26th Blantyre TPW, 20th June 2010
No children this year but dads were present, i.e.
Joyce’s dad, Willy, was back again.
The renegade cyclists, led by John Cashman and assisted by the MCM Chair
Maggie, – stayed in bed for extra sleep whilst the hard men and women set
off at exactly 5 a.m. Amongst this
year’s walkers were the evergreen Dr. Vigne (without panga this year
– see 3 peaks write up 2007), and volunteer Andy who in a few short weeks
has done the cycle round Mulanje, the sleepover on Sapitwa with me, and now the
3 Peaks – what a glutton!
Thomas from AC Opticals joined us this year and also on the trip for another
attempt was 1.5 peak, and 2 peak Rita, who in previous years had managed to be
around the peaks, climbing some and getting lifts to others.
In 2007 we had an
amazing 45 people – this year we had 33 in total, and 24 made the whole 3
peaks and hike between –YES and Rita did the whole thing – she was
strong, fit and was at the front on several occasions – well done Rita
– you deserve your 3 Peaks Certificate!
Saulo had been
telling lots of people he was leading this year’s walk – so I was
quite surprised to see myself in charge once more – I think that the day
before the hike, when we were lost on Soche with a spray can, had something to
do with it. Saulo was great
throughout the 3 peaks day and kept the stragglers going on and on. Thanks Saulo.
Of course we had the
might have beens – Mike Moore stayed in bed (again) and James Matewere
once more proved that some Malawians cannot get up at 4 a.m.
On to the walk – trusty Phil Pile taking our gear to
Michiru conservation site – what a bunch – fast, fit and leaving me
behind – no Yvonne Robb this year – the first time in 10 or more
years – so Willy Tafatafe left his scorched earth policy in front of us
all. I managed to catch him at the
turn off to Chilamoni and duly led
everyone the wrong way – blame goes to Leo for talking to me whilst I had
my head down. Saulo and Willy gave
me a shout and the 15 metres extra walking was duly noted in my brain.
Straight on to the Way of The Cross turn and this year no
stragglers at the start of the walk up – amazing. The path had been gloriously cleared
(amazing what 10,000 Mkw can do) and we hit Michiru peak 3 minutes ahead of
time. By the time 5 minutes had
passed almost everybody was up – well almost. Flying down to breakfast with some good
chat with new comers like Quentin – you could almost smell the tea at the
bottom. Martin and Phil had
everything sorted – well done guys – and what a cuppa! Oh – who was this coming to join
us – the latecomer Heidi?, Thomas’ wife. Where was Thomas? Oops – his wife had not gone to
the peak but taken a short cut – poor old devoted Thomas was still
waiting at the top – one hour later.
Suffice to say they dropped out then – actually they walked it
back to town and did 24 km of walking.
From the breakfast
point we went on the flat terrain in good spirits and several km later took a
left across the river, past the brick makers and through villages to the main
road and Chirimba. One of my
favourite places, Chirimba market is full of life, colour, smell, and
sound. It is actually quite tiring
to keep the pace to the railway bridge.
Crossing over the bridge with style without a look at the huge gaping
drops that accompany the bridge crossing was Stephen Heron. Fresh from the UK in Sept 2009 Stephen
was a great pacemaker throughout for me.
Thanks Stephen!
The Johnstone’s
house is always like a breath of fresh air, for tired minds and aching feet.
Maria is forever hospitable and never minds the many crunching feet through her
house to the loos. People changed
socks, shirts, drank tea and revitalized themselves for the well known NN,
(K)nackering Ndirande!
As you leave
Maria’s place behind and noon is approaching, the dusty fields ahead, the
heat and the steady uphill grind really wear the walkers down. As we hit the old road and followed
towards Ndirande gully I was thrilled to see so much greenery on the mountain
– it looks like Ndirande is being reforested and the fields have been
left. That meant trouble –
for me – who had to bush bash a way to the gully and up it – for
the rest- who had to avoid all the hornets I had apparently disturbed on the
way up. Scratched, bitten, and
knackered we sat on the peak waiting for almost everyone to arrive. The 360° view is glorious from
Ndirande; over the township of the same name, Machinjiri behind, across to
Chiradzulu, and of course the peak we had left, Michiru, and the one yet to
come, Soche.
On the way down to
the lunch spot we met the bicycle crowd again, on their way up to the peak by
our down path. Lunch was cut to 40
minutes and several people dropped out at this stage.
When someone asks at
Kamuzu View ‘Which way from here?’ – the answer is always
‘Walk off the edge and down the side of the face’. That is exactly
what we have to do; it is dusty, slippery and dirty, but the bonus is that it
does not last long before we hit the path through to Nkolokoti, and from there the path to Limbe, and then the road to
Soche School. A few hours slip by
and we are having the final cup of tea before the dash up Soche. Saulo and I had painted the way the day
before but it is still tricky in parts to get through to the top. John Cashman was waiting for us with his
bicycle and duly accompanied us all the way down after our successful whoops of
joy after having reached the top rock of Soche.
A fabulous crowd this
year, working well as a team, and we all duly made it back to BSC for about
6.30 p.m. and a well earned beer.
Thanks once more to the back-up team of Martin
and Phil for all their help and encouragement. We cannot do this trip without back up. It really is appreciated by all. See you next year if you set the alarm.
Gordon Benbow
©
WDYFO, 2010