Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 01-372395; s/d MK2000/2500)
The best option on the main road, this guesthouse has
small rooms with tiled floors, pastel- coloured walls, fans and en suites. The attached
Chef's Pride restaurant serves chicken and chips, meatballs and chicken curry, all accom-
panied by a blaring TV (mains MK700; 6am to 9pm).
Getting There & Away
Minibuses run to and from Mzuzu (MK1000, one hour). Trucks on their way to Chitipa
might drop you off at the turning to Chelinda Camp. Minibuses and
matolas
to Kazuni
village (from where you can get to Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve) should cost around
MK500. Most transport leaves from outside the Peoples Supermarket.
HOW NYIKA WAS FORMED
A small population of hunter-gatherers is believed to have inhabited Nyika (meaning 'wilderness') more than
3000 years ago, and ancient rock art has been found at Fingira Cave, at the southern end of the plateau. When the
Bantu people arrived in northern Malawi, most stayed on the plains below the Nyika.
The first Europeans to see the Nyika were probably Scottish missionaries, who reached this area in 1894 after it
was brought to the attention of the British government by explorer David Livingstone, although it's quite possible
that it was seen by Portuguese explorers who were active in the area long before Livingstone came through. The
mission station built by the Scottish missionaries, between Nyika's eastern edge and Lake Malawi, was named
Livingstonia and is still a thriving centre today.
Scientists and naturalists who visited Nyika Plateau in the early 20th century recognised the biological import-
ance of the area, and in 1933 measures were taken to protect the stands of juniper trees on the southern part of the
plateau from bushfires. In 1948 this section was made into a forest reserve, and at the same time, pine plantations
were established around Chelinda, near the centre of the plateau.
There were later plans to extend the plantations and develop the area as a source of wood for a proposed pulp
mill on Lake Malawi, but access for logging vehicles proved difficult and the scheme was abandoned. Plantations
were, however, established on the Viphya Plateau, and although plans for a Lake Malawi mill were shelved, they
were still occasionally discussed, even as late as the 1990s.
In 1965 the entire upper Nyika Plateau was made a national park, and in 1976 this area was extended further to
include the lower slopes of the plateau - an important water-catchment area. This most recent boundary extension
included several small settlements, and the people living here were relocated to areas outside the park. When they
moved they took the names of their villages with them and now, in the area bordering the park, there are several
settlements that share names with valleys and other features inside the park itself.
