mmmmmmmmmmmm Mount Mulanje

Mt Mulanje is a very special place, rising steeply from the tea plantations and flat farming land below, it towers to 3002m above sea level. We planned to walk this in 4 days, staying in huts equipped with water, fire and a watchmen, and guided by a local super fit porter called Samson.

Marty and Samson lace up, Chambe Hut

The walking was STEEP to be conservative. And, we were UNFIT to be very conservative. To add to this Marty was feeling feverish, and low on energy, as a result Samson carried Marty's pack instead of mine ( grrrrrrr). It was a tough day. We arrived at Chambe Hut, which sat below the 1000m vertical granite cliff of Chambe Peak (nb. climbers eat your heart out, check this place out if you want a first ascent, apparently no-one has done it yet!). A perfect location, there was even a little shower cubicle with a mountain view, pit toilets and a huge well maintained hut with a log fire, cushy matresses and games to play. Bawo is a game well known in southern africa and we have become quite addicted to it. After a beautiful sunrise on day 2, we dragged our mattresses out to the balcony where we played bawo while admiring the view. Pretty sweet.

Chambe Peak, and morning Bawo game

Marty was feeling marginally better on day 2 so we headed for Chisepo hut which was nestled below Sapitwa peak, the highest of the mountains on Mulanje. This hut also had a wicked view to the valleys below. Following religiously on the 'never don't swim' philosophy we jumped in a pool at the base of a small waterfall (brrrr but not as bad as expected) then retreated to our open fire where we cooked yummy soya pieces with rice and tomato paste ( a new camping favourite). Unfortunately that night Marty got really sick, didnt sleep and was a bit of a mess, so he couldnt hike up to the Sapitwa peak as planned. We decided to abort the third night and head down the mountain in the late morning, leaving me just enough time to scale to the peak with Samson. Poor Marty missed out.

Views down to the hut at sunrise

From the top of Sapitwa, wow.

It was a super walk , we went light and fast and made it up and back in 3hrs. Frantically ate breaky packed up Marty and his bag, gave it to Samson and we flew down the mountain ( kind of ) . A huge day, Samson and I walked 11 hours in total. Pretty epic, but absolutely magic. Sub alpine terrain with endemic Mulanje Cedars surrounding us, waterfalls and vistas. Marty recovered after a trip to the hospital which was an experience. All is well!