Mission Malawi 2 - March 2006
Dan Cleland's account of our second trek in 2006, takes in the added hiking and kayaking of MM2.
Day 1: Depart from London Heathrow Airport
With much discussion at home I go through the list of things I need while I am gonna be in Africa, including £70 worth of Boots purchases (£70!). As soon as I arrive at the airport I can see lots of people milling around with the Red Action Aid T-Shirts, so I whip out the camera to begin Mission Malawi:The Film. I’m running around trying to get shots of Heathrow signage, people arriving and checking in all the while trying not to get busted by the Heathrow Police.
There’s some minor drama where it looks like we are gonna end up on 4 flights instead of the planned two, it seems African flight schedules are more flexible than you might hope for. In the end its not a problem at all and after a quick interview with Les, the founder of MM, we board the flights, its an overnight journey to tiny Blantyre airport in Southern Malawi, via some over-priced coffee in Nairobi transfer lounge. A mixture of apprehension and excitement mean I don’t get a winks sleep, looks like I’m gonna be wide awake for about 36 hours.
Day 2: Arrive into Blantyre
After arriving at the Victoria Hotel, location of our first night’s rest and launch event tomorrow, the lack of sleep hits as soon as I walk into mine and Giles room and see it’s a double not a twin, cue instant mini tantrum and an insistance that after no sleep for 30 hours I am not sharing a double! Theres a hasty room swap with Russell and Jack who are a couple that have ended up in a twin. Then its bike allocation. I have to say it was a bit of a scramble. We have some rather ‘large’ characters on this trip and survival instincts kicked in when it was established that there was in fact some cool bikes, some dodgy looking bikes, and some bikes you wouldn’t give to your worst enemy. Sadly because of faffing on my part I end up with a cheapo looking bike, but with a sense of positivity just look forward to hitting the road, en masse on our first leg of the journey.
That evening we are given a talk by the Action Aid Malawi team, we attempt to film it but realize its not going to work so just listen and are amazed by the facts and figures we are learning:
Over 40% of primary school age kids have been orphaned by Aids (lost one or both parents to HIV/Aids.
Malawi is completely ready for bird flu, they learnt their lesson from the Aids epidemic. Which is funny in a sad way really.
It instantly put the entire trip into perspective, hearing first hand what was happening on the ground, and realizing how much our efforts were going to make a difference. It fires everyone up especially as tomorrow is the first project visit.
Day 3: Blantyre to Mulanje
It’s the morning we finally get to see where all the money we have raised is going 33 to an HIV/AIDS project called Ntambanyama in Thyolo District. This is one of the major reasons I signed up, I wanted to get a deeper understanding of how the money we raised was going to be spent, how people were going to directly benefit from the funds that we raised, and how Action Aid works.
From about 1km away we could start to see a massive gathering of people. There was a lot of movement, and then we started to hear raucous singing in time with the movement. As our two minibuses crammed full of gob-smacked cyclists to be pulled up, huge crowds of colourful, beaming women, singing to a glorious African beat and moving in natural harmony, surrounded us.
Amazing welcome
I have personally never ever been so amazingly welcomed, and I know that sentiment is echoed right around the Mission Malawi gang, although Russell did wonder later why we deserved this. “Why should I be treated as an honoured dignitary?”
After some initial nervous steps out of the buses, we all disbursed into the smiling, welcoming faces, and our real Mission Malawi had begun.
We split into three groups. Some of us went to visit a group therapy session where men and women living with HIV/AIDS share their experiences and draw on each other’s strength. Another group of us visited a children’s activity centre, where many orphans are looked after. And a third group went off to visit some chronically ill people who received home visits as part of the project.
Visiting the group therapy was really moving, meeting a bunch of people facing HIV and what that means. They spoke with passion about how its difficult to travel to the clinic to get prescriptions, which might be 30 km away. That they needed blankets to keep them warm, and materials to fix their homes, when it rains it drips through and ruins their drugs. That they face prejudice when they try and find work to feed their families, little things we don’t consider when trying to help someone suffering, its not just a case of giving them drugs, this disease affects their whole lives.
