The weeks are really starting to turn at a quick rate, while we still have a long way to go it feels like it is all going so quickly. Week 4 saw the end of our first top-to-bottom cycle: we started at the top tip of Tanzania 3 weeks ago and have peddled straight down the middle and out the other side. It’s been a country of ups and downs (both literally and figuratively) but it’s been an experience we will never forget, and would never have had if it weren’t for our chosen mode of transport. This is no less true of our final little village in the mountain - Chimala. Where people looked at us like we were crazy as we huffed and puffed up the final hill and turned into a guesthouse for he night. We stumbled upon a pub (Tanzania style that means a warehouse style room with plastic furniture and football on the TV) and got the usual furtive glances for being the only white people potentially to have stepped into the place.
A big push to Mbeya followed the next day, with 45km covered in the first 2 hours on relatively flat roads and then the final 30km finished off in 3 hours through torturous hills with no respite. Our penultimate day in Tanzania was spent in Mbeya where we hiked to Ngozi Crater Lake. The hike to was beautiful and although short (2 hours up and 2 hours down), it really felt like a scramble into the wilderness fighting giant banana leaves and leapfrogging fallen trees. The lake itself was beautiful: turquoise blues and breathtakingly steep volcanic sloping sides. And what made it even better, nobody else was there. Our journey home involved an hour spent knee deep in muddy water digging out the car that was to carry us home. All part of the adventure.
The last day of cycling through Tanzania was a real treat and the country definitely put on a farewell show. Rolling hills through tea fields and banana trees with more happy smiling faces lining the roads.
Finally, early on Sunday morning we made it to Malawi: a country we have been pretty excited about reaching. The ride from the border to the first main town was eerily quiet, with hardly any cars on the road, replaced with bicycles looking slightly worse for wear than ours, the only sounds coming from the usual rabble of mzungu shouting children (with the addition of hollers of “Nee Ha” which we came to realise is Chinese and is a result of the heavy Chinese involvement in ongoing infrastructure development). Our first night was exactly what we had anticipated - beautiful beach campsite with fresh fish for dinner.
Hitting the headwinds to Chitimba made the flat cycle tougher than it might have been, but the views of the sparkling lake upon rounding the bends made up for it. There was even a view beautiful enough to make up for the hour long rickety, bumpy and bruise inducing ride on the back of a pick up truck taking us up to Mushroom Farm - the panoramic views of Malawi from the decks of the lodge. We set up camp in the prime spot and were woken up to a bright red sunrise.
Once again failing to adhere to the term rest day, we head off on a hike to the Chobe Plataue for yet more outstanding views. After the rain passed and the clouds cleared you could see for miles and miles over the lake.
Mushroom Farm was a much needed oasis of calm, home-comfort style lodge and good VEGGIE food. With giant portions and homegrown delights (which we saw first hand on our personal tour of the permaculture gardens by the resident Mr Green Fingers, Alec) we were pretty pleased and full bellied.
Leaving the views and relaxing feel Mushroom Farm will definitely be tough!
