Mulanje Mountains

In the south of Malawi I found what to me feels like perhaps one of the most beautiful places on the Earth - the Mulanje Mountains. Here I spent three days trekking up onto the Mulanje Massif and climbing up to the top of Malawi's highest peak - Sapitwa - at 3003 metres high.

Although often steep and hard work, unlike Mount Rungwe in Tanzania, we walked at an enjoyable pace. The views were ever changing and so so stunning, across mountains, plateaus and plains, down into valleys or up to higher heights, and on the last day as we made our way down the view off the edge of the mountain went far as you could see over forests, tea plantations, villages and smaller mountains far below.

On my journey through Malawi I'd heard many times about the Mulanje spirits who left fruits out for passers by on the Mulanje Massif. The story goes that if you are hungry then it's ok to eat the fruit but if you take more than you need or take some along with you on your journey rather than just eating it where it is, then the spirits will capture you and keep you unseen with them for many years. There are tales of people who've disappeared on the mountains whom it is thought now reside with the spirits.

Along our trek we found lots of bushes covered in yellow berries which are almost identical to black berries apart from the colour (and their name funnily enough is yellow berries). As we past the bushes we ate all we could and then I decided to risk my luck with the spirits and take a handful with me. And that's when things took a turn for the worst.... we took what was once a short cut but part of the way along it became incredibly over grown and so we ended up fighting our way through almost impassably dense vegetation and fallen trees. The guy I'd come with ripped his trousers and we both acquired scratches and bruises from our battle. At a stop for lunch, when getting food out of the bag, the lid came off our bottle of oil and it spilt everywhere, all over our bananas. And then in the evening the wind began to blow harder and harder and harder, something very unusual for where we were at this time of year.

All was ok though as the spirits spared us (as did the log hut and fire that I kept stoked throughout the night) and the following day we made it up to the top of Sepitwa. It was a steep climb first up a smooth rock face, and then over, under, and between huge boulders, jumping, crawling and squeezing our way though. There was so much mist and dampness in the air and twice I slipped nearly falling to my death again, but just about finding something to grip onto in time escaped serious injury and instead just acquired further bruises. At the top it was windy, cold, and perhaps unsurprisingly considering my view (or lack of) from the top of other mountains I've climbed on this trip, completely cloudy! I was in an optimistic mood though and so we sat sheltered between some rocks eating chocolate biscuits and were eventually rewarded with a space in the clouds where for perhaps two seconds I could actually see a view of the mountains below.