Malawian Travel Time

This morning, I’m in Karonga. I am heading to the uranium mine Kaylekera to have a look at what is going on over there. Yesterday, on the way from Mzuzu to Karonga, I started chatting with the conductor on the minibus. Edwards (conductor) gave me some of the inside scoop on how to get to Kaylekera. Apparently, there should be a bus carrying workers from Karonga every so often and I should be able to hitch a ride.

So this morning, I leave my small hostel room and try to find the bus. Guess what? No bus. I see a matola heading to Chitipa, and Kaylekera is on the way to Chitipa. But its only 8:30 am and I need to get there by 3 pm. So what to do in the meantime? I see a sign that says Kaylekera is only 55 km away.

I run into Edwards again, he explains that the matola should drop me off at a T intersection and that Kaylekera is 5 km from the T intersection. He also mentions that there should be cars running back and forth from the T intersection and will also take you for a small fee. I have plenty of time.

Woah! Red Flag! I don’t have plenty of time. In Canada I would see a 55 km sign and estimate, okay a 1/2 hour to get there, 1 hour tops. But I’m in Malawi, time to do some Malawian math.

Time now = 8:30 am
Time I need to be at Kaylekera = 3 pm

I’m taking a matola which is basically riding in the back of a truck. They don’t leave on scheduled times and only when their full. The road is most likely dirt all the way there. So 1 hour normal travel time will stretch into 3 hours. Also, there might not be another matola after this.

Also, Edwards said that there are cars at the T intersection, and that it is 5 km. He seemed a bit uncertain of the total distance. As a rule, Malawians are not strict on time, and they tend to like to please so they will often underestimate distances that you have to travel, perhaps to keep you from wimping out. So, cars waiting probably means no cars waiting, and 5 km probably means 10 or more. So add 2 more hours walking time.

My 1 hour has now stretched to 5 hours.

I’m still hanging with Edwards, the time is now 9 am. Yup, I better get on the Matola. I jump on. I wait on there until about 10 when we finally take off. We get to the T junction by noon. There are no cars waiting. The sign at the side of the road says Kaylekera 12 km. After a 2 hour hike, I reach Kaylekera. The sun is brutal and I’m a mess of sweat. It’s 2 pm. Yup, 5 hours. Malawian travel time.