Malawian experience – more representative of what Malawi really is like than the normal (lovely and really enjoyable) runs around Blantyre. Unfortunately we didn’t take any photos, but I’m sure the images of around 80 people running along the railway line will stay with us for a long time!

Malawi 6 - Chad 2

A wee video showing the celebrations after the 4th or 5th Malawian goal at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre.

Mum on Mulanje

the team at the start (minus one porter)



hiking through the tea fields with the Jacaranda trees



this is what happens when you leave children in charge of fires!



one of the many, generally well constructed, ladders



mum sporting the latest look for this Autumn, on Chinzama Peak



crossing the scorched landscape at the foot of Chinzama Peak



Looking back towards Chinzama hut, Namasile and Matambale Peaks



hiking to Tuchila Hut, with Nandalander Peak looming up



even in the scorched landscape flowers bloom



Nandalander Peak on Left, Khuto Peak on Right



a tight squeeze for Fael on Nandalander Peak



Chambe Peak from the descent of Nandalander Peak



At Tuchila Hut the sun sets behind Chambe Peak...lovely



mum wallowing



half way up the highest peak in Malawi, someone evidently decided that flip flops were not appropriate footwear...



mum on the steep slabs of Sapitwa



having conquered the slabs we now had an intricate landscape to navigate to lead us to the peak in the distance



in one of the vegetated gullies



climbing a rock-band



a tight squeeze



success!



the team on top of Sapitwa



"curse these short legs!"



bum sliding is THE technique for descending slabs on Mulanje



the upper slopes of Chambe Peak from half way up



the start of the steep...



looking back along the cliffs we had skirted, and down to the Chambe Basin



a lovely Aloe



Chambe Peak from Chambe Hut on our last morning on the hill



monkeys in the forest at the foot of Mulanje



Weather update: HOT HOT HOT! And getting hotter each day. Probably hits 30 degrees Celsius most days, and the evenings are also hot. Luckily it does cool down a bit at night, but not a lot. Dry, and quite windy. Great for drying washing (except when it blows off the line!). This Friday is a bank holiday (Mother’s day we think) and so we are heading off with the Wildlife and Environment Society of Malawi (WESM) to Lengwe Wildlife Park to do the annual ‘Game Count’. Temperatures around there (in the lower Shire valley) are currently being predicted around 40 degrees Celsius for the weekend…scorchio!

Work update: rach is currently inducting new volunteers from Korea. There are 3 of them, but only one will stay with us in AYISE, the others will go to other organisations. They will be in Malawi for 2 years! Eeeee!, as they say around here! They have been sent by UNESCO South Korea to look into education and what Korea should do with its bags of surplus cash. They seem very young for the task, and do not seem to have been given much advice on what they are expected to do day-to-day, despite a 50 day induction before they left South Korea! This I would expect from Malawian bureaucracy, but I thought more highly of South Korea (from our small interactions with them in June leading up to the Lake Malawi workcamp).

I have been working on a funding proposal whose basic premise is Football Stops AIDS. It has been quite fun, but I’m not sure how watertight my arguments are…! At the same time I have been trying to work on the AYISE website updates, but the data is all on one computer (which doesn’t work at the moment) and the software for the website is on another which is frequently occupied. I’ve also been trying to work out how to put different backgrounds on different pages of the AYISE annual report (from 2008 I should add). Still no closer to figuring that one out, so if anyone knows how to do it please let me know! And I’ve been trying to get blood out of a stone. Or at least that would have been easier than trying to get information from Mulanje Renewable Energy Agency to allow me to apply for a couple of lucrative environmental prizes I think they could win. So just the usual frustrations at being held up by the organisations I’m trying to help.

