Malawi – Dam Bridges

November 25

Hello everyone!

For many reasons, I was getting a bit of cabin fever in Lilongwe. Whether it’s the intense heat, reports writing season or other shenanigans, I hadn’t gotten out of the increasingly urban jungle since we returned from Tanzania.

Dzalanyama Forest Reserve

I wasn't the only one who needed to get out

There are day trips to take from Lilongwe, though the more spectacular places often occupy a whole weekend or even longer. One place I was yet to visit is a forest reserve tucked away in the west of Malawi, heading towards the western part of Mozambique. That particular country surrounds the southern part of Malawi, though it seems strange to write that as I associate Mozambique as being to the east of Malawi.

These hills form the border between western Malawi and western Mozambique

Dzalanyama Forest Reserve is almost 1000 sq km in size

The area we had in mind was a forest reserve called Dzalanyama. Say it with either a silent or very soft ‘d’ and you’ll pronounce it correctly. We had been told it was an area with nice hikes and a flowing stream to dunk ourselves into. A two hour drive from Lilongwe (whoever does the Google Maps timings clearly hasn’t driven on these roads before) took us out of the city and through an increasingly green and lush part of the country.

The other route is quicker but less scenic and more liable to have police checks

It was dirt roads most of the way, making this trip trickier in rainy season

After a while, we stopped at the top of a hill in front of a quaint house. The guard said we could park to take in the spectacular view and make ourselves some tea on our portable gas cooker. The owner of the house soon returned from church and, rather than kick us out of what essentially was his front garden, invited us in for lunch. We already had food so politely refused; I couldn’t help but wonder whether we would have had such a thoughtful and friendly reaction elsewhere in the world.

This place would do very well on AirBnB

Neither dog really appreciated the view

The man was a ranch manager, looking after the cows in the forest reserve. Looking out into the distance, you can’t see any cows among the mass of trees in the forest. You wouldn’t think deforestation was an issue looking out at this (it definitely is).

Apparently there are leopards down there - good luck spotting one

Lots of indigenous flowers and trees are visible

This lovely viewpoint wasn’t actually our target, of course. We never made it to that stream or those hikes. This is because the large, heavy Land Cruiser we were travelling in came up against this rather rickety bridge…

It had large logs underneath but seemed too narrow for the car

Our mind was made up when a local told us that a car crossed
the bridge...3 months ago...

Deciding we would come back in a smaller, older, more rubbish car which we wouldn’t care if it fell in (our car), we cut our losses and headed back towards Lilongwe. Not wanting our increasingly random day trip to end, we made a stop at Kamuzu Dam.

Our aborted attempt to cross attracted quite a crowd

Next time I'll do a DVD video shoot

This dam is on the Lilongwe River which flows through our city and actually starts in the Dzalanyama reserve. There are actually two of them in close proximity – the nicer one to visit is Dam II.

As with many things in Malawi, the dams are named after its
first President

The dam is large enough to host the Lilongwe Sailing Club

During the rainy season, which is fast approaching, the water level in the dam will be much higher. During the hour or so that we were there, it seemed as if rainy season was about to arrive in a spectacular fashion. After an initial look, we took the dogs for a quick dip in the stream emanating from the dam. The temperature difference upon returning was stark, as was the wind which was creating ‘white horses’ in the water.

Not much water is trickling through at the moment

The four-leggeds enjoyed their dip

The wind posed a particular problem when we tried to eat, blowing Tupperware all over the place. We abandoned just in time, as the heavens opened as we returned to the car.

The ominous dark clouds approached from the east

The water became rougher, not that you can tell from this picture

It was a peculiar, lovely day. We didn’t get to where we wanted to. We spent most of the day in a car. However, I feel we saw a bit more of the real Malawi and managed to escape the city sprawl, which was exactly what was needed.

More road trips, more often!

Dzalanyama Forest Reserve

Love you all,

Matt