Visa Run to Zimbabwe

I had to make a visa run over the weekend. Every time I arrive in Malawi I get a visa for 30 days and then I extend it for 60 more. So I then have to leave the country every 90 days to stay legal. We found a cheap flight and were off. We weren't expecting much, but were just hoping for an escape to a new place with new sights and novel restaurants. We found that and more. But this is a strange and beautiful place. 

The balancing rock at Domboshava. Africa is full of these and they are wonderful.

They also have some pretty interesting cave paintings as well at Domboshava

I'm a sucker for an 8 foot tall metal chicken.

They use USD as their currency. It is amazing how worn these bills are. Also, no change.

They have police ninjas in Zim. 

There is a theater in Harare with 3D. We went to two shows.

High tea at the Bronte Hotel.

Mount Mulanje and J.R.R. Tolkien

I'm slowly ticking off the last things on the Malawi lists of sights that I need to see before returning. One of the biggest omissions was Mount Mulanje in the far southeastern corner. I've come to find that there are numerous places in Malawi that are astonishing and one has never heard of them. After all, why would you climb Mulanje when Kilimanjaro is nearby? But once you get here, it is mistake to miss places like Lake Malawi, Mulanje, and Nyika. They are unique and unforgettable. The peak of Mulanje reaches 3000m high and one can climb up to the plateau and spend days between the mountain huts.

The plateau with Mulanje Plateau rises up out of nothing.

Island in the sky is a perfect description.

One thing that is fascinating is the J.R.R. Tolkien of visited Malawi in the 1930s. A number of place names made it into the Lord of the Rings. I doubt it was set here in his mind, but who knows. Here are a few parallels: 

-The Shire River (pronounced Shir-ee).

-The 10,000 foot apex of Mulanje, Sapitwa, is known in local legend as “the place where you are not supposed to go.” Mount Doom anyone?

-A community of diminutive people is said to have once lived on its plateaus (Hobbits, anyone?). Malawians are not a very tall people anyways.

The tea estates on the lower fields. This is looking out at Mozambique.

We climbed up to the plateau one day.

It was far steeper than one might imagine. Compared to Kili, it went up much faster. People who go to the peak never fail to come back struggling to walk because their muscles are so sore.

On the way to Likhubula Falls, we ran into a bunch of guides who wanted employ. Ten of them chased the car to the car park! 

Likhubula Falls