Zimbabwe – Mt Inyangani (Inyangani) and Mozambique – Chimanimani (Binga)

Zimbabwe – Mt Inyangani (Inyangani) and Mozambique – Chimanimani (Binga)

Going to Zimbabwe’s mountains seemed like a great idea. Visiting Mozambique’s highest peak via Zimbabwe made it seem like an even better idea! For more than a year, people have warned me not to go –so this time, I didn’t mention the trip to anyone. I found another mountain lover and we left Pretoria on the 25^th at 22h00 with 145l petrol in jerry cans.

The Beit Bridge border experience was not that horrendous – we arrived at 03h00 and were on our way again by sunrise, having only paid R400 in total.

Then we were on our way to Nyanga.  Due to the shortage of petrol, there were not a lot of vehicles on the road and we were surrounded by beautiful mountains most of the way.

After paying our entrance fees at the Nyanga National Park, it took us 90 minutes minutes to get to the top of Mount Nyangani (2593m). Mount Nyangani is a charming "soft" shy mountain and clouds covered her most of the time. She was very clean and we only picked up a small bag of rubbish. An awfully big piece of my heart was left behind.

Touring through the Honde valley afterwards was spectacular.

The next morning we were up early but our plans to see the sun rise in the Vumba botanical gardens had to be postponed because of the mist/rain. We did spend some time with Wilfred Mbowa, the birding guide at the Leopard Rock Game Reserve and what a remarkable experience.

On our way to Mutare later that afternoon a speed cop jumped in front of us with the biggest smile I have seen on a person's face. He greeted us with "I'm going to lock you up". It was also the quickest I have seen someone's smile disappear when he noticed Wilfred in the vehicle with us. We paid R20 for driving 69km/h in a 60km/h zone.

The Chimanimani is raw beauty on a vast scale. We arrived at Chimanimani national park at 15h30 and because of the mist rolling in we pitched our tents at the car park.

The next morning we started our hike to Mt Binga at 08h00. We arrived at the spotlessly kept hut at 10h30. Two scouts came to chat to us and explained that the rifles they were carrying were meant to shoot the illegal miners, which left me speechless and feeling much safer J They told us that the path to the top was clearly marked and we should reach Mt Binga by 15h00.

When we were still hiking at 15h00 with Mt Binga nowhere in site we came to the mutual agreement that we were lost. We also agreed that we must have followed one of the thousands of paths made by the illegal miners (there were at least 15 of them panning for gold in the river but we didn't stay to find out if they were friendly). The mist was rolling in and taking Jimmy's thumb as a measuring tool, we came to the conclusion that we were very far off the map in Mozambique. Since we didn't have Mt Binga's coordinates, Jimmy decided to calculate it using his thumb, my hiking stick, a book and the waypoints of the hut and camp.

By 17h00 it was confirmed! We were totally lost. Keeping in mind the warning about the land mines we decided to pitch the tent in a spot we hoped were safe from the smugglers. We must have looked a sight moving around on the rocks trying to avoid "possible landmines". Once the mist cleared we were greeted by trillions of bright stars.

The sunrise was spectacular and we started our hike shortly afterwards. We followed a path going in the general direction of where we thought Mt Binga must lie and an hour later we were very close to the peak. We didn't read the manual properly and decided after an hour of struggling to get to the top that there must be an easier route. Walking around we soon found a clearly marked path – straight to the top! What a fine-looking site!

I did warn Jimmy that I can't help crying when I have to go down a beautiful mountain so he didn't seem very concerned when my tears came.   We were back at the camp by 15h00.

Chimanimani is a beautiful mountain and my only regret is that we didn't spend more time on her. The scouts keep her clean and we could only fill a small bag with rubbish – apparently left behind by the smugglers. According to the register the following hikers were on Chimanimani in 2006: 217 from Zimbabwe, 6 from South-Africa, 2 from England, 2 from Denmark, 3 from Finland, 4 from Italy, 2 from Israel, 1 from Germany, 1 from Netherlands and 1 from America.

Going through Beit Bridge on our way back was a pleasure. We went through at 6h00 and it took us no more than 20 minutes.

Botswana – Otse Hill (Mt Otse – or not)

Driving back from Namibia, we stopped in Botswana to climb to Mt Otse. What can I say. It took us two hours to find the mountain and by this time, Riaan and Glen have had enough of mountains. I was told to go on my own, which took me exactly 30 minutes. Since there was no-one to take a photo, I had to do that as well.

