Malawi is dominated by the lake of the same name which is the 11th largest freshwater lake in the world and the third largest freshwater lake in Africa. The lake occupies the floor of the rift valley made famous by its discoveries of early hominids such as “Lucy” in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania which is the country on the northern border of Malawi. Since the lake fills the rift valley which is the result of plate tectonics pulling Africa apart (we’re talking geologic time here) it is extremely deep for those used to the Great Lakes in Canada. The surface is 474 m above sea level but some parts of the lake floor are below sea level. The water exceeds depths of 700 m in some parts making it far deeper than the deepest Great Lake (Lake Superior) at 370m.
When we went to the lake a week and a half ago it was beautiful but at the point we were at (Senga Bay) it was not as wide as it is in other spots as we could see the mountains that are in Mozambique on the other side. Cole, one of the WUSC student placements , came with us and after a flippant comment about swimming across has stated that is his new goal during his time in Malawi (insert skepticism at this point – Sorry Cole).
Malawi depending on how you slice the continent can be described as being in central Africa, eastern Africa or southern Africa but it is normally slotted in as part of southern Africa. As well it definitely looks southward as a country as South Africa is the most developed country in the region. It has a rainy (right now) season and a dry season with the hottest temperatures occurring around September or October. As far as heat it is summer right now and the temperatures are comfortable hovering in the high twenties sometimes reaching the low thirties. Winter can have temperatures as low as 7 degrees Celsius at night so the climate has a far more sub-tropical feel like Florida than the tropical temperatures I experienced in South America.
The landscape is surprisingly varied considering the fact that the country is about half the size of Great Britain and the highest point in Central Africa is in the country. Next week Janna will be traveling to the southern part of the country which can be much warmer than Lilongwe. The river that flows out of Lake Malawi is the dominant feature in the south, are region called the Shire. There aren’t any hobbits Paul but there were reports up until the 19th century of sightings of a people known to archaeologists that weren’t the current Bantu tribes or the former San (Bushmen) tribes but rather what seems to be a mix of those two with additional Caucasian traits. Currently the south is experiencing severe flooding due to the high level of rain and 100 000 people have lost their homes. The sad thing is that this occurs every few years but structures aren’t in place to prevent the same disaster reoccurring year after year. I’m sure Janna will blog about her visit to this area.
Well, that is all I have time for now. Before I go I just wanted to thank Jody Young (and Duncan Martin) for her support for my year in Malawi and for taking me out with the MOL team for lunch where everyone was so positive and supportive about our Arntz-Gray’s in Africa adventure.
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