On a more productive note, I suppose in some ways I have now achieved one of the things I wanted to achieve when I came out here – i.e. to create more environmental projects for AYISE. No, I have not yet had any of my environmental funding proposals accepted, but I have managed to sort out volunteering placements for one of the Swedish volunteers. As well as the tree planting which we did shortly after his arrival, he will shortly start working 3 days a week at a wildlife reserve 10km from Blantyre (unfortunately no public transport goes there, so he has to stay on site in very very basic accommodation – i.e. a bare room with no bedding, and the use of a fire for cooking, but no pots). There he will update their educational displays, mark trails, teach visiting groups about the wildlife of the area, join in outreach programmes aimed at the surrounding communities, potentially lead guided tours of the forests, and any other work he identifies as needing done. In addition, he may also be able to volunteer for the month of November at Majete Wildlife Park. I am still waiting to hear back from Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust to see if he can help them. So, in a sense I have created short term contacts between AYISE and environmental projects – the challenge now is to ensure that these contacts are maintained, and hopefully a constant stream of volunteers can be fed into these areas. It is not new work, but it is necessary and useful in its own small way.

And so to Mulanje!

Mum’s last week was, unsurprisingly, spent up in the mountains. On Thursday 30th Sept we headed off. A minibus to Mulanje town, and then we hoped to get a taxi along to a guesthouse in Lujeri tea estate where we were to meet friends who would accompany us for the first day. However, there are apparently no taxis in Mulanje. We were told by the touts, in no uncertain terms, that this minibus will take us to Lujeri guest house. Sceptical, we got on and spoke to one of the passengers. ‘Oh yes, this bus will take you there’. Interesting…We then spoke to another passenger, ‘You are going where? Yes, this bus will take you there’. LIES! We were unceremoniously dumped on the main road at the junction for Lujeri estate, 7 km from our destination! Now the touts lying I can understand from an economic point of view, but it’s just so annoying that Joe Bloggs on the bus will happily and repeatedly lie to your face! GRRRRRR!!!! I can’t wait to get to a country where people know the word ‘no’ and will use it appropriately! Sorry for the rant. There are many wonderful things about Malawi but the lack of reliable information from people is just so annoying!!!

A crowd of unenthusiastic cycle taxi people were at the junction, and would happily have taken 500 of our kwacha for each bike we needed (probably 3 given the size of our big pack), but we reckoned that on that journey (uphill all the way on rough roads) we would probably have been faster walking. I called one of the friends we were to meet, A, and she said they would be passing us in 45 minutes anyway, so we should try to hitch but they could squeeze us in if necessary. 45 minutes of unsuccessful hitching (only 2 vehicles went past!) and we piled into the back of the car with A and family, were passed a lovely cider, and bumped along the road to the guesthouse.

The guesthouse is amazing. It’s an old tea estate house, with swimming pool and beautiful grounds full of flowers. Unfortunately for mum we weren’t staying there, but just passing through on our way to the road end where we would begin our walk. The staff at the guest house phoned ahead for our guide and porters and we drove on up the road, away from the luxury of the guest house, and into the villages of the tea estate. We met our guide for the week and the porters who would accompany our party for the first 2 days at the road end and hiked off through the beautiful tea estates with the purple Jacaranda blossoms filling the gaps in the sea of green tea. Unfortunately it was about 2pm and ridiculously hot! We walked for an hour or so until we were practically dying from sweat loss and lack of food. Then our guide, Fael, allowed us to sit for some lunch in the shade. It should be noted that Fael is ridiculously fit, and has done the porters race in 2 hours 45 minutes (the fastest ever time is about 2 hours 10 minutes), so frequently we would have to call on him for stops, as he seemed never to tire! He did at least have the good grace to sweat as much as us though.

On we plodded, up the incredibly steep path. Using ladders where they were provided to cross rock-bands, and all the while sweating away as if our bodies were wet sponges being squeezed! The hike up was truly beautiful though, and we were rewarded at regular intervals with views of waterfalls, tea estates, rain forest, scrub and mountain, all in a few hours of hiking. Unfortunately the air is thick with dust and smoke at this dry time of year, so the photos are not as clear as they were in June for the Sapitwa Sleepover.