A year later, I discovered I have been to the wrong peak.

Namibia – Brandberg (Konïgstein) (Tsiseb route)

“Leave your 4 season tent behind – it never rains in Namibia”. Parting words of Frans and since he’s been to Namibia I left the tent, splash cover and general raingear. It never rains in Namibia…..

Two days before we left South Africa I booked a camping site via the internet and made some enquiries about guides. “Are you fit?” came the reply. I didn’t have time to explain about my genes and I told Riaan and Glen to get fit two months ago so I ignored Basil’s e-mail.

The guidebook mentioned guides at the tourist centre in Uis so we stopped there and met Siegfried – our soon to be guide. He informed me that we were planning to take the difficult route. Difficult equals scenic and after some deliberations with Glen and Riaan we decided to go scenic. It was not that difficult to convince Siegfried to take us on the scenic route.

Day 1: We forgot to set our watches according to Namibian time but Basil had a sense of humour when we woke him up at 5. Mmmmm, so it never rains in Namibia. Well, we had to improvise and 3 minute tents were packed and our hike started officially at 7 at the entrance to the White lady – in the rain.

8 hours later I didn’t dare ask if anyone lost their sense of humour. The normal scenic route was not so normal anymore with all the rain and we went up one mountain side, then down it just to go up again 10m further. Eleven hours of boulder hopping (most of it done in the rain that never falls in Namibia) started to take its toll. I had another spectacular fall and landed with my face in the sand.

I felt like Livingstone exploring – my legs were a network of scratches and I ended with several thorns stuck in them. The evening was spent in our minuscule tents listening to the rain wetting our sleeping bags.

Day 2: 8 o’clock at night and we were lying in our tents in wet sleeping bags watching the tents getting wetter and wetter.

We started our adventure at half past eight in order to try and get some of our stuff dry and nine hours of falling over boulders followed. Glen behaved the best when he lost his sense of humour. Myself? Let’s not elaborate. Riaan? It was hilarious. Our guide? The last I heard was “Your boots can stay outside in the rain” when I asked him to keep them in his tent.

The hike was the toughest one so far in Africa. Boulder after boulder made us doubt our guide’s sense of direction and left us with something to talk about in the future.

Something I definitely will recommend is long pants. Our casualties? I can’t pick up my leg – I suspect a pinched nerve. Siegfried – not sure but he’s freezing in his tent – no sense of humour. Glen – battling to walk – been chafed badly. Riaan? Besides almost fainting his back is killing him.

Day 3: “Ek is bo. Waar’s die helikopter. Wie’t gesê dis nie vir moffies nie. Kaseb se gat. Ons het Tsiseb se gat geskop” was Riaan’s entry in the journal on top op Konigstein.

We all got up at 4h30 and by 5h00 we were on our way. The sun started rising at 6h00. So we made one mistake. When I asked our guide if I can leave my backpack and run to the top his inappropriate reply “If you can find it again” made my sense of humour splatter down the mountain. I told him that I will find my own way to the top and that it was in his best interest to stay as far as possible from me. Riaan and Glen have decided to take their time with the ascent. When they finally arrived at 7h00, peace was restored and we spent two hours on the top drying our stuff.

When we asked Siegfried how long it will take to get down, he replied: 4 hours.

Four hours later we were at Longipools. His reply when asked how much further was – four hours! It is a beautiful mountain so I didn’t lose my sense of humour.

The descent was quite adventurous with loads of boulder hopping/climbing/crawling and every now and again a voice yelling “Siegfried, I’m stuck! Come help”

Four hours later, when the reply to the question “how far still to go” came, it was a good test of character. Another four hours which made our total hiking time for the day 10 hours. Basil was asked to wait at the camping site and a unanimous decision was made not to ask Siegfried how far still.

When it got dark and Glen and Riaan had to fall over the boulders because Riaan’s torch batteries were flat and Glen had to give Siegfried his, it was another test of character.

“Thirteen hours of challenging hiking and dear Basil waiting for us with an ice cold beer. I have never been so glad to see a vehicle! Brandberg is awesome!” - Karen

“I know why it’s inappropriate to hike with a gun – we would have been without a guide by the end of day two” – Riaan

“Awesome mountain – my first and an experience that I doubt can be bettered” - Glen

Kenya – Mount Kenya

Talk about coincidences!  At 7 o’clock on the 17^th of February 2006 two Karens were picked up in a town called Karen by Chris Muriiti, the guide from Africa Big Mountains.

