From Mzuzu in Malawi, we cycled 60km along meandering roads through deep valleys, all the way to Rumphi. The mountains accompanying us on our route were layered with many neatly cultivated fields high up on the slopes. We cycled another 40km from Rumphi to Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary (a national park). We were distracted along the road by a beautifully painted hut, which contrasted sharply with all the other clay huts surrounding it. We were invited inside after Riki took a photo of the owner, who insisted on showing it to her husband. The hut was very clean and beautifully decorated with large pieces of brightly coloured material hanging in 90 degrees of each other to form different rooms.
We were the only visitors at Vwaza Marsh for the day, so with our pick of spots, we chose to pitch our tent overlooking a dry pan; where different shades of brown soil formed a tapestry of patterns as far as the eye could see.
A pod of hippo grunted heartily in the last remaining pool of water. Ominous clouds built up in the sky behind us.
The wind danced through the tree tops, lifting up our lightweight Big Agnes tent like a feather, and blew it several metres before we could grab it. We just managed to carry it underneath a thatched roof when the storm broke loose. It was beautiful, watching the rain pouring down and washing the earth clean.
That night, as we sat around the campfire, we had a very meaningful conversation with two of the park’s staff members. We shared thoughts on conservation challenges, the travel and hospitality industry and good customer service. Vwaza Marsh offers excellent game viewing and birding, but the roads to the marsh become impassable in the rainy season. If the roads can be improved, the park will be able to accommodate tourists all-year round. Conflict between villagers and wild animals is a reality in the buffer zone around the park. Villagers get so upset when elephants raid their crops that they deliberately go and poach in the park. An electric fence is urgently required to keep animals inside.
The next morning we cycled towards Chelinda Camp in Nyika National Park. The air was fresh after the rains and the birds extremely active, but we couldn’t watch them. The evening before we left on our cycle tour, we had – in an act of desperation to reduce the weight of our panniers – decided not to take our bird book or binoculars. We have regretted the decision ever since! What were we thinking?
The flat road slowly grew hillier and hillier until, suddenly, we were in the mountains. Hour after hour we cycled, walked, and pushed our bicycles up the escarpment towards Nyika National Park. When we reached the gate we thought the battle was half won. Little did we know it was only the beginning!
There were just too many uphills, enough to break our fighting spirit. We really suffered as the road surface changed from bad to worse to good to great and back to bad. However, our spirits were lifted by the incredible beauty of our surroundings. Despite the hardships we managed to cover 95km for the day.
By 5pm there were still 25km left to Chelinda camp but we were exhausted beyond our limits. For the first time on this journey Riki quit. She refused to continue. We set up camp next to huge granite boulders on a hill close by. The 360-degree view of the landscape and sky was spectacular. Thunder rumbled all around us, rolling over the many hills and valleys. Golden sun rays shone through dark-grey clouds on the one side of the horizon, contrasting with the bright-white cumulus clouds on the other side.
We cooked 2-Minute Noodles and enjoyed a cup of coffee, before climbing into our tents, which we had put up just in time. As the storm broke, rain poured down all around us. We crawled into our sleeping bags and listened to the rain until we fell asleep.
The next day we decided to exit Nyika National Park at the western gate (downhill) instead of cycling to Chelinda camp (many more uphills!). The scenery was incredible. It was breathtakingly beautiful as thick blankets of fog poured over the hill tops. No photo could do justice to the endless views stretching from horizon to horizon. The cloud formations above and blue-green mountains beneath were spectacular. Our eyes simply couldn’t get enough of looking around, absorbing it all. We will definitely return to Nyika National Park – next time with a 4×4!
I guess we hoped that the downhills on the road from Nyika would never end, but they did. After two hours of enjoying crazy downhills we started to climb again. We cycled over many extreme uphills through intermittent rain, eventually reaching a small village. We found a local restaurant that Hendrik decided to try out. Although all the furniture was very old and deteriorated it was clean. The food was good, but there was apparently only one fork in the entire restaurant – which Hendrik took advantage of. Riki had to make do with a spoon that bent in half every time she scooped up some food.
Later during the day we cycled through a densely-populated area. We met a small one-eyed boy, around 4 years old, who ran next to Hendrik, asking him “Will you marry me?”
A bit later, we passed a man named ‘Remember’ on top of a very steep hill. Remember said to us that it only takes looking around at all the magnificent hills and landscapes to realise the greatness of God Almighty. We will always remember his message.
That night we camped at a school. This was the second night going to bed without taking a bath. Most of our clothes and luggage was wet to some extent and a bit smelly. We longed for dry weather, a hot shower and clean clothes. It rained again that night.
The next day was another extremely tough day of cycling over many hills on very wet clay soils. The surroundings were misty and dreamlike.
We pushed the bicycles up most of the hills. Sometimes the layer of clay was so thick on the tyres and brake pads that the wheels would lock, forcing us to stop halfway up some extremely steep hills to brush off the clay before pushing further. A truck fully loaded with people and their goods, was stuck in the mud half way down one hill. The men were digging out the wheels. The truck had passed us late the previous afternoon.
After a long and tough day of 84 km on very muddy roads, we cycled into Chitipa town. Only then did the same truck pass us into town. We stayed at the local Motel.
Things brightened the next day as we were greeted with a beautiful sunny day and we were finally able to wash all our clothes and luggage.
Read more about our epic journey at www.cycleafrica.co.za
