Put Foot Rally day 10: Chipata

The #shoesonfeet and Getaway Team convoy had an early start. We woke up while it was still dark. Evan made us some much-appreciated coffee on the tailgate of our VW Amarok before we set off. The first leg of the trip on the T1 towards Lusaka took us about six hours.

We then hit Lusaka (on a Friday) in what felt like peak hour traffic and spent the next hour and a half bumper to bumper through the CBD. The streets were abuzz with midday chaos. Once we got through the mayhem we quickly gobbled down some food at a Wimpy and left Lusaka at around 14h30. The trip to Chipata on the T4 is almost 600 km and takes about seven hours.

We arrived in Chipata around 21h30. The trip had lasted 16 hours and we were finished. There were a few other Put Foot Rally teams camping there. Most of them had stayed at Eureka campsite in Lusaka the night before. Andrea, the owner of Mama Rula’s, had waited up for us and kept us a plate of delicious lasagna as well as putting us up for the night in two of her rooms. A hot shower with pressure – bliss!

I had no idea that Chipata was such a big town. It’s the gateway to South Luangwa and the border town before crossing over into Malawi, not far from Lilongwe. Andrea informed us that there was a fuel crisis in Malawi and we wouldn’t be able to get diesel anywhere. There’s a great new Spar in Chipata where we’d have to pick up a few jerry cans and groceries. That meant that our route would have to change slightly. We were hoping to go down through the south of Malawi but would now have to leave through the Dedza border close to Lilongwe.

Sleep was needed more than anything else at that stage. It was going to be another early morning and a long drive planned for Day 11 headed towards Senga Bay on Lake Malawi – Checkpoint 4.

Note: the road from Lusaka to Chipata was the worst we experienced on the trip. The road was littered with potholes and children dash into the road unexpectedly. If possible, avoid driving at night at all costs. We were shocked at how often we’d have to slow down to avoid animals and children.

K-Way – the official gear partner to the Getaway team on the Put Foot challenge

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Put Foot Rally day 10: Chipata

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