Trek from Nyika Plateau to Livingstonia

Zebras on the plateau

I had wondered if Nyika warranted a stay of a day or more but after half a day on the mountain bike on the plateau it was clear I didn’t need any more than that half day. Although the park is relatively large, most of the wildlife is concentrated around the Chelinda lodge and campsite. 

The normally shy bushbuck 

I’d already had close encounters with zebras, roan antelopes and bushbucks and had also seen reedbucks and elands so that point forward I would have had diminishing returns with the quality and variety of my signings.

Zebras in the background

Its surprising that with so much grass in the plateau there weren’t more grazers in Nyika - I speculate there might be two significant reasons. First, the highland grass is not as nutritious as a lower altitude savannah akin to Serengeti, but more importantly there’s still heavy poaching away from the Chelinda area.

Walking through Chelinda's pine forest

The animals that remain have probably adapted by flocked around Chelinda and the ones that leave that territory almost invariably get poached before their density can rise. A little sad but that’s the ground reality in an inadequately funded park surrounded by an improvised population where conservation is not a priority.

Reedbuck in the meadows

The tent was a little damp in the morning so I had to delay the trek by an hour as the sun dried the moisture. Soon I packed up and walked the 2 kms to the lodge where Timothy was waiting for me.


He was a smart young ranger who had less than a year’s experience but made a good companion because he genuinely cared for the wildlife and was cheerful. He came equipped with an assault rifle but that was probably more to do with the poachers than the wild animals.

A short while out of Chelinda, a herd of zebras were grazing in the early morning sunshine as if sending me off. As we proceeded further we could see & hear several reedbucks which Timothy pointed out are the most dominant antelope species in Nyika. 

Unfortunately, they are at the top of the list of the poachers and are considered akin to a wild goat -that probably explained their skittishness.

The undulating hills meant that the trek that day was no too taxing with intermittent sections of climbs and descents. The trail also strategically passed through valleys sheltering spring water, so luckily, we didn’t need to lug a lot of water with us. 

It also made for a refreshing break ever few hours sipping the ice-cold spring water and appreciating the picturesque meadows of wild flowers along the valleys.

Timothy firing a warning shot at poachers

Meadow

Six hours later we have one last heartbreak hill to climb before finally getting to the campsite for the night. The campsite was perfectly situated shaded by a patch of trees, a small stream right beside and with fabulous views over the iconic rolling hills of Nyika which came to life with the golden light of sunset.

Timothy had packed some cooked beans and I was more than happy to trade some of my caned fish for his yummy beans. As we wrapped our supper, ominous dark clouds took over the evening sky and we were left praying we won’t have a tropical downpour that night.

The rolling hills of Nyika Plateau

I was contemplating on completing the 3-day trek in two days and rains would mean we would loose valuable time drying our tents and additionally the trail would be wet and slippery; undoubtedly making the 25 kms trek the following day extremely arduous.

A Malawian kid

Don't know what these were but they kept us going

Generally, I prefer pitching my tent without the rain cover so I can doze off watching the night sky but couldn’t take a chance that night. Morning came soon and we were glad we had dodged a bullet. The intimidating clouds had relented and the rains stayed away but this was a sure sign that the first rains of the season were not too far – luckily…not that night.

Drying coffee - This is know as Mzuzu coffee

An hour of ascent to a high point and it was all downhill for the next few hours as we gradually descended the plateau and the park. The consistent descent through unkept thick trail was harder that what I had imagined but we eventually made it to the village bordering the park.

Originally, this terraced village with coffee and corn fields was supposed to be our camping spot for the 2^nd night but we had already decided to forgo that so we could get to Livingstonia and gain an extra day in Malawi for me.

We could also see the township of Livingstonia in the distance but Timothy warned that it was farther than what it looked and sure enough because I felt I was trudging along endlessly on the flattish terrain for the next few hours.

A bucolic hamlet along the way 

Perhaps the long day of walking was taking a toll but the most challenging part of the whole trek was the fact that Livingstonia is situated on an escarpment which meant that once we descended from the Nyika Plateau we had to climb back up not one but two mountains to make it to Livingstonia.

Livingstonia Missions church

The township of Livingstonia is a historic one founded by Scottish missionaries in the late 1800’s - this site situated in the mountains between Lake Malawi and Nyika Plateau was more suitable than the low altitude and malaria prone locations close to the lake and the mission eventually settled and grew here during Malawi’s colonial era.

As we walked past the exclusively red brick built Livingstonia University, the Livingstonia Missions church and the school surrounded by exotic pine trees I could sense the colonial essence of the place - unfortunately though, this town also feels a little dilapidated and probably is a lesser version of what it probably was during its heydays.

Mushroom Farm – a lodge that was highly recommended in online forums was a further few kilometers away but luckily, Timothy met an old friend by chance and he offered us the ride to Mushroom Farm. 

Resting spot at The Mushroom Lodge

This highly rated lodge is worth every bit of the high praise it gets not just because its located in a stunning location on the escarpment overlooking the mountains and Lake Malawi but also for the tasteful décor, excellent food and environmentally sustainable compost toilets.

After the long 42 kms trek over two days there was no better way to recover than putting my feet up on the hammock as the sun set, watching the shoreline of Lake Malawi, and sipping some excellent cold brew latte made from locally grown beans.