It’s difficult to decide which Karen was the craziest.

Karen G’s heart was broken. She used to be a climber but once her fiancée broke off their engagement, she made a decision never to climb again. Their honeymoon would have been on Mt Kenya.

Karen H’ heart was kinda broken. She climbed some small peaks before (1 pitch). She was supposed to get married on Mafadi and have her honeymoon on Mt Kenya. Although she has never climbed more than 1 pitch, she was determined to see the sunrise on Bation and Nelion.

The two Karen’s met for the first time at the airport on the 15^th of February, where it was discovered that Karen G forgot to pay for the tickets she booked for the two of them.

On the 16^th Chris took the two Karen’s to Hell’s gate. Karen H had to climb while Karen G did some bird watching and practised her Swahili. Karen H almost didn’t make it to Mt Kenya. When she got to the top of Hell’s gate, she got a whiff of Steven’s smelly feet. He used to be an officer in the army for 50 years and instead of retiring he decided to guard this particular peak. He had very specific ideas about climbing the peak.

17^th: After picking up the two Belgians, Joke and Jaak, they travelled to Chogoria. It was an extremely bumpy road. Their first glimpse of the mountain was from afar, but they could see that she was on fire. Once they got to Bandas camp site they were fortunate to meet a bird lover and went exploring. Karen H had several panic attacks after she was told by the Americans that the climbs to Batian (5199m) and Nelion (5189m) were very exposed.

18^th: Karen H woke the rest of the camp when she fell down a hill picking up litter. The Belgians, clearly affected by the altitude, warned her not to go to Mt Everest.

They were all a bit grumpy due to a lack of sleep. They were kept awake by the porters celebrating their descent and then at two o’clock they were entertained by the buffaloes snorting, eating and farting next to their tent.

Joke was definitely affected by the altitude. The hike to Lake Ellis took 6 hours instead of 3. Karen H refused to walk past litter and Karen G was taking pictures of the burned mountain and practising her Swahili, which clearly impressed the guides. Once at the Roadhead camp the porters were instructed to clean the camp and to burn the litter. By 19h45 everyone was ready for bed.

19^th: Karen H felt a bit more comfortable climbing the peaks after watching the beautiful stars in the sky the previous night. She also decided against taking diamox since she was already slowing down the group by picking up litter. They left the camp by 8h00. They didn’t get far before it was decided that Chris would return with Joke. Apparently there are no mountains in Belgium. Karen G still impressed the locals with her Swahili. At 4200m the altitude was starting to affect everyone.

At Mintos hut Karen H had her usual bath before going on a cleaning spree. Karen G followed with her camera and her satellite phone. A decision was made – they would contact their “ex’s.”

20^th: Karen H was ecstatic when two guides accompanied her and Jaak at 2:30 to watch the sun rise on Lenana (4995m). Because of the bright moon headlamps were unnecessary.

It was freezing and Jaak suffered. He said it was his first and last sunrise on a peak.

Karen H was in tears when the sun came out. 10 minutes later she was in tears again when she saw the litter on top of Lenana. Going back to camp the Jaak told the people they passed that the peak was closed due to all the litter. They congratulated Karen H on picking up their litter. Karen H was in tears again. This was the best sunrise she has ever experienced. She also had to say goodbye to Jaak who went to Shipton’s hut. The porter decided at this stage that the quickest way to get back to the camp was to help her pick up the litter.

After Breakfast Karen G went exploring while Karen H slept. When Karen G returned she could hear Karen H cursing. She has declared war against the people defecating all over Mt Kenya and was picking up their shit – zip lock bag firmly wrapped around her hand. She had these brilliant ideas for t-shirts: “If you are going to litter you are unfit to be on this mountain” and “Please don’t leave your s**t on our beautiful mountain”. One of the porters was helping her.

Karen H had mixed feelings about the mountain. There was the fire destroying the animals, the overwhelming sunrise and all the litter.

This Gheko survived!

21^st:  Karen H exploded when she woke up to find new litter lying around. She confronted the family next to them who denied littering. At this stage she was on a mission. Karen G decided to join her in her effort and together they picked up two bags on their way to Austrian Hut.

The guide didn’t find it amusing when she told him that they must remove the plane wreck as well.

Karen H was petrified when she saw the two peaks but after practising her glacier hiking with Simon her technical climbing guide she felt more comfortable. How bad can 15 pitches be?

