Lujeri Tea Estate, Malawi

Wednesday 16^th November – Lujeri, Mulanje, Malawi.

Another verandah – a couple of weeks on from being at the Falls. Am typing but there is no power so updating to the blog will have to come later......

The sky is grey and turning black; it's raining and thunder is rumbling away in the distance – not too close yet. The verandah is right next to Mt Mulanje but I cannot see it!

This verandah is on the Lujeri Tea Estate – a place I have spent many hours working – not actually on the verandah. We are in Malawi. It's rather nice to actually be taking time out and spending a leisurely day on this verandah – something I have longed to do in the past. The pool is below and yesterday when we arrived, being very hot and dusty it was wonderful to have a swim and cool down.

It's raining but there's the pool below the verandah

 I can't remember when I first came here to work but it was at least twenty years ago! I still think of Craig King (the current FD) as “new” but he and Cheyne are just about to leave and return to SA after living here for 14 years. It's good to catch up.

Oooh there goes the lightening and the wind is rising fast. Thunder is closer. Doors beginning to bang and the trees are swaying. Perhaps it's time to move inside.......African rain; it's come at last. It's been hot and people have been waiting. Am relieved, however, that it wasn't raining on our trip up to Tanzania and then back down again. Some of the roads have been pretty bad with major roadworks going on; with rain those detours will now be hellish.

Lujeri - Franjipane tree

Am in catch up phase again – I last posted from The Falls and since then we've been on Lake Kariba at Musango Camp via light aircraft and boat and then driven back to Harare, from where we set off again, to the Vumba in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe. After our return on Tuesday 1^st November Penny flew back to the UK on Wednesday 2^nd and I headed with Alastair up to Malawi and then on to Tanzania. And now we're on our return leg and back in Malawi. Got some back track blogging to do!

Frangipane