The Treloar Herald : Mbeya to Karonga (162km with 1'130m ascent & 2'360m descent)

Mbeya to Karonga (162km with 1'130m ascent & 2'360m descent)

Tanzania & Malawi

Day 71 - March 24- Stage 49

Monday: Today we left the rolling hills of Southern Tanzania and swooped down once again into the Great Rift Valley and crossed another Border, from Tanzania into Malawi. The contrast between the two countries was immediately apparent.

On the Malawian side and only 635 km to Lilongwe Capital of Malawi

It was not an easy day, after 12km we were supposed to turn right for the Malawi Border. At this point, I was involved in an altercation with a minibus-taxi, the driver of which had deliberately tried to run me off the road at the busy intersection. I was distracted just long enough to miss the turn off, rode for an extra kilometer before I realized my mistake, had to ride another kilometer back to the turn off!

At a distance of 16km, we encountered a major climb out of the Mbeya area into the surrounding mountains, I made it up the climb, but not before stopping on numerous occasions to catch my breath!

Lunch was at the 69km mark, Judith had taken the Lunch Truck in the morning and her and Marie had cycled from the lunch position to the Border Post and then on to Camp. So I had a quick lunch and pushed on to the Border which was still 45km away.

Close to the Border, I had my last Coke Stop in Tanzania with a few of the other riders, then we cycled to the Tanzanian Border Post.

There were no issues at the Tanzanian Border Post, but on the Malawian side, true to form, those riders who needed visas to get into Malawi were delayed, while the South African Citizens went straight through without any hassles.

Liz and I teamed up and left most of the other TDA riders just hanging around waiting for things to happen. However as soon as we were cycling on the Malawian road, cries from the locals went from, "Jambo, Jambo" (Good morning, good morning) by the Tanzanians, to "Give me money" or an even better cry of "Give me MY money" by the Malawians, especially the kids.

Rode for at least 20km with a local cyclist called Samson, and we had a long conversation, as we discussed the political situation in Malawi. We both came to the conclusion that economically, things would never get better in Malawi, not unless there was a major intervention by Government, which was never going to happen.

Malawi has so much going for it as a tourist destination, especially since 21% of it is taken up by Lake Malawi. But unlike the East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, the Governments of which aggressively market their tourist potential, the Malawi Government is quite happy to continue with the status quo.

While cycling with Samson,

I came across a new TDA Sectional Rider who was giving money to some kids (handing out US$ one dollar bills). With visitors having an attitude like that, how are the Malawians ever going to get out of their "Begging Mode". I was not impressed and tossed my toys out of the cot at him.

The overnight camp at Safari Lodge Annex on Lake Malawi has definitely seen better days, but we took a room to keep out of the rain.

Arrived at the finish and first reported in, then cycled into Karonga Town with Andje to draw local Malawian currency (Kwatcha) at a Standard Bank ATM.

Unfortunately we received some bad news, Joyce, the Mother of Judith's Sister-in-law Mandy, had passed away. We used the Satellite phone and phoned Mandy to give her our condolences. It is at times like this, that you feel quite isolated from one's family.

Only a relatively short 90km ride tomorrow, then two days rest on the shores of Lake Malawi at Chitimba Beach. Off to sleep after enjoying a few green bottles of Malawi Carlsberg (locally known as "Malawi Greenies").

Cheers,
Mike T

PS: We were woken up in the night by some heavy rain, and hoped it would subside by the morning. Not long till we found out.