South Africa
Southern Africa
UK
Campsites (Africa)
We had problems starting the Prado in Kasungu so returned to Lilongwe where we managed to get it fixed. We had a walk around the huge market in Lilongwe where there were lots of stall selling all sorts of fruit and vegetables as well as plenty of tiny alleyways with stall selling just about everything - tiny dried fishes, car spare parts, used plastic bottles, sweets, bike parts, clothes etc etc We then headed north again and stopped at Luwawa Forest Lodge (S12 07.181 E33 43.245) in the South Viphya Forest Reserve. The Lodge has a beautiful garden with lawns, shrubs, flowering plants and vegetables and overlooked a nearby dam. There are several hiking trails from the lodge and you can hire bikes to explore further afield in the forest (although rather expensive at $20 per hour). We followed the Liviri Fire Tower walk which, for the most part, was well signposted and mainly followed tracks through the pine plantations. After an hour and a half we emerged on the top of a hill with good views over the surrounding countryside. On the way back to the Lodge we passed several areas of forest that had recently been felled. There were piles of neatly sawn planks plus plenty of off-cuts - which are used for firewood. The following day we went on the Indigenous Forest walk, an area where the forest has been left in its natural state. It was quite different from walking through the pine forests - and there were far more birds around. For the most part there were plenty of trees and shrubs... ...but also occasional clearings in the forest. Luwawa Lodge from the far side of the dam. As on the Zomba Plateau there were plenty of wild flowers all over the place. Dedza Pottery & Mphunzi Mountain. Southern Lakeside - Monkey Bay, Cape Maclear & Senga Bay. Zomba Plateau & Mulanje Massif. Nyika National Park & Vzawa Marsh Wildlife Reserve. Northern Lakeside - Chintheche & Mkondowe. Diary (Word document). In both Zambia and Malawi we saw several broken down lorries. They used branches as warning triangles.
Malawi 2011 - Viphya Forest Reserve