The two Karen’s were in bed by 8. Both experienced some difficulty breathing and woke up gasping for air.

22^nd: Karen G left the hut at 3 to watch the sun rise on Lenana.  Karen H has crossed the glacier by 7. There was no turning back for her now. The first pitch was not bad, but she refuses to say anything after that one pitch. Approximately 15 pitches later (4 hours), she was on top of Nelion. The hut looked like a five star hotel

After the guide went to sleep she started picking up litter. The porters in Austrian hut looked through the binoculars and saw her picking up litter. “Mamma Taka Taka is picking up Taka Taka”, they shouted when Karen G got back. Soon the whole camp was transformed. Everyone was picking up litter.

The evening was spent in the hut melting ice. Karen H was gasping for breath and would swallow two panados at regular intervals. At 5189 m the altitude was affecting her.

23^rd: Karen H experienced another wonderful Sunrise on an African Peak at 6h30. It took them 3 hours to abseil down with one Karrimore bag filled with litter and about two hours to cross the glacier. Back at Austrian hut the porters were running around showing her the bags of litter they picked up. Karen G was showing Karen H her scars she got hiking to Lenana. After lunch and a nice bath (Karen H was really ponging), the two of them started the hike to Shipton’s hut.

3 Bags of litter were picked up on their way and Karen H cried a lot. Shipton’s hut was a nice surprise. Huge hyraxes and rats were running around and they had an en suite “bathroom”

24^th: After breakfast they started their hike to Old Moses hut. Loads of litter were collected. Once at the hut they met some crazy “hikers”. Some of them were on their way to Lenana with only a fancy jersey. They were obviously not going to make it to the top.

25^th: It was only the porters and guide who were keen to go down. The two Karen’s were sad to leave the beautiful mountain. Everyone joined in picking up litter going down.

As soon as they were in the vehicle the mist rolled in and the mountain was covered.

It made the parting more bearable…..

South Africa – Drakensberg – Ice Climbing at Giants’ Castle

According to David Bristow Giant’s pass is extreme – add rain and mist as well as an extremely heavy backpack and you’ll know why I didn’t take any pictures going up. Yes – I did say I couldn’t wait to freeze my butt off – and a decision was made not to procrastinate so the hike up was cold and wet from the start.

The climbers are definitely not your average hiker – most of my normal hiking gear had to make place for the ice-axes, crampons, helmet, rope and taking an extra pair of socks was considered a luxury. (We all stink together!). We made it to the top just before sunset and I had to help Clair pitch their tent since they were suffering from hypothermia. Something hot to eat and drink was not an option since the water was frozen and since the wind was howling no-one felt like melting some snow. Around midnight Martin discovered another use for a zip-lock bag but I won’t go into details.

I volunteered the next morning to stay behind while Lofty, Martin, Claire, Andrew, Rob, Geoff, Nicole and David went ice-climbing. Danie and Kees finally arrived and said they were forced to bivvy in the pass.

That afternoon some of us went for a hike while the rest of the group tried to dry their stuff. It was also decided that the Basoetoes would be nuts trying to steal our stuff since the wind never stopped howling for one second. That evening very interesting meals were prepared and by 19h00 everyone was ready for bed. Around 03H00 there was a lot of shouting and everyone rushed out of their tents thinking the Basoetoes were upon us – but it was only Claire that had to go to the loo. (The zip-locks don’t work for woman)

Friday morning was spent ice-climbing and at least the wind was not howling near the waterfalls. The afternoon the “hikers” hiked to Giant’s Castle where we had an awesome view of the Berg. It was also decided to watch the sun rise the next morning on the peak (I know – they said I am persistent). Ken, Sue and Phillip joined us and that evening more interesting meals were prepared. Dean pitched up at 19h00

The alarm never went off at 4h30 and since it was freezing Danie and Kees said they were going to start without us. Me, Martin and David took another 10 minutes to get ready and arrived at Giants Castle just before sunrise – but the wind was blowing too much and it was too dangerous to get to the top. I was reminded of my skydiving days and we didn’t stay too long.

The rest of the morning was spent ice-climbing and we did several solo climbs. Lofty also announced that we were going to leave the next day and I must say for the first time in my life I was looking forward to getting off the mountain. Kees, Danie and Nicole left at two and it was rather sad. The evening was spent sipping Bells and trying to finish our food. I put on all my layers (5 at the top and 6 at the bottom) and slept quite warm that evening.

