Kara o’ Mula Country Lodge

As we drove up Mount. Mulanje in the truck I must admit there was some element of fear (maybe a little more than some!) the truck swayed and swirled up the mountain. It was late in the night and the rain was heavy, and there was a big sign of relief as I got to my room. I must admit a part of me was thinking what have I got myself in for?

However, the morning arrived and one look outside of my window changed everything…as I type this I have views of the peak of the mountain, tropical plants and the tea reserves, it is spectacular! The lodge is rustic and has a very traditional feel. The owners are trying to protect the environment and be as sustainable as possible. There are numerous locals employed to grow vegetables in the garden to use in the restaurant and water is used as efficiently as possible.

The lodge employs 54 people and most seem to be locals. The majority are employed for security and landscaping of the area. It seems to be vital for the local economy. Talking to many of the staff they explained to me finding a good job in the area is tough, many end up picking tea and doing other low paid manual labour.

Here are a few images...

The tea reserves on Mount. Mulanje

The view from my room

The vegetable garden at the lodge - all of the produce is used in the restaurant

My first impressions of the capital…

After an eight-hour flight to Nairobi and then another two-hour flight to Lillongwe…I am nearly at my final destination, Mulanje. However, I have a few hours in Lilongwe before I catch my bus.

As the taxi drove into the city form the airport I failed to see the hustle and bustle of what I had imagined. I turned to my driver and asked him if we were in the suburbs, he said no to my surprise. We were pretty much in the centre.

Looking out of the car window I saw children walking home from school, street sellers who seemed extremely laid back and no traffic what so ever. Billy my driver laughed as he said, ‘this is the way it is... locals take things slow and go with the flow!’

As I got out of the cab no one bothered me or tried to sell me anything…instead I was greeted with friendly faces and smiles. I grabbed a quick bite to eat and made a move to catch my bus to finally arrive to my final destination Mulanje.

A glimpse of Kilimanjaro on my flight from Nairobi to Lilongwe

Technical Problems!

The original plan was to upload pictures, videos and text to the blog every day. Unfortunately technical issues got the better of me. The Internet at the lodge was very slow and could just about let me read e-mails let alone upload images!

However, I am now back in Lilongwe and the Internet is better so will be loading some of my posts now and then the rest when I get back to London. Enjoy!