Mulanje, Malawi. Late April 2002
Day 1:
Limbe-Mulanje We
failed to make the scheduled starting time, eventually getting away at 0830. We
arrived at Mulanje Club at 0940 only to find that the Mountain Club members who
had attended the 50th AGM the previous night, had already left for their
morning walk. However, John Killick was anxiously awaiting our arrival as it
had previously been arranged that he would join us for the Scotts' first taste
of Mulanje. We drove around the mountain on the dirt road with John giving us
the lowdown on the mountain and describing the damage done by
"Napolo" on the lower plains during the last cyclone in the '90s. The
five-mile "road" from Phalombe to Fort Lister was a disaster with
rocks and boulders for long stretches. We met the forestry lady, Edith, and
went through the formalities of confirming the huts, getting the porters and
organising the mlonda to look after the 4WD.
We eventually got
going a little before noon, with our two porters carrying the food for four
days, and me packing a rucksack for the first time since 1994; eight years
older, and 8kg heavier (mainly around the belly). John describes the path as
"relentlessly steep", and that is spot on. We toiled upwards (except
Misfire Mike who took off like a klipspringer), in the hot and humid conditions
with the cold climate Scotts suffering as we gained altitude from the 3,500ft
start point at the Forestry depot. I can always tell when people are suffering
as I can keep up with them! John at 74, is still in mint condition and was
waiting for us at the fire tower while Mike Mossford was way ahead with the
porters trailing him. We all met up at the stream in the forest, or what's left
of the forest after a fire swept through from the plains below some years ago.
This forest was planted with cedars, etc, over 50 years ago in colonial times
and, blessedly, is showing signs of recovery. John knows the history of the
area very well as he was the agricultural officer for the Phalombe area way back
in the 1950s. He had pointed out to us his former house (now minus roof sheets)
on the drive through the Fort Lister Gap, where he and Anne brought up three
small boys. His tales of the old days are just fantastic.
Suitably refreshed by
our packed lunches and fresh Mulanje water, we ground up the 1,221 steps,
(which are now seriously overgrown), reaching the ridge at 7,000ft after 4˝
hours. It was then mostly down hill to Sombani hut, which we reached bloodied
but not bowed, despite Valerie snapping a bridge timber and falling clean
through. Five hours to the hut is not a record, but given the nature of the
party (average age about 63 years), it was pretty good going. Gallons of tea
and a huge curry put the lead back in the pencil before climbing into our
sleeping bags (Scotts inside, and three on the khonde claiming that it
wasn't cold — well it was, a bit).
Day 2: Chinzama Hut An early stirring after a bright
moonlit night, and the first of many sausage and bacon breakfasts prepared by
Mike who, indeed, did all of the cooking. The hut was in good condition, so too
the stores which were tidied and checked before departure at around 10.00am.
The Scotts went ahead to enjoy the peace and magnificent mountain scenery on
the cross over from Sombani to Chinzama hut. The route is fairly flat (in
Mulanje terms) on which is the watershed for the various rivers that tumble
from the plateau.
The walk revived
memories of the great fires in the 1980s, which affected the mountain from
Sombani down to Madzeka, and in the Ruo basin. I well remember trekking through
still burning scrub from Sombani to Chinzama with a mountain club party to see
fresh fire sweeping up towards the hut on both sides of the Ruo. When the
crowns of the cedars around Chinzama hut exploded in a ball of flame
threatening to send sparks onto the shingle roof, we beat a hasty retreat to
Sombani over the blackened and smouldering landscape. Next morning we returned
to Chinzama to find it in one piece, with a grinning mlonda still amused
by our unnecessary retreat the previous night.
We arrived at my
favourite hut a little after noon, and after lunch four went down to the pools
for a wash and mini-swim. The water was surprisingly bearable and it was good
to feel clean, refreshed and relaxed. Again, both the hut and stores were in
good condition. A read of the log and safety book revealed that the last MCM
party had visited in December 2001, and the last visitor passed through in
March 2002. It was good to read the old entries of my previous visits (1992-94)
with Mike and David Cornelius, but sad that David has now passed away with part
of his ashes being scattered at this hut.
The hut also revived
memories of a trip with Mike Petzold, John Killick and Franz-Willam Briet,
sometime in the 1980s when we were hit by a cyclone and only got to the hut by
swimming across the streams outside. We were cut off for two days and
eventually Mike Petzold elected ("Elected?" I drew the short
straw! -ed) to cross the dangerous waters while the rest of us took the
safer route over to Sombani and down to Fort Lister. We were lucky to get a
lift almost to our car at Lukulezi, the final stretch being impassable due to
the bridges having washed out. Records showed that there was 375mm of rain at
Fort Lister on the Saturday of our trip, streams you could normally step over
were raging white water torrents 50m wide; a reminder of how dangerous the
mountain can be and a lesson in safety procedures!
Our porters left that
afternoon, and we settled into the solitude of the mountain with its
magnificent display of planets and stars; Orion's Belt, The Southern Cross and
the "upside down" Plough all being visible, not to mention the
vastness of the Milky Way. There is no finer sight while lying on three
mattresses on the khonde listening to the few hyrax that are left.
