Drive from Lilongwe to Cape Maclear, Malawi
Africa,  Malawi,  Photography,  Wildlife,  World food

Into Malawi: A Range Of Emotions In The Warm Heart Of Africa

August 11, 2024 /

Once we’ve left Mombasa behind en route to Malawi, Kenya springs one last surprise: the sight of the mighty Kilimanjaro which eluded us throughout our time in Amboseli. There, at last, it is, its unmistakable white peak clearly visible from the aeroplane window, perhaps not quite as majestic as seeing it from ground level, but….well, we’ve seen it at last!

A view of Mount Kilimanjaro from the flight Mombasa to Nairobi
Spotted it at last!

A few hours later, and via a flight connection in Nairobi, we are taking our first ever steps in Malawi, the tinder dry landscapes around the airport dotted with crisp shrubs, leafless frangipane and patches of burnt earth. The route to the capital city Lilongwe seems to be 40 minutes of non-stop roadworks until we reach….well, nothing really. Our hotel, listed as being right in the old town, is in a mysteriously nondescript residential area with not a hint of the African metropolis we had been expecting to see. 

We knew in advance that Lilongwe is not a city packed with worthy sights, so our 2-day call here is in reality no more than functional – some time to explore what the capital of Malawi does have to offer but mostly to understand the logistics of onward travel. As it happens, Lilongwe provides us with challenges on both fronts.

Driving through Lilongwe in Malawi
Lilongwe

Having become the capital of Malawi only as recently as 1975, Lilongwe is a strangely unattractive and inaccessible city – in fact, it isn’t like being in a city at all. Isolated neighbourhoods are separated by large areas of dusty scrubland, each district quite distinct from the next. There is a so called “old town” and “new town”, but they are some distance from the outlying districts and difficult to reach – far too far to walk and what taxis and minibuses there are tend to stick to the ring road and not penetrate the neighbourhoods. This ring road has large shopping malls which do nothing to enhance our first impressions, and each of the isolated districts is numbered rather than named, which is rather horrible – turns out our nondescript neighbourhood is the repulsively named Area 6.

Driving through Lilongwe in Malawi
Mosque, Lilongwe

Ah, the ring road. Lilongwe’s lack of appeal is magnified by the fact that the entire road network is being rebuilt in one go and just about every road is currently devoid of tarmac and every journey is a slalom of bollards and uneven red earth. Lilongwe is a mass of piles of aggregate and spoil, heavy machinery and giant dust plumes, hordes of men in hi-viz and belching traffic fumes joining forces with the dust clouds. This regeneration is it seems a presidential ploy – racing against time for the upcoming elections.

Driving through Lilongwe in Malawi
Lilongwe

With regard to onward transport, our plan was to travel by a combination of long distance buses and connecting shared minibuses, but we soon discover that nearly all of the long routes no longer operate, and those that do only run north-south and operate on a timetable of whim rather than punctuality. The massively overloaded minibuses run relatively short routes and a journey of any length would mean several time consuming and “hope for the best” type of connections. Being stuck in the middle of nowhere would be a distinct possibility. Our choice is basically a hired driver (expensive) or a rental car (cheap). And so it is that we end up driving ourselves around Malawi even though this was never our intention.

Driving through Lilongwe in Malawi
Lilongwe

The one thing – the ONLY thing – we find appealing in Lilongwe is the Nature Reserve, where we are able to escape the construction works and the traffic for a few hours and stroll through deciduous forest and alongside the ambling Lingadzi River. We don’t see too much wildlife, but a huge crocodile and a troop of the endangered vervet monkey add to the feeling of escaping being trapped at our lodgings. (Although we should say that those lodgings are manned by delightful staff for whom nothing is too much trouble). 

Nile crocodile in Lilongwe nature reserve in Malawi
Croc in the Nature Reserve
Vervet monkey in Lilongwe nature reserve in Malawi
Vervet monkey
Birds in Lilongwe nature reserve in Malawi
Unidentified bird

Walking in Lilongwe nature reserve in Malawi
Lilongwe Nature Reserve

Leonard from the hire car company hands over the keys to the Toyota, doesn’t bother looking at our driving licences or passports, doesn’t take a payment, or even a deposit, and doesn’t ask to see a credit card. All he has is my WhatsApp number. “Oh, pay me when you get back”, he says, and then adds, as an afterthought, “remind me when you’re coming back?“. 

Journey from Lilongwe to Cape Maclear, Malawi
The road trip begins

We’re on the road, shaking off Lilongwe and soon out into open country with its brown and ochre shades dotted with green and occasionally a fiery red shrub. Busy villages pass by with market stalls, hordes of people, trailers laden with sugar cane being pulled by oxen. Everywhere ladies are carrying goods balanced on their heads in the customary way of Africa. Children wave and smile as we pass slowly through.

Journey from Lilongwe to Cape Maclear, Malawi
Crossing the mountains

After the larger town of Dedza we cross the mountains and drop down towards our destination on the shores of Lake Malawi, calling in at a food shack at Lizuni where the barbecued meat is superb and the locals immediately engage in conversation. It’s smiles all round and we’re perhaps beginning to see why Malawi is known as “the warm heart of Africa”; conversation is easy and the welcome is indeed very warm, even when we’re just passing through.

Journey from Lilongwe to Cape Maclear, Malawi
Spectacular views on the way

The 4-hour drive has been fabulous, packed with interesting scenery and snapshots of an unfamiliar way of life. It’s also been a constant vigil for animals and people in the road, wayward motor cyclists, speed traps, police roadblocks, giant potholes and broken down trucks. It feels somehow liberating to have completed our first drive in this part of the world. 

Food stop on Journey from Lilongwe to Cape Maclear, Malawi
Our lunch stop on the way
Food stop on Journey from Lilongwe to Cape Maclear, Malawi
Our lunch being prepared

Eventually we reach Cape Maclear after several miles of potholed road followed by a long stretch of sandy track, the giant Lake Malawi (or Lake Nyassa if you prefer), glinting in the afternoon sun, the guy at our base all smiles as he tells us he’s given our lodge to someone else.

What??

“Well”, he says, still beaming, “a large party arrived on spec with nothing booked and needed rooms. So now we are full”.

“But we reserved the lodge”.

“I know. But they got here first”.

“……………….”

Chembe Eagles Nest Resort, Cape Maclear, Malawi
Chembe Eagles Nest Resort, Cape Maclear, Malawi
Our home beside the lake

A few hours later we are at the other end of the village in a rustic yet terrific lodge right on the lake shore, where we sit at the bar sipping Windhoek beer and watching the most amazing sunset turn the entire lake a fabulous shade of orange. It’s unbelievably stunning, terrifically romantic, and we get that wonderful feeling that comes with knowing there’s nowhere else on Earth that we’d rather be than right here, right now. All’s well that ends well huh.

Sunset at Cape Maclear over Lake Malawi
Our first amazing Lake Malawi sunset

FOOTNOTE: Our first four days in Malawi have encapsulated so many of the emotions of our type of travel. In Lilongwe we felt frustrated and a bit stuck, even starting to wonder if freewheel travel and Malawi were not going to mix. Then the slight trepidation of driving in such a different environment, quickly followed by the attitude of the lovely hotel staff and the amiable compliance of Leonard with his hire car. The freedom and liberation of the car journey, the great little lunch stop, the first glimpse of the mighty lake, lifted our spirits way above those bad thoughts of yesterday. Even then, there was more. The heart sinking moment of being told our lodge was no longer available, to being relocated to somewhere entirely acceptable right by the wonderful lake. And then….and then….that first amazing sunset. Ah, the ups and downs of travel….

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