I was completely stunned by one woman who stood up to share her story, of how she caught TB in 1987 and was then diagnosed as being HIV+. I was amazed that someone had been able to survive in the poverty of Africa for nearly twenty years with HIV, only the last four of which with ARVs (Anti-Retrovirals the drugs which fight HIV replication in the body).
On the way back to the Victoria Hotel, I think we were all shocked by how lush and green the landscape was. But as Lawrence explained, the extensive tea plantations in this region might look verdant, but no Malawian owns any of them. The tea pickers have to pick 100kilos of tea a week otherwise they don’t earn their wages. Which are one whole pound. Think about that next time you have a cup of Tetley.
TV crews awaiting
Back at the hotel, Malawian TV crews and local journalists were waiting for us. The red ribbon was up and the key speakers were in place at the hastily erected lectern. We all donned our helmets, our padded shorts, filled our water bottles and mounted our bikes ready for the off!
We were very lucky to have Noreen Kaleeba, chair of ActionAid’s International Board of Trustees who herself lost her husband to HIV/AIDS, to inspire us and send us on our way. As Michelle said, “She really made us feel part of the fight.”
Only small issue was that the TV crew were in a rush and needed to leave before we were all ready. So (don’t tell anyone) we actually had to fake the launch and after the speeches we cycled out of the hotel car park, turned left and left again and back into the hotel car park. It was here that I experienced my first technical malfunction, after cycling for about 30 secs my gear crank and pedal fell off! Just as well we were only going round the corner.
A hasty repair for me and final tweaks of gears and tightening of nuts for others and we were actually on our way. As Daniel mentioned in the bus from the project visit earlier, “after the challenges that we witnessed this morning, cycling a mere 40-odd miles today seemed somehow insignificant.”
Early pile up
The reality of 33 of us cycling together soon kicked in though, when within an hour of setting off, Gareth and Stefan had a nasty collision that left both with some deep cuts and Gareth fainting in the hot African sun. My travel first aid kit came into immediate use patching Stefans leg up, money well spent it seems!
With wounds bandaged, and nerves a little rattled, we all continued and once out of Blantyre and into majestic Malawian countryside, we settled into a rhythm.
As Mulanje the mountain range we would be trekking up over the next few days came into view, certain members of the team felt compelled to burst into a rendition of numbers from The Lion King. Those of us that were more observant might have noticed how large it was and started to worry but we were enjoying the ride too much. Well when we could ride, it seemed we had a bunch of dodgy bikes, I kept suffering from a loose chain and the gear crank fell off for a second time. Its not very easy to ride with only one pedal, and I wasn’t the only person that was suffering! Gears, chains, brakes, saddles, there were lots of teething problems.
As we stopped for lunch, the heavens opened and we all huddled under some trees to the amusement of some local passers-by while we tried to stop our sandwiches getting soggy. The rains set us up for a final challenge of the day when our mini-buses got completely stuck in thick mud in the dark. We all had to get out and push them about 500 metres up a track to our hut at the base of Mount Mulanje, there wasn’t a lot of point in waiting for the AA, it was push it up the hill or sleep at the bottom.
The first day of cycling though, despite technical glitches, was successful in the main and everyone was happy. I also learned how to drink water from a camelpack whilst cycling which, whilst not rocket science, is an interesting new sensation. Worst moment for me was definitely trying to get up a steep hill wishing I’d done more training when I got over-taken by a Malawian guy with no shoes on, with a bike with no gears going uphill….with another guy sat on the back of his bike! That made me realize I needed to work a bit harder.
Day Four: Trek to Thuchira Hut
Thighs primed from yesterday, we set off up a track with our 33 porters who we have paid to carry food and equipment – a good local earner. We are going to be up on this mountain for three days after all.
