Julian Monroe Fisher crosses Malawi

I’ve just received this dispatch from Africa…

Julian Monroe Fisher, renowned African explorer, Anthropologist, Fellow with The Royal Geographical Society in London and Fellow with The Explorer’s Club in New York City, has completed the overland crossing of the northern Mozambique section of his EQUATORIA – A Walk Across Africa.

Reached by mobile phone in the Malawian village of Senga Bay along the shores of Lake Malawi Fisher said, “The crossing of Mozambique was much more challenging than I had ever anticipated. There were vast areas for several hundred kilometers along what appeared on my maps to be a road which in actuality was a single trail along which there were no recognizable villages. For the most part I lived off cassava root, maize, boiled noodles and bananas. Because of the unpredictable movement of wildlife to include elephants officials with the Mozambique government advised me that it was unsafe to walk so for sections I had to ride alone a motorcycle which I bought and then sold along the trail. At times the trail was submerged in water and I had to hire locals to help me carry the motorcycle above the waterline. It was quite unnerving in areas known for landmines, especially since landmines tend to shift location during the rain season that had just ended.”

Following the overland trek across Mozambique, explorer Fisher then crossed Lake Malawi, the third largest lake in Africa and the ninth largest lake in the world, by hired boat from the village of Meponda, Mozambique, to Makanjila, Malawi. In Makanjila he hired another boat that took him across to the fishing village of Senga Bay, Malawi. From Senga Bay Fisher has resumed walking west towards the city of Lilongwe.

What’s particularly cool is that Julian has been using ipadio along the way to broadcast updates back to his followers. We must admit we were a bit worried about him when he said he was trying to run away from his government ‘minders’ – so it’s great to hear he’s made it across.

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