Easter on Mount Mulanje

I survived the trip to Mount Mulanje! It was absolutely amazing, though I won't lie, it was bloody tough! We travelled up to the peak and the whole expedition took 6 days. The stars were beautiful at night and the clouds and glorious sunshine were lovely during the day. Unfortunately we were forced to take a guide with us, as apparently there have been so many deaths on the mountain recently that the District Commissioner of Mulanje has enforced a policy saying that all tourists cannot go up the mountain without a guide. On hearing this we backed down and had a lovely guide called Chris who did a great job of leading us along the right paths.

One evening, on our way to the second hut after a 7 hour walk, our guide stopped us short on the path and pointed in the direction of a 'leopard' which he said was blocking our path. After a nervous wait, which seemed to take forever, the sun began to set. In Africa the sun sets so quickly that it can often take you by surprise especially if you have not yet reached your destination). Anyway, Chris the guide asks me for a match, as apparently leopards hate fire and I'm looking at this distant leopard wondering why it seems to be so calm and not already scampering towards us in pursuit of dinner. With one strike of the match, the wind blew and extinguished the light, only for us to see that the 'leopard' before us was in fact a grass bush, blowing gently in the wind!

I blame the poor light and our weary feet and minds, as we were all convinced that we had come across a leopard on the mountain. We continued on the path home and arrived at an ancient hut, built in the last century and somehow it had an 'odd feeling' about it. That night, we cooked a dinner of tinned meat balls and pasta and went to sleep. I didn't sleep much as the hut appeared to be 'haunted'. With weird noises in the night and a draught so cold through the floorboards, I was convinced there was a ghost in the room! Everything seemed so much better in the morning when the sun came up and we were energised for the rest of the trek, which was amazing. We walked through temperate rainforests, trekked across streams and clambered up granite rocks. If I had more time I would definitely love to do it again - such an adventure and despite the phantom leopard and aching knees, I would recommend a trip to Mount Mulanje.