When you mentally prepare yourself for a 100km bike ride you keep going till you reach your goal, and although tired you feel a sense of achievement. In my head the 3 day trek over Mulanje was gonna be a fun walk through the hills and a chance to see some local scenery. You can imagine how I was feeling after a 1200 meter ascent, with a video camera on my back. Not expecting to work so hard meant I was rrrrrrreally feeling it by the end of the day.
The highlight of the trek was actually our location for lunch: a slab of rock halfway up an enormous waterfall, with a view out to the plains to the west so amazing that some members of the team just sat and stared out into the infinity. Others opted for a midday dip in the plunge pool.
The meals that our guides and all round hosts Marci and Jury are managied to create in the most remote locations, is quite a feat to witness.
After we had visited the ActionAid project in Thyolo District, the next evening was a chance to reflect on what we saw and what felt.
Even though we were in a hut halfway up the second highest mountain on the continent nearly everyone had something to say. As we all huddled in the dim light given off by the wood burning fire, stories, anecdotes, questions, ideas flew around the room and everyone discussed how the project visit had affected them, or how they had learned something new.
Lou was surprised at how educated the children actually were, Peter felt uncomfortable with the sheer basic nature of people’s needs, Giles couldn’t get over how little it cost to run one of these projects. We had all learnt something valuable about why we were doing MM.
Day Five: Trek from Thuchira Hut to Chambe Hut
Being in a group of 35 people, some of whom I knew and some I didn’t was hard, not least because I had decided to make the film, which was an added pressure on top of everything else. One of my best friends Giles had elected to help me out. But we were finding it quite difficult to get along, we are very similar, ie bossy, opinionated and argumentative (but also charming on occasion!) so being in this weird situation was hard, thankfully we are still friends now.
Getting to know other people was fun, mostly, take Carl for example, hes a 34 year old guy from Manchester, with a bouncy tigger like personality. This morning, he had taken it upon himself to be the team wake-up call. We all agreed with him that it would be at 6.45am. Unfortunately he had miscalculated the time difference in Malawi and woke us all up at 5.45am at which point none of us could get back to sleep. If theres one thing I’m not it’s a morning person, I will drag myself out of bed early if I have to, but god help anyone who annoys me in the AM. Carl and I had brief words about what would happen if he had similar problem with telling the time the next day.
Actually getting to know Carl was great.
Turns out he used to be a fire-fighter with the RAF, during which time he received the Queen’s Award for Bravery and other accolades. But then he was one of the last people to be thrown out of the armed forces for being gay. Incredible hypocrisy it seems to me. Unphased, he went on to set up his own promotions company with no formal qualifications which has since grown to have an annual turnover of £2.5m.
It is a genuine privilege to be getting to know these people who have come together to raise money for ActionAid.
Dinner was around the camp fire again, and then we watched the cooks make bread for us for the morning, which tasted amazing!
Day Six: Trek from Chambe Hut to Likabula Lodge
Today was downhill in a big way. And didn’t my knees know it. What goes up must come down and I think we were all challenged today by the steepness of the descent and the river crossings we had to negotiate.
At one point the guides had to string ropes across a river so we could clamber across the rapids. Shoes off, scramble across the rocks to the other side. It didn’t seem that big a deal as if we’d slipped we would have landed in a small pool, no big deal. Get to the other side and see that small pool that’s 20 ft across flows quickly to a waterfall about 300ft down. What they sensibly didn’t mention at the time that a few metres downstream was a 30m high waterfall.
We made it back to lodge having enjoyed the African sun and an afternoon spent getting to know people a bit better.
Day Seven: Cycle from Likabula Lodge to Zomba
Today we started will a short journey to the beginning of our route. In a few spare minutes on the minibus, Jack, the ActionAid rep and my mate asked a few people to tell me one thing that they had done for the first time ever already on this adventure so far. The list he got back was pretty diverse:
• been in an earth-pit toilet
• seen a baboon
• drunk from a stream
• washed in a stream
• knowingly met someone who is HIV+
• eaten sugar cane
• been welcomed so warmly
• eaten marmite (our one luxury item we were allowed on the mountain trek)
• been smiled and waved at so much
Once on our bikes, we all enjoyed being off road today on a track through some stunning countryside and remote villages.