Mum and I provided a very basic bean curry for dinner. A and her dad, C, provided all the lovely luxuries (chocolate, whisky, chocolate brownies, amarula, wine…good times!). I think we did pretty well out of the deal! A & C got up early to run up a peak near the hut, so that C could see the place properly before flying back to the Far East. Mum was awake but somewhat confused as to why all this activity was taking place at 4.10am…her watch had stopped! I deliberately slept through and had a luxurious lie-in of 8am! Then a bit of washing to get rid of some of the sweat, and some reading in the sun before A & C returned around 9 to feed us sausage butties – good times indeed!

After breakfast we parted ways, with A & C heading down for a party at the Lujeri guesthouse, taking one porter, and mum and I heading off into the depths of the massif with Fael and the other porter.

We headed for Chinzama hut, but got distracted by Chinzama Peak on the way over and attacked its unrelenting steep slabs to reach the summit. (Our porter headed on to the hut with our big bag and then romped off back down to his village at Lujeri) We then bashed back down the same steep slabs, probably causing untold damage to our knees! The area has suffered from its annual fires, and so we were filthy, covered in ash and sweat. The fires are suitable for most of the natural vegetation, but they are not naturally occurring. Rather, hunters use them to remove the undergrowth cover that their prey hides in (rabbits, hares, and hyrax). Most of the mountain has been burnt recently, and some fires were burning as we were up there. They don’t seem to get out of control - even with warm weather, tinder dry conditions and a reasonable wind - so they don’t cause much alarm.

We arrived at Chinzama hut, where I had previously spent a lovely quiet night, but this time the place was rather busy with 8 Malawian carpenters who were working on the tree nursery buildings and out houses to the hut. Thus it was not such a relaxing place to stay, so we only stayed the one night, and the next day we moved on to Tuchila hut, with me carrying our big bag, and mum taking a lot of dense heavy stuff in our smaller bag. Tuchila hut is one of the oldest, over 100 years old, and has a beautiful setting, with probably the best sunset on the mountain. Unfortunately it has a rather active and fearless family of rats living in it too. However, we suffered no damage except a few nibble marks on some plastic bags (not ones with food, interestingly). The hut warden knows about the rats - in fact he told us about them - but doesn’t do anything about them. Everything must be stored on hooks on the wall to ensure it is not nibbled, but in a hut which can sleep around 18 there are only 2 hooks. It would not take much to sort the problem out, but even that little has not been done. 'tis a shame. In the afternoon I dashed up the hill behind the hut, Nandalander Peak, with Fael at break-sweat speed – that man can really power up hills! We reached the top in what I’m sure was record time, having scrambled up slabs, around burnt trees, and through narrow gaps. A lovely wee peak, with nice views around the area. It rather reminded me of Tryfan in north Wales, but only a little bit.

Next day was an easy day, just a hike to Chisepo hut at the foot of Sapitwa, the highest peak on the massif (and the highest peak between Tanzania and South Africa). Mum demanded a wallowing stop at a lovely pool on the way over, which she thoroughly enjoyed. Fael and I sat in the shade, and I read. Chisepo hut is very basic and quite smoky due to an inadequately ventilated chimney, but it is in a fantastic position. It is the highest hut on the mountain, at 2200m, and gets quite cool at night. We were joined by a very American lad who was half Scottish (from ‘wee Tilly’ – Tillicoultry), and his friend from Swaziland. After mum kicked my ass at cards (spite and malice) we bunked down to get some sleep for the big hill day the next day.

