Neither the isolation of the area nor the poor condition of the road bodes particularly well for our goal of reaching the gate to Nyika by 3:00 p.m.; we need gas and we have fewer than thirty minutes to traverse the slow-going 50 km or so in front of us.
The deeper we plunge into the Malawian countryside, the more skeptical we all become of finding the filling station the police officer and gas station attendant in Rumphi described. Dan has been on this road before and he doesn't remember a gas station. Besides, how could there be a gas station in an area so far-flung from a major town?
Despite our doubts, we spot a filling station in an unlikely location about 20 minutes outside Rumphi. It's a single pump cropping out of a grassy yard next to what apears to be someone's home. We pull onto the grass and into the bay but see no obvious way of dispensing the fuel from the hose or paying for the gas. Dan gets out to ask but no one is inside either the house or small general store across the road. Moreover, after inspecting the pump more closely, we realize that this isn't a station for diesel at all; this thing pumps paraffin oil (aka kerosene). We could cook or heat our house with it, but not power our car. (I've since heard that you may actually be able to use paraffin in a diesel tank, but I'm not sure.)
Now if we turn around it's a guarantee that we'll forgo one or our two prepaid nights in Nyika. We've got about a quarter of a tank left; it's tight but we think we might just have enough to make it to the Chelinda camp. That won't leave us any gas for driving around the park or getting back out, but we've read that there is some diesel to be found at the camp even though our guide book cautions not to rely on the short supplies available there.
At this point, though, we've about run out of options. We press on and cross our fingers both to make it to the gate on time and for our gas to last us to Chelinda.
After another 15 minutes of driving we realize that there is no chance we'll make it by 3:00 p.m. The road is just in too bad of shape.
We thumb through the guide book again looking for any indication that they will turn us away if we arrive after 3:00 p.m. We find nothing. Moreover, Dan thinks the VSO volunteer who told us about the 3:00 p.m. deadline is a bit of an alarmist and may be exaggerating. We figure we might as well try our luck. If they turn us away we'll have to backtrack to Rumphi, but we've got nothing else to do today if we don't make it to camp, so we've really got nothing to lose.
Well, the road is a lot longer than any of us thought. This park is remote. We occasionally pass by a village but, at this distance from Rumphi, even the small villages are few and far between. The good news is that the scenery is stunning and after resigning ourselves to the idea that we'd be late, I think we all relaxed enough to enjoy it.
After another hour and twenty minutes or so, at about 4:05 p.m., we finally reached the main gate to Nyika.
The gate is closed and we're nervous. A sign does in fact say that you must enter the park by a certain time of day, but the cutoff is 3:30 p.m., not 3:00 p.m. like the VSO guy told us in Lilongwe. I'm feeling more confident about our chances of getting in only a half hour or so after the deadline except for the fact that the woman at the gate appears to be closing up shop.
Dan walks up to work his abundant charm.
He goes inside the booth with the guard, which we interpret as a very good sign. A couple minutes later he comes out to the car to get more money for the entrance fee.
Sweet! We've made it.
Dan signs us in on the log sheet and noticed that, curiously, we're the only people to have entered the park today. This place really is out in the cut.
No comments:
Post a Comment