Escape the early part of South Africa’s winter and join us in Malawi for a challenging gravel cycling loop displaying daily, vastly different scenery, including a few challenging climbs, and beautiful gravel track.

Map of Africa, highlighting Southern Malawi showing our tour route

Route Profile – Blantyre to Blantyre

Day 1

Arrive by air (Airlink or Air Malawi) from Johannesburg (it’s a 2-hour flight); or via your chosen route and we will meet you at Chileka International Airport, Blantyre, Malawi.

From the airport it’s a half-hour drive into Blantyre where we will be staying at Blantyre’s iconic The Leslie, Blantyre’s foremost lodge. We will help you assemble your bikes and get ready for the tour. Dinner that evening is a social occasion hosted by James, our Tour Leader. It is a relaxed social affair; to meet the tour group and to get to know each other better.

 

Day 2

Blantyre to Zomba (97 km)

After a hearty breakfast, we leave Blantyre on good tracks. Blantyre was founded by Scottish Missionaries in 1876 making it the oldest City in Southeast Africa. Fortunately for our day 1, Blantyre was founded on high land! The first decent is exhilarating! With Blantyre behind us we ride the beautiful gravel paths taking us through natural forest – past small scale subsistence farms and villages to the commercial farmland between Blantyre and Zomba. Macadamia, Maize, and Tobacco are just some of the commercially farmed crops we will see. The ride is on good smooth gravel tracks with occasional non-technical single track. We will stop at village shops for refreshments and water pumps to stay well hydrated! As we approach Zomba, the old Colonial Capital of Northern Nyasaland (Malawi), you cannot but notice the magnificent Zomba mountain often covered in white clouds. It’s a challenge to climb Zomba, but so worthwhile. We leave the smooth gravel tracks just before Zomba and stop in the town for a well-deserved Ice Cream before taking on the winding narrow tar road, which takes us to the Sunbird Ku Chawe Hotel way above the town. Our accommodation above Zomba has a large swimming pool and a magnificent view back towards Blantyre, a fine place to celebrate a great day’s ride. The afternoon is leisure, and dinner will be served at 18H30.

Day 3

Zomba to Mulanje – 106km’s

Today is a fantastic ride, entirely downhill! From our hotel we drop down to the town of Zomba and then pass through the Zomba Market before heading out into farmlands and fantastic smooth gravel cycling tracks. With Zomba Mountain behind us, and the Mulanje Massif peaking at 3000m ahead of us, we ride across the very bottom of the Great Rift Valley. The ride is rated as one of the best days cycling in Malawi as the track flows beautifully, its hard packed, flowing, and smooth. The scenery along the way is beautiful with mostly small-scale subsidence farming on the go. The tracks – depending on the time of day – are frequented by local farmers riding either bicycles or motorbikes. Watch out for motorbikes, they are a danger to themselves and others! We pass through numerous villages and market days can be busy days. Time to slow down and take in friendly, rural Malawi.

As we approach Mulanje we border on some of the oldest tea estates in Africa dating back to the 1890’s and still producing the fine tea that Malawi is known for. The rich green tea bushes and the magnitude of Mulanje combine into a magnificent site.

After a relatively easy 100km’s we should reach our hotel in time for lunch. The afternoon’s at leisure and evening drinks before dinner from 18H30. We may have dinner at Mulanje Pizza, a real African Pizza experience!

Day 4

Mulanje to Game Haven – 108km’s

Today starts easy, but be warned, there is climbing to be done in the second half and it’s challenging! We leave Mulanje behind and ride westwards. The first 50km’s from Mulanje to the town of Thyolo is flat and riding is easy on good gravel tracks. It’s a bit of everything, small scale farmers, tea estates, and lots of new Macadamia plantations. Our first coffee stop is at the little Bakery in the town of Thyolo – a unique experience in Malawi and well worth the stop! The next 50km’s is a challenge, little flat country but a ride along the Southern escarpment with huge drops to the Shire River visible to our left. Fortunately, the track is smooth, non-technical, hard, and relatively wide! These 50km’s are uniquely different and beautiful to anything else in Malawi. It’s a perfect track for a challenging gravel ride, and those who took it easy on previous days should be richly rewarded with strong legs!

After a hard day’s ride, arriving at Game Haven is always a great pleasure! We should arrive in time for celebratory pre-lunch drinks!! Game Haven is a small hotel, well run and has a small game reserve, a fishing dam, and a golf course on site. Dinner will be served from 18H30.

Day 5

Game Haven to N’gona on the Shire River – 60km’s

Today is a short day at 60km, but it has different challenges to yesterday! It’s characterized by beautiful decents, with a few not so tough climbs, but in places it is rocky but rideable! The route remains non-technical gravel riding. The aim is to treat today as an easy day after the tough last 50km’s of yesterday. We aim to have a slightly later breakfast, a later start and still to arrive at N’gona Lodge on the Shire River in good time for lunch. While it’s a short day, mostly downhill, it does pose a challenge or two! There are a few bits of single track, where some may be more comfortable joining me walking! There is also a crossing of the Mudi River and depending on recent rains it should be rideable, or at worst knee deep.

Before we reach N’gona we cross the Shire River on a steel bridge just below Malawi’s Hydro Electric plant located on the Shire River close to the Kapachira Falls. These falls are key to prevent Tiger fish swimming from the Zambezi to the Upper Shire and into Lake Malawi. Should Tiger Fish ever reach the Lake, the thousands of tropical fish in the Lake would become extinct – Tiger Fish food. N’gona is beautiful and an excellent place to enjoy a half day rest day. It has lovely facilities and is just the place to sit back, eat, drink, and relax! For the energetic ones, a visit to the Big Five Majete Game Reserve for a late afternoon game drive is a must, followed by spectacular evening star gazing.

Day 5

N’gona to Blantyre – 70km’s

The Shire River is 85m above sea level, Blantyre is 1200m above sea level – the last day is not easy, but it’s rideable and offers wonderful tracks! We retrace our path by crossing the Shire River on the steel bridge and then head north for Blantyre. The lower Shire River area is sparsely populated, but the track is good, offering a few climbs which are all rideable. As we get closer to Blantyre, we pass through more villages, and the tracks start to widen to roads. The last 20km’s into Blantyre is steep, but with the steepest bits on tar within the municipal boundary of Blantyre. Once back in Blantyre, we will be staying at The Leslie where we spent our first night. Lunch will be served and then there will be time to pack bikes and recover! That evening a celebratory dinner will be held, and prizes and awards will be presented!

Day 7

Homeward Bound…

The daily Air Malawi flight to Johannesburg leaves Blantyre’s Chileka International Airport at 09H30, with Airlink’s flight departing at 14H00. After an early breakfast, our support crew will transport those on the morning flight to the airport, and later in the day those on the Airlink flight. We will assist you through the departures hall and see you safely on your way.