We took our first big road trip this past long weekend. Nick goes down to Blantyre (the industrial capital of Malawi, in the South) once a quarter to provide services for American citizens living there. Nia and I decided that it’d be fun to tag along and see more of the country.
We left on Wednesday at noon and got there around 4:30. Not as many goats on the road, which was fabulous!  :)  Nick had to work all day Thursday and Friday, so Nia and I went out on the town. We visited a lovely cafe, played at a park and took advantage of the hotel’s pool. I had thought I’d be jealous of the Blantyre expats, as it’s a bit more urban than Lilongwe, but I didn’t end up taking to it. Nia and I got harassed on the street a bit and vendors followed us for a ridiculous distance. It was a wee bit uncomfortable at times.
On Friday afternoon we drove an hour to Zomba, which is a plateau in Southern Malawi. The Embassy owns a cottage about 20 minutes up the mountain and Embassy families are allowed to rent it out for the weekend.
I can’t remember the exact history of it, but the Embassy has owned it a long time, back since when Malawi’s capital was in Zomba. This was a place that was used to escape from the hot summer heat in the valley below.
Zomba reminded me a lot of Minnesota (except for the monkeys that came to play in the backyard). There was a whole forest of Canadian pines that the British planted. And there was also a reservoir from the dam, which I just pretended was a lake. And the green! Oh how I loved all the green. I am so over all the brown dust in Lilongwe. It was nice to have a brief respite from it.
There was a stable just down the road from the cabin and since Nia happens to be OBSESSED with horses, a trail ride was a given. Prior to this, Nia had only been on 5-10 minute rides where she was led around in a circle. This time though we went out on an hour-long trail ride and although her horse was still guided, this was a very “big girl” thing to do. This was no pony ride folks. Â :)
Here’s that gorgeous Canadian pine forest I mentioned! Isn’t it lovely?
And here’s the reservoir adjacent to the dam. Green and blue as far as the eye can see – love it!
On Saturday we also went on a 2 hour guided nature walk with Isaac. He had grown up in Zomba and was incredibly knowledgeable about the plants and animals of the region. I was surprised to learn that it was actually a rain forest. Nia took to Isaac immediately (hand holding within 5 minutes of meeting him) and remained engaged the entire time. I was totally expecting it to be a disaster and was so impressed with how she held up. It helps that she’s really into animals and nature right now. I enjoyed it so much that I’ve already started plotting a return visit. Guess you can’t take the cabin out of the MN girl – even in Malawi!
I’ll write more tomorrow about the impromptu safari we fit in on the drive home! It was truly the perfect end to our first Malawian road trip.