We got up quite a speed and were doing well on timing. The kids along this stretch of rough road seemed genuinely excited to see us, and all the way along the route we were required to steady ourselves whilst whole streams of kids lined up along the trackside to be ‘high-fived’ by these mad cyclists. Even the Malawians we passed were smiling at us, although you could tell for many of them it was a case of, what the hell is that!
Stuck in the mud
But no sooner had we set into a pace that would have seen us reaching our destination well within time, the mud struck.
Mud so thick and stick that those of us who made it furthest had tyres so caked in the stuff they looked more like HGV wheels. But that was nothing.
Both our support vehicles then slipped off the side of the track, powerless in the sticky mess. Of course this happened not somewhere nice and secluded where we could have remedied our little situation in privacy. No. We were slap bang in the middle of Chicodya village where I don’t think the locals could get to grips with the hilarity of what they were witnessing. 34 mud caked cyclists pondering their predicament whilst theur vehicles were stuck in a ditch.
Doing the hokey- kokey
As Carl and others entertained the local kids with an impromptu rendition of the hokey-kokey, the rest of us helped heave-ho the trucks out of their ditch.
By the time we had rescued ourselves, after over 200 locals had settled in their front row seats, the day was too short to carry on cycling. But we have all realised very quickly that this whole adventure is not really to do with the miles we clock up. It’s about experiencing Malawi, working as a team, creating memories that will last forever and being challenged in more ways than was ever possible to predict!
Day Eight: Cycle Liwonde to Mangotchi (Lake Malawi)
One other problem with sharing with mates, when they snore its hard to kick them and tell them to shut up, as a result I got about 4 hours sleep after a bad days cycling. But was looking forward to a new day. Having briefed Georgina on how to operate the camera (she sprained her ankle so couldn’t ride) I jumped on my bike and hit the road.
Today was absolutely out of this world. After yesterday’s premature muddy end, I think we were all really up for a challenge today. And challenge we got.
The sky’s were so blue and grand and clouds that towered higher than mountains all around us was the perfect setting for what was to be the longest day’s cycling yet.
Some people found it easier to cycle with a buddy, I found it easiest to plug my Ipod and go, having the occasional burst of energy that sent me sprinting off ahead. Plus a minor problem with my bike kept me at the back at the beginning so I was determined to push ahead and make up some ground.
It was a hard day but one I will remember forever, the stunning scenery, doing over 105km on the roads, gave me a fantastic sense of achievement. Myself, Russell, Jack and Stefan got picked up by the support vehicle and we sat in the truck next to the other bikes comparing stories of the day, grinning at each other, even though we were knackered. It was brilliant.
Day Nine: Cycle Mangochi to Cape Maclear, Kayak to Mumbo Island
The cycle this morning was just 20km, but we had to get over some pretty serious hills that lay between us and our kayaks that were waiting for us at Lake Malawi.
The heat this low down was much more intense and lots of us struggled to get up the hills without getting off. Katie nearly fainted and had to spend a good half an hour with her legs up in the air in the shade.
Our reward when we made it though was the pristine blue waters of Lake Malawi. One by one, as we arrived at Cape Maclear, cyclists stripped down to their lycra shorts and ran off the end of the jetty into the water. Heaven. Course I jumped in with my phone in my pocket like a total bozo, thankfully Nokias dry out and work perfectly again! Its been fine ever since.
We then had 10 kilometres to kayak out to Mumbo Island where we are staying tonight. As Carl said to me earlier, 10 kilometres in a kayak is very different from 10 km on a bike. But yet again, the spectacular setting – limitless azure water, towering clouds set in deep blue sky and green drops of uninhabited islands – made the physical exertion pale into the background. Course it didn’t stop me and Giles from bickering like old women in our kayak, which would’ve have happened which ever of us had been steering: “The islands over there dan why not point us at that!” “I AM POOLEY, why don’t you shut it!”
