One of these decisions was to hitchhike from Zimbabwe to Malawi, via Zambia, by myself. Malawi is said to be a fantastic country, with its aquamarine gem of Lake Malawi balancing out the forested northern highlands, it is reputed to be a magical place and I wanted to find out for myself.
So I packed my bags, got dropped off on the outskirts of Harare, and with a sign with 'Malawi' written on it, waited for a ride to Lake Kariba. That first section was pretty easy, I was in familiar territory, I knew Zimbabwe very well and I got a one-stop ride all the way to Kariba. After an overnight at Kariba I managed to easily gets across the board into Zambia having got a ride from a very pleasant lady and her daughter. I was in luck, as they were driving all the way to Lusaka.
However, I did not realise that they were born-again Christians (not that I take a particular dislike to born-again Christians), but they were over zealous in my protection and it took me three days to break away from their place in Lusaka. I mean, three days! They were concerned about my welfare and were trying to find me a ride, but after 48-hours it was becoming a rather painful process. I eventually persuaded them to drop me on the outskirts of Lusaka where I would try and hitch a ride through the eastern section of Zambia to the Malawi border. Unfortunately they dropped me in the afternoon – it is a six-hour drive to the border, with nothing much in between, and it was at this point that I questioned my decision-making process. I also question their decision-making, as they were concerned about my welfare and had left me in the middle of nowhere with a rather unachievable goal.
I waited. I waited in the searing heat. I waited in the searing heat and consumed most of my water. When I started drinking my second bottle of water I mentally began to look at my options. Whilst in thought, a large pristine white vehicle pulled up and a guy got out and asked me where I was going.
" Malawi," I said, "or anywhere near the border would be great."
"You are in luck," said Andy (whose name I found out later), " where are the others?"
" What others?"
"Well surely it is not just a you travelling, where are the other hitchhikers?"
"No, it is really just me."
Andy could not believe this, picked up my bag and put it in the back of the truck, whilst still looking surreptitiously into the undergrowth for the rest of my group. When he realised that I actually was travelling by myself, we set off along the potholed road towards Malawi.
"Fancy a drink? There are cold beers in the fridge." The fridge happens to be between the driver and passenger seat. Lady luck was certainly travelling with me.
I was young, I was invincible and I was so terribly naive. But I made it to Malawi (in one piece), and it is a magical country and Lake Malawi is an incredible place. I loved it so much that I spent six weeks there, and that was just the first of many a glorious time in Malawi.
'Sense' Malawi for yourself.
No comments:
Post a Comment