Northern Malawi, October 2022

The next week is spent mostly in the Viphya Plateau at the Luwawa Stables and near to the range of hikes, trails and streams in the area. We haven’t seen my cousin and his family for over a decade and so the time spent is great and we have to leave in too short a time. There was a serious forest fire to the south of us but it luckily moved down the valley and away from us.

We went running and hiking during the days and sat around the campfire at night. A good time had by all!

Mushroom Farm, Travels & Driving

Sitting on the edge of the rift valley plateau looking out on to Lake Malawi from up a massive height is the Mushroom Farm Eco-Lodge. If you think on an ewok or na’vi village this is essentially what is available to you. Gruff and bearded adventurers in khaki mingle amongst tie dyed travelers, old and new on both sides. Whether you like your coffee instant, pressed, whizzed or prefer a chai this little mountain top community is ready to help you. They even throw in an organic chickpea pie if you like.

Prices aren’t excruciating and so we settle on a hut but make a saving by doing our own cooking. In the evening we lie awake listening to one of the staff playing music and singing to the guests.

Karonga, Dinosaurs & History

From Mushroom Farm we drop down the Great Rift escarpment instantly after leaving the eco-lodge. There is a long winding gravel road etched into the side of the steep cliff and we navigate down carefully enjoying the twists and turns more than the view most of the way. Small streams cross the road on their way down the rift valley escarpment to the deep waters of Lake Malawi nearby. The waters on our latitude reach down as deep as 400 metres below surface. A little south of us is Nkhata Bay which drops down 600 metres deep.

At the bottom of the escarpment, we greet the main road on the shoreline of Lake Malawi and head north for Karonga.

Karonga is an interesting area being near to the border of East Africa as well as the northern tip of Lake Malawi. It is also a well known area for archaeological finds. Remains of hominids going back millions of years have been found as well as early stone age human artifacts nearby. It is an area strong in potential linkage to the cradle of humankind. Karonga is home to a well named exhibition called “Dinosaurs to Democracy” which can be found in the Cultural Center and Museum Karonga. The exhibit has dinosaurs from colonial years, Dr. Banda years and also from actual dinosaur years. The exhibit takes you from the formation of the rift valley, through the dinosaurs and their age right up to modern humans enjoying democracy in Malawi. The centre of the exhibition is the Malawisaurus, a large dinosaur from 130 million years ago.

The exhibit and museum is a little well-thumbed but that very fact adds some charm to it. Like an artefact itself, you can almost smell the decades of interest, hope and learning. A recommended stop because you will definitely learn something.

We find a covid hit resort with white sands on the shores of Lake Malawi. My 60 days of no alcohol is now complete, so I enjoy a beer on the edge of the lake watching the sunset. Not a terrible end to our day.