On Sunday Ken, Lofty and Dean decided to go ice climbing while the rest of us started hiking down the pass. It took us 5 hours to get to the bottom. The 3 ice-climbers made it down in record time – 3 hours and then Lofty and David went back to fetch Roy who had problems with his knees.

Boy oh boy was I glad to get outta the wind and into a hot bath once at home. Geoff said he had to run down the pass in order not to smell himself!

South Africa – Dreakensberg (Ship’s Prow)

At 8h21 on the 25^th of April I send out an e-mail requesting the company of fellow hikers. The plan was to hike up Ship’s prow and down Injusiti Pass. I received dissimilar responses.

At 8:30 from AC: Jy is mal!

At 9:45 from HH’s: HieHa – I’m in!

At 12:36 from AA:

Ships Prow

      

Introduction: This is one tough pass. The fact that I walked it in thick mist doesn't help too much either in my evaluation of it, but this certainly is a pass to be reckoned with. Yet, because it forms such a nice round trip escarpment traverse with Greys, it is often walked. There are two gully's here and the eastern most one must be one of the most challenging walks in the berg. Attempts to close this pass by blasting affect it more than most of the passes that suffered this indignity at the turn of the last century, and there is a fair amount of loose unpleasant walking. I don't think Ships prow is a very pretty pass or for that matter very useful. However, as far as a challenge goes its right up there with the monsters in Mweni

Access walk: There are two routes in to the base of this route, about equidistant in length. The more commonly used is the route via Monks Cowl. One ascends via the same route as for Gray's, but rather than heading off north along the contour path, a route South is taken. The walk along the contour path from Monks is long, with quite a bit of climbing before you descend to the base of the past. It's a long gentle downhill onto the boulder bed that forms the pass.

The route from Injasuti also seems a bit of climbing up from the camp. You head for the contour path, which keeps a little more level once the climb is over, before it too dips towards the pass. The route into the pass has changed a bit, and while you used to have to descend a little side stream onto the main boulder bed, there appears to be something of a path that now takes one to approximately the same height as the Monks access on the other side of the boulder bed.

Pass Route:  Once on the boulder bed there is little to do but point your nose for the top. However, after a couple of kilometres of walking on the river bed, the easier route leaves steeply to the west, meaning you head to the west of the "prow" Its steep and loose in places. There are some cairns that indicate the way, but often these seem confused and it may well be easier to make your own route. There are a couple of scrambles in the mid section of the pass before you finally make it to grassy slopes. These steadily ease as one approaches the top, which is very high. You top out well above 3200m, making this one of the highest pass summits in the berg. To locate the pass from the top, one summits the ridge coming west off Champagne Castle peak. Here there are some cairns that lead you to the summit. Be careful to choose the route to the west, unless you are feeling adventurous.

Water on pass and Summit:  Water is only a problem on the approach walks, where the path keeps high and dry. Once in the pass, there is a weak stream until the really steep bits, from where it is dry in all but the wettest summers. However, the summit is dry, and water is a 10 minute walk towards Grays or west into Lesotho.

Caves and Campsites: There is a campsite one valley before the pass one the Monks approach. There is also some OK gravely sites in the river bed in the early parts of the pass. Injasuti approach lacks any good camping. Neither approach has decent caves on route, with Grindstone cave the closest on the Injasuti side. The summit cave is Nkosazana, which is close to the summit of Gray's pass, 45min from the summit of ships prowl.

30 April 2005: 11h05. The hike up Ship’s prowl started officially at Monk’s Cowl EKZNW Camp. Hikers present: Ian, Harry, Andre, Karin and me.

12h05: Hiker’s still present and keen to go up Ship’s prow: Ian, Harry and me. Andre and Karin decided to turn back and go for the easier day-hike options. After another hour’s hiking Ian decided that it was time for some of his sub-standard Canadian sardines and to proof that they really do exist – here’ a picture.

At Blind Man’s corner we met some fellow hikers heading for Zulu cave and Shirelle’s response to where we were heading was “It’s bouldary”.

It was another 10km of energy sapping hiking before we did our first bundu bashing close to where we decided to pitch our tent.   

Pretty soon it was time to do what we do best:

• Harry and Ian did some cooking
• I admired Harry and Ian’s cooking skills while sipping some sherry

After a wonderful meal consisting of chicken, loads of cheese and whatever, the sky cleared and ship’s prow became visible. That and a million stars. O boy, life just can’t get any better.

