Malawi - The Mushroom Farm

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The directions to the Mushroom farm from Nkahta Bay are to take a dalla dalla, changing at Mzuzu, and head north alone the main road towards Karanga which is the nearest town to the Tanzania border. Get off at the police checkpoint near the town of Khondowe, here you then take the dirt road towards Livingstonia, and the Mushroom Farm is about 10 kilometers. There are two options; either wait at the junction and try to hitch a lift, or walk the 10 kilometers which are all up hill.
Stu ended up taking me and another girl who I had befriended called Liselotte, and had also hitched a life with Stu, all the way to the farm. We were both very relieved and grateful as neither of us had realized how bad and steep the road was.
After lunch we said our farewells to Stu and he headed back down.
The Mushroom Farm is not actually a mushroom farm, just a really interesting place to stay, it is situated right on the edge of the Nyika Plateau which has a highest point of about 2600mtres. The farm is set amongst trees on different levels and has views of a rift valley with Lake Malawi in the distance.
Liselotte and I spent a couple of days exploring the local area, we walked up to Livingstonia which was ………….

It has a scattering of Victorian red brick buildings with a hospital and a university, and as you approach it there is a long avenue of tall trees either side of the dirt road. It doesn’t seem to sit comfortably surrounded by the African traditional houses, but we found a little gift shop that served scones and coffee that is locally grown, bliss.
We also went to see some waterfalls that plunge straight down the side of the plateau, and then found a rather precarious pathway that lead to a cave at the back of the waterfalls.
The next day Liselotte left heading south, but I stayed for an extra day. That evening a couple more people that I had also met at Nkata Bay turned up, it’s really good when you keep meeting up with people you know.
As I was heading for bed, I managed to trip and fall on the uneven rocky steps twisting my ankle, cutting my knee and grazing all up my arm, brilliant! I was due to walk the 10km down the next morning. I cleaned my wounds, strapped up my ankle, took pain pills and went to bed with my foot elevated. The next morning I paid a guide to carry my backpack and headed down, it took just under two hours to get back to the main road and I felt pleased with myself that I had managed it. Not one vehicle had past us, so much for hitchhiking.
I sat on the side of the road and waited for a dalla dalla to Karanga, There I transferred to a shared taxi that took me the last few kilometers to the border, then left Malawi walking into no mans land.

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Photos

The Mushroom Farm
Me chatting to the local children

The Mushroom Farm
Bet I can do that

The Mushroom Farm
Waterfall

The Mushroom Farm
Livinstonia

The Mushroom Farm
The countryside

The Mushroom Farm
Behind the falls