BLOG: Why Malawi? A guest blog by family travel bloggers Mini Travellers

We’re excited to share a guest post on our blog from leading Family Travel blogger Karen Beddow of Mini Travellers. Karen and her family had a thrilling Malawi holiday back in 2018 and shared her thoughts on ‘Why Malawi’? 

Anyone who follows our adventures on Mini Travellers knows that we have a bit of a love affair going on with Africa. There are family connections and past experiences that have continued to draw us back to Africa but there are deeper reasons for both of us.

When we first started thinking about our trip to Malawi we were asked again and again “Why Malawi?”. It’s a very good question. To be honest, we didn’t really have an answer. I have some old family photographs of my Dad and I as a toddler on a boat on Lake Malawi and with my mum looking very glamorous on the lake shore. Was it the idea of “going back” that drew us there? We don’t know. We did have a good feeling though, a hunch let’s say, that Malawi could be a great trip, but we were far from certain.

I think the real answer is that we were going to Malawi to find out the answer to that exact question. “Why Malawi?”. It’s not on the popular tourist map, there are no direct flights from the UK, they don’t even have a premier league football player or Olympic athlete we can identify with. We took a calculated risk perhaps.  One that most definitely paid off.

Sometimes we travel to a place we know well. To a place we can google, that has lots of websites and reviews. A well beaten path. And we have a lot of fun. Our trip to Disney World a couple of years ago was fantastic. The kids loved it and we all came away with loads of happy memories.

Other times we like to travel to places we don’t know. To places that are unfamiliar which are challenging for all of us. To places where, as a family, we can all find out a bit more about the world and a bit more about ourselves along the way. The quotes about the benefits of travel are endless, and all better than anything I could ever dream of coming up with. We are not campaigners, eco warriors or politically active people. But we do want to learn more about the places we visit, to understand the lives and challenges faced by the people we are fortunate to meet.

We want our children to share our love of the unknown. We are hopefully planting the seeds of a keen interest in exploring new counties, places, ideas and cultures. Above all, with knowledge and understanding, we want our children to have respect for people that may be different to them. To realise as well, that on a very micro level, just how similar we all are.

Travelling in Africa for us has delivered so many rich and wonderful experiences and Malawi has provided more than its fair share of these. You do not travel around Malawi on three lane motorways in cushioned comfort. It’s a slow bumpy ride a lot of the time. Muddy de-tours on red earth roads, being shaken to the core on rain damaged tracks or held up behind a never-ending supply of broken down lorries. Everyday life will encroach into your journey at a moment’s notice with numerous markets spilling onto the roads or queueing behind countless white mini busses waiting to fill all their seats before taking people to work or home.

In Malawi another impediment to your journey are the breath taking and spectacular views that quite literally leave you speechless. The view from the road up to the beautiful Zomba Plateau across the Great Rift Valley to Lake Chilwa; from the foothills of the mighty Mount Mulanje across most of Malawi; from the hills above the Setemwa Tea Estate across the southern lowlands. Views that defy any camera lens’s attempt to capture them. Your only option is to take your time to take everything in and try to remember.

Be warned, the only other problem we have found with travel in Africa is the constant questions from the kids.  “Why are they doing that?”, “What are those animals called?”, “Is this a school?”, “Why?”, “When?”, “How?”. “What?”, “Who?”. iPads and games were often forgotten as we travelled through this beautiful country. Don’t worry “Are we there yet?” and “I’m bored. What can I do?” still make regular appearances but maybe not quite as much as usual.

Then there is THE Lake. Lake Malawi is 350 miles long and 75 miles wide. Its surface area is greater than that of Wales (A standard travel measure I find) and it is the 5th largest fresh water lake in the world. Its east and west shores are lined by the highlands of the rift valley and the night sky above it is filled with the dazzling Milky Way. With countless varieties of fish, its waters are shining a light on the process of evolution with over 100 species of the same Cichlid fish in the same lake coming under close scientific scrutiny.

Most of all Lake Malawi is stunningly beautiful. Clear blue skies above crystal clear waters. Just watch out for the odd crocodile who, although mostly well fed on fish, just now and again make an appearance on the lake shore at dawn and dusk.

When David Livingston found the Shire River (Pronounced Shyree), the only outlet from Lake Malawi, he could not have imagined that only 150 years later tourists would be using the same river to view elephants and hippos as part of their visit to the amazing 200 sq. mile Liwonde National Park. After years of poaching the African Parks organisation is resuscitating Liwonde, among others and reintroducing species to its protected bush land. Lions and Cheetahs being the latest to return.

Here you are a guest in the animals’ domain so while you sleep grumpy hippos may graze outside of your tent while crocodiles skulk along the shoreline. Elephants play in the river and Fish Eagles swoop to catch their breakfast. Going to sleep in the park under lighting filled skies with the sound of Hippos on the river bank and Elephants calls and rolling thunder in the distance is a magical experience that you will never forget.

Malawi has many challenges including a rapidly expanding population and a dramatically shrinking forest. Close to 1 million new Malawians were born last year adding to a population of just 18 million while 85% of the country’s once extensive forests have disappeared. Government resources are stretched to breaking point and most parts of the country have power for only a few hours a day. We met aid workers, locals and officials all with their own take on the future of Malawi and the role their government, other countries and the numerous aid organisations, will have to play in the coming years.  “It’s complex” is often an excuse for inaction. Malawi needs real sustainable action now. All have to be involved but Malawi has to be the beneficiary.

We leave Malawi with our memories filled with magical moments, inspiring people and beautiful vistas. As a family we all leave as wiser people, a little more patient and a lot more appreciative of the advantages of the lives we are returning to.  We hope that our children continue to grow and develop on the rich soil provided by the wonderful and varied experiences Malawi afforded them.

If you have the opportunity to visit, take it and embrace it with open arms.

Read more of the Mini Travellers blogs on their website here.