Monday morning we drove out of Mzuzu on our way to Livingstonia. The first two-and-one-half hours of driving were on decent tarmac roads. An hour into our drive we were driving high up in the mountains. After two hours of travel we were able to look down and see Lake Malawi. The beautiful blue water and the picturesque shore line caused us to ask Lester to stop several times so that we could snap pictures.
After following the ridges we made a rapid descent into the Great Rift Valley. For several miles we drove along the edge of Lake Malawi. Yes, we asked Lester to stop so that we could walk the few yards to the water’s edge and take more pictures. It was a beautiful drive but a bit too hazy to see Tanzania on the opposite shore.
But alas, to get up the mountain we had to leave the tarmac and take the one lane dirt road with 20 hairpin turns (plus uncounted curves that did not qualify as hairpin turns) to get the top. We use the term “dirt road” loosely in this case, as the road is scraped dirt and rocks and quite a few hit the bottom of the car on the way. Some of the sharp turns had slightly wider spots, but only barely enough to make the turn – and no shoulder or guard rails! It felt a little like riding around some of our East Tennessee hills. Fortunately we met no traffic as we were going up. By the time we were two-thirds of the way to the top we could look down and see the serpentine route that got us that far. It was an awesome view and the stop allowed us to take a deep breath in preparation for the rest of the drive.
After a visit to the United Methodist congregations located on the mountain we headed to the “White House,” the private home and lodge of Dr. A. C. Mkandawire where we would spend the night. They have a lovely compound with the house and lodge overlooking the descent to the lake which you can see in the distance through the palms, bougainvillea and plumeria trees. The house was spotless and had a huge pink bathroom straight out of the late 60’s and we loved it all. The Dr’s wife was “in residence” so she arranged lovely meals for us in her dining room – a real treat, with her homemade orange marmalade, guava jam and fresh pineapples from her garden. The view was breathtaking from her porch and the air cool and fresh.
Livingstonia was created at the start of the 20th century as the headquarters for the Presbyterian mission to Malawi. After Livingston came to Malawi in one of his walks across Africa, he encouraged others from Scotland to come. A man named Robert Laws became the moderator of the rapidly growing church in Malawi. He looked for a suitable place to establish a headquarters. Malaria chased him out of two or three previous locations. He finally came to the top of the mountain and developed Livingstonia.
A stone house was built in 1903 and is still used as a museum and as sleeping quarters. Herb stayed one night in the Stone House in 2003. The house looks sturdy enough to stand for another hundred plus years. We walked from there to the huge church about the length of two football fields away. Unfortunately we were unable to go inside but we were impressed with this majestic structure complete with gothic arches that was erected in 1904.
In addition to the church headquarters there is also a college, a hospital, many small stores, a market and an active community. The University of Livingstonia is only four years old and has about 650 students. We caught the drawl of the visiting professor from Austin, Texas and had a nice chat while we stopped in at the Adjunct Faculty housing complex.
One of the more intriguing sites at Livingstonia dates from 1959 when the people of Nyasaland (Malawi) were fighting for their independence from England. While there never was a full fledged war, skirmishes took place and racial tensions were high. The Brits knew that there were many white folks on the mountain at Livingstonia. They dropped empty tear gas canisters from an airplane with a message asking for a signal if they were safe. After prayer and discussion the people took white bricks and wrote out on the lawn “Ephesians 2:14.” A photo was taken from the plane and published the next day in newspapers in the UK. They wanted everyone to know that black people and white people could live together as brothers and sisters. They were doing it in Livingstonia. The sign is still on the lawn near the Stone House.
The history of this place is exciting. The air is fresh. The scenery is spectacular. Just being in Livingstonia is a mountain top experience in more ways than one. But as always, one has to come down from the mountain…and we will let you use your imagination about the ride down on the same little one lane track. We made it.
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