I woke up several times during the night – staring at the sky with it’s million’s of stars. I was also fortunate to watch the sunrise – without waking the others. By 6 the ants were starting to eat me alive and I could not get the other two going fast enough. The sun beetles were also going crazy.

The first 3 km were not steep – but it involved a lot of bundu bashing, or maybe we followed the wrong path.

Before long it was time to make a decision. Do we take the left- hand fork which is easier but longer or the right-hand one? The decision was unanimous. We had perfect weather and we were all still feeling strong.

I was on my hands and knees a lot of the time going up. I loved the boulders but tried my best to avoid the scree. Luckily I was wearing my gloves because some of the grass turned out to be really nasty. My heart was beating like crazy and once on top when I asked myself why I did it the answer came at once. The view was breathtaking. I loved touching the rocks. I loved touching the grass. It’s about the way my heart beats. It’s about the black eagles soaring above my head. It’s about living, not just surviving.

I loved every moment.  And so did Harry and Ian – bless them.

After taking some photos we had another 3km to hike before we pitched the tent and history repeated itself. The food was excellent and the anti-freeze warmed the bones. Harry also didn’t have a problem picking up the spilled rice

           

That night there was a lot of tossing and turning in the tent and it was not just on my side. Our plan to watch the sun rise on Grey’s pass failed since we had to wait for the tent to defrost before packing up. But we did have coffee (with some frozen ideal milk) near the cape vulture retreat and by 9h00 we started our hike down what we thought was Grey’s Pass.

I tried my best to follow the non-existent path and couldn’t quite understand how Dawid Bristow can say it’s the most used pass in the Berg, especially when Ian said we’ll need ropes to get down a specific section. Harry handed him a rope and I was just about to say we should turn back when Ian declared that his buffy fell down the cliff and that we will just have to go down. While Harry and myself shouted simultaneously that we’ll buy him a new one, Ian disappeared down the cliff. I was next and after another half an hour Harry was down safely as well.

It took a lot of contouring getting to a distinctive Grey’s path but we made it eventually. Harry took some awesome pictures and after studying the map for 10 minutes we realize that the gully we took was not on the map. Ian must either be a good actor or we were never in danger – but I never once felt unsafe.

From Keith Bush camp it was another 16 km’s of marching and I got a feeling of how it must have been in the army. But the Berg was awesome and although the last 5.5km via The Spinx felt like 15km, I would definitely recommend at least a day trip around Monk’s cowl.

Was it worth it? I’ll do it again tomorrow. It was awesome!!!!!!!! I loved ship’s prow.

Malawi – Cape Mclear

Our first day in Cape Mclear: I went hiking with Dan who insisted on getting us snorkeling gear for the afternoon. Unfortunately Biscuit discovered that he was asking more than double the normal rate and that was the end of any future business deals with him. He refused to give our money back and from then on we were known as the two bitches. But we did get our snorkeling stuff and went to Otter’s point. (Did I mention that she’s an attorney)

I got a bit sunburned and after watching Biscuit eat some local fish (she claims she’s never tasted better fish) and howl at the full moon, I went to bed. There was a huge party on at Fat Monkeys and after a while Biscuit and Amy decided they can’t sleep with all the music and rowed over – whether to tell them to turn the volume down a bit or join the party I still don’t know. And they weren’t back for two minutes on the island before the music was turned up again.

The 4^th day:  I think after four days in Cape Mclear I’ve got into the Africa rhythm. My plan was to swim to Fat Monkeys and back but after swimming for about 200m I turned back to get the boat and to do some bird watching. And after a bit of snorkelling and watching the sun rise Amy got us some fish to feed the fish eagles and it was really awesome to watch the magnificent birds. 

After we got back to Fat Monkeys, we met Darren, a fellow South African working in Blantyre. Biscuit had her hair braided and after several hours we decided to stay over for another night. After several Kuches we all went to Thomas’s for something to eat. But Central Africa got to us and instead of walking we drove with Darren’s nice 4X4.

The 5^th day: Everyone was just hanging around – and when the roof of the kitchen started to burn everyone carried on as if nothing happened and 10 minutes later the cook was back in his kitchen.

On our way back, Darren was kind enough to take us for a hike in Zomba. He was also kind enough to let us stay at his place and took us to the airport the next day. What an adventurous trip!