Tonight we added up exactly how far we had come by bike, foot and kayak. Despite problems with bikes, and the general pace of our progress being slower than expected, we have managed to clock up 250 kilometres on bike, foot and kayak. An achievement worth celebrating.
Day Ten: Kayaking Mumbo Island
Today we woke up in somewhere close to paradise. Mumbo Island is home to only a few shacks, guarded by countless fish eagles and enormous Jurassic-looking monitor lizards.
It was strange not to have a million things to think about and kilometres to cover. And it was also strange to be able to leave people to their own devices. I realised today how normal it had become to eat, sleep and breath with 33 other adventurers. I thought back to the first day when we all met and how we have all clubbed together as a team. It was also a really good opportunity for me to catch up with filming and really find out what people had learned.
So some of us today kayaked the whole of the island. Others tried out scuba diving (never thought you could scuba in an African lake) and a hardy lot (the lesbians, bless em!) kayaked the 16km to nearby Domwe Island.
Tonight the island staff wanted to express their gratitude for us coming to the island. So after our evening meal lit by candlelight on the beach terrace, we were privy to a display of traditional Malawian dance, which involved something to do with a fisherman capturing his wife-to-be.
We had to return the favour.
So lacking any kind of traditional national dance to share with our hosts (no we were not about to Morris dance) we had to think of the next best thing. Aided by a few Malawi gin and tonics, what ensued was a tuneful rendition of Doe-a-Dear from the Sound of Music, the Village People’s YMCA and Summer Lovin’ from Grease. Again I don’t know what the people of Malawi made of us.
Day Eleven: Boat to Senga Bay and Project Visit, Salima
We only had one more day of cycling ahead of us and as usual there was lots of speculation about what we were facing: Uphill all the way to Lilongwe… uphill first, then a leisurely coast downwards towards the capital… I think we have all learned by now though to take it all as it comes.
This afternoon we had our second visit to an ActionAid HIV and AIDS project. One group went to a nursery school for orphans of the crisis, whilst others went to visit grain banks for farmers affected by the disease.
Yet again Carl entertained the kids with his greatest hits – hokey kokey and the like – whilst the rest of us sat down with some of the mothers in the community to find out about life in this area.
We sat down with several women and two men, all living with HIV/AIDS, who had not been able to declare their status to their friends, family or neighbours. The stigma of their situation was palpable. But they were strong people with no need for pity. They were pleased to tell their story.
Day Twelve: Cycle Senga Bay to Lilongwe
The finish line!! I think lots of us got back on our bikes today a little bit hesitant. After the trucks dropped us off we all assembled for another team shot on the roadside.
After a hard slog up some long hills, and an increasingly demanding roadside audience as we neared the urban centre of Lilongwe (Give me money! Give me money! The kids would shout at us as we went past, told by their parents to ask any white people they see), we reached the outskirts of the capital. I decided at this point to jump onto the back of a pick up truck and get lots of good shots of the Mission Malawi team making their way to the close of the challenge. Stood up in the back of the truck, going at about 40 mph hanging on with one hand, camera in the other it did occur to me it was a bit dangerous, but I was getting some great stuff!
We assembled as a group for our escort into town to the finish line at the Lilongwe Hotel. It was appropriate to finish this together. For much of the challenge we had been spread out by our diverse ability, but we were very much one Mission Malawi.
I don’t think any of us really knew what to do after we had finished. We spent a good half an hour hugging each other and a couple broke down in tears (of joy?).
After we had finished the entire trip some of us paid extra to stay a couple of days back at Livingstonia beach resort we stretched out on the beach and enjoyed some well earned drinks, that’s me by the edge of the lake, pictured left.
So we did it!, Roughly 400km across Malawi, lots of bruises, many gin and tonics, a chemists worth of Imodium and countless smiles and laughter. As a team we’d achieved what we set out and at the last count we have raised £85,000 going directly to Malawi and Zimbabwe a pretty Herculean effort, and we couldn’t have done it without your support so thankyou very much!
Dan Cleland.
