8th February 2026
I never considered that Malawi would have Eastern and Western regions. After all, it’s such a narrow country. But considering that it takes time to travel from east to west (such as from Salima to Lilongwe) it makes sense. Here’s a map of the region to give you an idea of Malawi’s shape (and location).
Today we are headed to the Eastern region of Malawi. This is still very much in the southern region. Dennis met Dan and I early in the morning at the house. I wasn’t even ready for the day yet. Soon we were headed to the Mpilangwe’s house to pick up Gracious and his Hilux. We’ll need a strong, comfortable vehicle for the journey ahead.
After situating a few things, including the hot water for tea and coffee (and a cap for the pickup’s battery), we were on our way northward. At first it was cloudy and cool. We drove past some macadamia seedlings that almost look like they were just planted. As we left the mountains surrounding Blantyre we came across other mountains, plenty of them. Some covered in trees, others covered in maize fields. As we drove the temperature rose slightly.
Thankfully it was still plenty cool as we drove through the city of Zomba. Zomba was the first capital city of the country. It has nice roads, well established buildings and markets, a prison, a mental health hospital, and a very modern looking building that none of us could figure out. There are a couple of church members who live in or near the city. We made plans to visit one of them on our way home at the end of the day.
… 9:15am …
As we drove I saw a sign for a boat cruise in Liwonde along the Shire River. The sign promised hippos. That sounded very familiar to me so I checked my photos which tag the geolocation where they were taken. To make sure and keep my bearings straight (even though Dan was the one driving) I also looked at my map. Sure enough, in 2017 when our friend Linda was visiting, Lena and I took a boat tour on the Shire River in Liwonde.
I monitored the map to make sure I was ready for some photos of the river. And I was not disappointed. The mighty Shire (pronounced “sheer-ay” with a soft “r” like the Malawians do) was full of water. We were too far away and probably in the wrong location to see the hippos. Perhaps next time.
After crossing the river we turned onto Arthur Peter Mutharika Road (named after the current president who was also a previous president) towards Mangochi. The Mangochi district wraps around the southern tip of Lake Malawi and boarders Mozambique to the east. It’s known as a hot, dry district, a popular spot for tourists both foreign and domestic.
All along the lake you can find people selling fish, waving them in the air to entice drivers. The lake is definitely breathtaking and very enjoyable. There are a few smaller lakes also along Africa’s Great Rift Valley. We drove past Lake Malombe which is just south of Lake Malawi. Before getting to our final destination we made a pit stop at a fuel station that had some outdoor Roman-esque pillars. Perhaps the makings of a future restaurant, or many ruins from an abandoned one.
… 11:00am …
While it was still morning, and as we could really feel the heat from the midday sun in Mangochi, we turned onto the road leading to the Mlambe Cottage in Monkey Bay on the shores of Lake Malawi. Our goal was to check this spot out as a possible Feast of Tabernacles site for either this year or in the future. We drove through the neighboring village filled with beautiful mlambe trees (also known as baobab trees), beautiful rock formations, and some rather large potholes filled with water. It had obviously rained quite a bit the night before.
We got a thorough tour of the place which included a handful of cottages with plenty of room for guests. The grounds were beautifully laid out with some well established trees and grasses including about 5 (if I counted correctly) large mlambe trees. There was one that had so many fruits hanging from its branches. I’d never seen one with with so many immature fruits before.
… 1:00pm …
After walking around a bit more, having a refreshing picnic beneath a large mlambe tree, and speaking with the groundskeeper, we climbed back into the pickup and headed down the road back the way we came. This time we stopped at a different fueling station. There were several fish vendors who brought over boxes filled with ice, chambo, tiger fish, and another kind I didn’t recognize the name of (butter fish maybe but in Chichewa). One man also brought over some coconuts to sell. The hot dry region is good for coconut palms and a few other fruits that don’t just grow anywhere. Traveling through parts of Zomba I saw plenty of jackfruit which I’ve only tried from a store in Long Island.
Gracious really thought about buying some fresh chambo. The vendors kept coming down with their offers but their prices were just too high for him. He said he used to pay two tambala for chambo. A Malawian kwacha is made up of 100 tambala. They are worth so little nowadays that no one uses them. It’s even hard to spend 20 kwacha. I’ve seen a handful of tambala in the past but none recently.
… 5:30pm …
After one more pitstop at a filling station beneath a beautiful rocky mountain, somewhere just south of Zomba City we turned off the highway towards Francis Mabeda’s house. Francis lives and works in the area, surrounded by maize fields, doing agricultural research for the government. When it’s working, he rides his motorcycle to Blantyre for services each Sabbath. Even if the motorcycle isn’t working he makes it there faithfully.
… 6:00pm …
It’s unfortunate that we didn’t have more time to visit with Francis. We still had some ground to cover and sunset was fast approaching. As we got nearer to Blantyre I saw some very familiar mountains. The sun was peaking out from behind rain clouds in the distance as it began to set. I sent a few of the sunset photos to the NYC brethren. I figured they could use something like that after being frozen solid for a couple of weeks now. Every time I looked up after sending a few photos I saw another breathtaking view of the mountains and the sunset.
I continued with the photos until I could no longer see the sun’s rays peaking out from behind Blantyre’s mountains. We reached the Mpilangwe’s home, dropped Gracious off, traded vehicles, and headed into the city and into a heavy rain shower. We grabbed something from Chifundo Chiumbuzo who lives along the route, dropped Dennis off somewhere so he could make his way home, and headed for the house. Thankfully the rain let up for a while.
… 6:45pm …
Dan and I stretched our legs a bit, going and checking on a few things at the AirBnB project. I snapped a photo of Mount Soche at night with the city lights below. The fresh cool air felt really nice.
… 8:00pm …
We made it back home before another heavy rain started. Blantyre needed the rains. Malawi needed the rains. We prayed and asked brethren in different places to pray, and God once again provided for His people in Malawi.
Before bed I enjoyed one last Malawian dinner cooked by Carol and crew. Nsima, rice, meat, and pumpkin greens with groundnut flour. Delicious! As with every night, the Ringo crew came together for an evening prayer and this time to bid me farewell. I packed and then got some sleep. Tomorrow seems like it’s going to be a long one.
-Lewis VanAusdle
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