This past weekend I joined friends at their cottage on the Zomba plateau. The town of Zomba lies one hour northeast of my home in Blantyre. Zomba, the capital of Malawi prior to independence in 1964 , has some lovely colonial era buildings in varying states of ruin. Lording over the town is Zomba mountain. The mountain’s plateau is 2200 feet (700 meters) higher than the town. A road joins the two. The British selected Zomba as their capital as the plateau is 10 degrees cooler than everywhere else in the immediate area.
The winding road up to our friend’s cottage is 1½ lanes wide and has dozens of hairpin turns hugging the mountain’s steep face. To navigate the sharp turns, I must slow the car to a near crawl. Clever Malawians are stationed at each one of these points and offer produce for sale. It’s presented in round bright plastic bowls in a rainbow of colors. Today on offer are Zomba potatoes (small, white, new potatoes that are simultaneously earthy and delicious), passion fruit, Cape gooseberries (yellow-orange, the size of a small cherry, sour and delicious), strawberries, and avocados. We have brought enough food for tonight, but since we come back down this road tomorrow, we try to remember where the best looking produce is found. There are not many tourists these days so today’s produce offerings are likely to be the same tomorrow. We’ll do our shopping on the descent.
The view on the trip up becomes increasingly spectacular. As the air cools, the seemingly unending African plain opens up. Mountains rise abruptly from the flatness here, much like the way children would draw them.
We have finally arrived, ready for a long walk, beautiful meals, laughing with friends, a roaring fire at night, and enjoying the birdsong and monkeys calling to one another in the garden.
Dozens of twists, turns, and produce vendors later we finally reach the plateau. Our first site is Mulunguzi reservoir, a large lake lined by tall long-needled pines. The reservoir is fed by streams from the surrounding peaks and is the source of drinking water for Zomba town lying far below. Leaving the reservoir’s shores, the road enters an area of post-apocalyptic devastation. The plateau holds a hotel and about 10 private cottages. These have large gardens of native forest with a mixture of tree types. But the vast majority of the plateau is leased to lumber companies. Decades ago, these companies clear cut the forest and planted long needle pines. Instead of selectively cutting the large trees, the timber companies clear cut large sections of the plateau every year. In the dozen years I have been coming to Malawi, most of these cuts are far from the road and hiking trails. This year they come all the way up to the property line of the hotel and my friend’s home. Large areas are denuded of trees. The logs are sawed in place and are bound for South Africa, Europe, and the USA. Children gather the thinner logs and branches, tie them into 8 foot long heavy bundles, balancing them on their heads, and walk for hours to reach the base of the mountain. The first two children we pass carrying wood on their heads are novelties (“We’re really in Africa!”). After passing dozens of child wood bearers, the scene is more alarming than charming.
Five minutes after entering the devastation, we arrive at the Ku Chawe Inn. The hotel, perched on the edge of a cliff, has gorgeous views and wood burning fireplaces in each room for the cold nights. Huge male baboons are sitting on the railing of the outdoor passageways leading to guestrooms. The hotel has “baboon chasers” to try to scare the animals away and let guests reach their rooms.
Across the street from the Inn is the entrance to my friend’s cottage. “Cottage” is a euphemism to describe the private homes here. My friend owns a beautiful 4 bedroom home with large, mature native trees, as well as a planted flower garden. The azaleas and magnolias are in bloom. The nearby logging has driven a large troop of blue monkeys into our garden. They jump from one tree to another, their arms and legs in the shape of an X as they fly in midair. The focus of the cottage is a covered deck looking over the plateau. Everyone gathers there to admire the view and appreciate our fortune for having been invited for the weekend. We have finally arrived, ready for a long walk, beautiful meals, laughing with friends, a roaring fire at night, and enjoying the birdsong and monkeys calling to one another in the garden.