Day 3: Chinzama
Hut, Chagaru Peak I
don't know who suggested it, but the after-breakfast menu was Chagaru (Big Dog)
Peak at 8,750ft with the dreaded cave en route to the top. Mike took us on a
different route to the norm which turned out to be much shorter and better. We
had a pleasant undulating walk of about 1hr 40mins to the "Fingers"
and "Dome Rock". After a short rest we got down to business, first
climbing in broken ground, then a moderate scramble to the entrance to the
cave. At this point, Valerie seemed to burst a blood vessel in her eye, but
bravely carried on, Mike hauling her through the cave, with its unnerving
drops, along with the rest of us. I thought that the hard stuff was over,
having climbed this one three times before, but what a rotten memory. Or, maybe
it's just being that little bit older that made the climb to the summit just a
bit more difficult as we negotiated up, over, around and through the rocks with
some nervy drops.
We made the top by 12
noon (3hrs 20mins), recharged the batteries with our packed lunches and enjoyed
the views in all directions for an hour (including Minunu hut, and Chambe).
Descending to the cave didn't seem as bad as going up, but it took Mike, once
again, to bung us through the dreaded cave. He even went back to retrieve one
of Eric's sticks as we contemplated our navels rather than the drops. Should
the over-60s do this sort of thing, I ask myself? On down the steep terrain
with Mike again giving us a hand on the vertical bits (he's not 60!).
Once out of the rough
we made it back to the Dome Rock and elected to follow the normal route back to
the hut, as JB wanted to see the short-cut approach and the river crossings
which had proved impossible to cross when the cyclone hit. At first we located
the cairns, but then they petered out leaving us to battle through the rough
grassland. The firebreak from Tuchila was badly eroded and obviously wasn't
used very often, so too the short cut to the hut. What a pleasure in some ways
as it means that the dreaded backpackers don't often visit this part of the
mountain!
We were back by 4.00pm
after a three-hour decent. The usual excellent dinner was prepared by the
Mossfords, prior to an early night as all were tired from the climb. This time
I had a warm night outside wearing full tracksuit inside my sleeping bag.
Day 4: Chinzama
Hut, Crossover to Minunu and back Up at sparrows' as usual to see the sunrise at 0625. A bit of a cool
wind today and a unanimous decision to do a gentle cross over to Minunu hut
rather than another peak. We took the Minunu path and found the big swimming
pool where the path crosses the river. Again, this seems to be a little-used
track now, and memories came flooding back when I saw the 600ft climb to the
ridge looming up ahead. The reward at the top is a beautiful ridge walk to the
Minunu falls and pool below the hut. The walk took 2˝hrs, and we lunched on the
khonde, as ever reading the logbook to see when we were last around
these parts. With some lower cloud coming in for the first time on the trip, we
decided to take the same route back, and within two hours, we were back at the
washing pools we had used before. Scotts and JB sampled the waters which this
time were decidedly cooler. We were back at the hut by 3.30pm for the usual
mugs of tea, as the cloud rolled in and eventually light drizzle began to fall.
This was enough to wet the khonde and drive Mike and JB inside for a
very warm night, while John braved it out on the only dry piece left on the khonde.
Day 5: Chinzama-Sombani-Fort
Lister-Limbe We
were all up at 0600 to breakfast, tidy up and do the stores check. Last people
away were JB and John to see Mike leaping up the steep pull from the hut; soon
to catch up the Scotts who had left a little earlier. A pleasant cool walk to
Sombani hut with low cloud and mist hiding the peaks. Lovely walking weather. I
was making no impression catching John up. Despite a dicky knee he was still
going like a train. We all made Sombani hut in a little under two hours, then
set off after a 10-minute break through the burnt-out pine forest, now reviving
itself with millions of seedlings, over Valerie's bridge, and up to the edge of
the plateau. Talking of pines, it was terrible to see self-seeded pines on the
crest of Namasile peak and on the way up to Chagaru. Forestry must do something
to stop this menace spreading. Once under the mist, the sun came out to give us
a hot descent. The top of the path was running with water and Eric had his last
"swim" having just said that wet soles make it slippery! We plodded
on down the 1,221 steps and into the burnt forest with evidence of
"Napolo" landslides. Lunch at the stream in the forest again before
facing the last steep descent with rising temperature and humidity as we lost altitude.
We made it to Fort
Lister forestry in four hours from Sombani (six hours from Chinzama). Edith
reported the sad passing, on 28th April, of Dorothy, the famous forestry lady
always so helpful to mountain parties at Likhubula. The car was in one piece,
and after tipping all and sundry, we set off down the boulder strewn Fort
lister road at 3.00pm, taking 40 minutes to negotiate the five miles to
Phalombe; it's that bad. Another hour on the dirt road around the foot of
Mulanje, being squeezed off the road more than once by the fat cat govt and NGO
people in their 4WDs. It was good to get back onto the new tar road again,
although the lowering sun made the one-hour drive back to Mike's place in Limbe
a little difficult. We were back at 5.40pm with JB taking John back to his
place in Blantyre and returning by 6.20pm; the silence of the mountain being
much preferable to the Limbe-Blantyre traffic in the dark. Hot baths, hot food
and cold beers revived our bodies which demanded bed at an early hour. "Midnight"
Jack Bannister
©
WDYFO, 2002