Mum was very impressive. With only the slightest help from Fael and myself we all got to the top in a pretty respectable time. The crux move was not a problem to her, and the weaving, ducking and diving under, around and over boulders and trees was executed with grace and finesse! We arrived on top, the highest people between Kilimanjaro and the Drakensburg Mountains, enjoying the peace and solitude of the lofty summit…and then were joined by others. It seems that although it is now the hottest, sweatiest, and haziest time to be on the mountain, it is also the most popular with tourists. There’s no accounting for taste, I guess! They did not spoil the day though, and were good company in the hut afterwards. A young Dutch couple we met even gave us a lift back from Mulanje to Blantyre, but before that we had one more hut and one more hill…

Chambe hut had seemed lovely when I gasped past it on the porters’ race in July. At that point it was an oasis of beauty, and the wooden porch looked like a comfortable bed! And it is. It’s a wonderful hut, with a great position looking up at the soaring syenite cliffs of Chambe Peak. Who could look at that view and not want to climb it…"because it’s there"? Well mum, for one, but not me. So Fael and I headed off to try one of the massif’s hardest peaks. Earlier, as we were hiking over to the hut from Chisepo, Fael and I reached a good spot to view Chambe Peak and had the following conversation:

Andy: those clouds, will they be a problem?
Fael: no, I think not
Andy: and the route, it is ok with no rope?
Fael: do you have a rope?
Andy: no
Fael: then it is ok

This would have put me off with other people, but I had got to know Fael, and I trusted him to say if things were getting to dodgy, and I trusted my own experience even more – so no problem!

As we hiked through the remains of an old commercial pine forest to get to the bottom of the climb I discovered that Fael had only attempted the peak twice before, and had failed once because of rain. The route is mostly on very steep slabs - crazy steep really. There is amazing friction when dry but they would be lethal when wet. This is the "dry season" though, so what could go wrong?! Well, being a Scot I’m never 100% convinced by the weather, but the rain stayed away and even the clouds parted so we had a clear, if not sunny window of weather for our attempt. The climbing was never that hard, but it just stacked up and up, and at certain points you were making not-too-easy moves with the potential for a horrible cheese-grater type experience on the slabs below if something went wrong. So with trepidation and caution we moved up (Fael far faster than I, despite never having done any ‘climbing’ – basically meaning he’s never used a rope). The peak was challenging but not excessively so, and the views were brilliant. Chambe Peak is out on it’s own at the far side of the massif, and provides a unique perspective of all the other peaks. We looked down the shear drop of probably 2000ft or more to the Chambe Basin and the hut. I thought of yelling a crude greeting to mum, in the style to which she is accustomed, but decided it could be misinterpreted and could cause alarm. We headed off the summit relatively quickly to avoid any cloud issues which could come up at any moment, and after a long, steep, knee testing descent we reached the forest again and were greeted by a relieved looking mum!

Another lovely evening in the hut with two girls, one Malawian and one English - an Edinburgh Uni graduate who is currently working in Uganda. Great chat and good food (they shared their garlic and cheese with us – a taste sensation after 6 nights on the hill!).

The next day we headed off early doors to get down to the road in time to hitch a lift. Mum was cautious about her knees ability to hold up on the slope, but she did fine and we got down in good time. We paid Fael, and then waited with him for a bus to Mulanje town, around 10km away. No bus came, but a flat-bed small truck (‘Matola’ here) came past and we jumped in for a reasonable fee of 200 kwacha. Mum got a seat in the cab and I stood on the back with the bags and Fael. As we passed a minibus going the opposite direction, the drivers exchanged greetings, then our driver sped off at a speed never before seen in such a vehicle. He had been told that there was a broken down minibus ahead and all the passengers would need a lift from some lucky soul – and he wanted to be that lucky soul! We piled the passengers into the back, with all their luggage. One lady had a very young baby so mum offered to swap with her, but instead they just offered mum the baby. The baby was having none of it, and screamed its head off – perhaps it could smell the sweat! So mum swapped with the mother and child and sat in the back with us all, for a real African experience!

At the pizzeria in town we met up with the Dutch couple and they kindly offered us a lift back to Blantyre in their air conditioned 4x4. Lovely! Far better than the sweaty and unreliable minibus we had planned for! In exchange I advised them on their future travels in Malawi – a fair exchange I think! Back in the compound around 2pm, we even had time to work away at the pile of stinking washing! Great trip!