OFF-ROAD Challenges at the Mountains of MALAWI // EP.46

We are driving to the Mountains of Malawi , through very muddy paths, challenging our offroad skills.
We left the lake looking for better weather. We are driving to the south of Malawi, which by the way gets even more rain. We struggle to drive in a Saturday as there are many people and animals in the road. Super exhausting!
But we arrive at one forest reserve. There are a few left , these are the only wild spaces and aa safe refugee for animals. Still people keep on chopping trees.
We continue towards the Zomba plateau. An stunning area, with 360° views over the plains and lake of Malawi. We spent our time watching the spectacular views, specially in the morning when the clouds are below and one has the feeling is flying. Incredible!
Later we realize that we got a nail stuck at our tire. Believe it or not is the first one for these tires. BF goodrich tires are soooooo good.
We use the ARB repair kit, to seal the hole before we go down.
We then get our first traffic fine for this trip. Malawi police are everywhere, it's insane!
We continue and stop for lunch in Blantyre. The rain hits us again and as we take one small road we start sliding down the path. We make it to a flat place and sleep next to the road. Early in the morning we get to try the challenging muddy path again, sadly it doesn't go as planned.
We try to find a new place to camp, and guess what another challenging off-road track to go up the mountains. Once up we enjoy amazing sunsets.
Enjoy the Ride!
***
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***
For other overland videos in Africa, check our channel. ⬇️
About our Chanel:
We, Kai & Irati from Germany and Spain, are currently on a full-time Overland journey. We quit our jobs, our apartment and left Germany mid of March 2022. We traveled all the way from Germany to Malawi, and had amazing experiences for the last year. Follow us in season 2 where we will be exploring the Middle East and Africa!
If you want to know more check out this Playlist:
• ABOUT us & The Bluelandy
Social Media:
Travel-page: / thebluelandy
He: / mrkaifox
She: / iraticortadi
Introducing our Home on Wheels the Bluelandy, check the Room Tour(*):
• Land Rover Defender 11...
Land Rover 110 TD5 (MY 1998)
X-Vision-X PopTop (roof Tent)
BF Goodrich tires 265/75/R16
Land Rover HD springs & Kony Heavy track Raid shock absorbers
GMB "Esel" roof rack
GMB long range fuel tank
GMB Sandboards
X-Vision-X exterior storage box (rear left)
DIY Custom outdoor shower
270° Foxwing Awning - Rhino Rack
200W Victron Energy solar system
- Solar Panel: 2x Offgrittec 100W
- Charge controller amzn.to/3gXf2s5
- Battery Monitor amzn.to/3VSNwdN
- Inverter amzn.to/3BgTEon
Nolden 7" Bi-LED headlamps
Additional Headlamps amzn.to/3VXo32P
HELLA Value Fit Exterior lights amzn.to/3F46eso
ExTec rear door folding table
DIY Custom Flight case interior
Autotherm D2 Diesel Air-Heater amzn.to/3P5NVaL
32 l Engel Fridge / Freezer
Lifesaver Jerrycan water filter amzn.to/3UIybvG
Camera Gear (*):
DSLR: Canon 80D amzn.to/3VRa7aI
Point and Shoot: Sony vz1
Action Cam: GoPro Hero9 amzn.to/3P7plGE
Drone: DJI Mini 2 amzn.to/3UDYnHw
(*) Disclaimer: This video is not sponsored but we may also have affiliate links to the mentioned tools/gear, which means every purchase made allows us to earn a small commission to keep our channel running. 🙌

[@dumanimjo609]

There's just something about a Landy in Africa. It's as though the two were made for each other.

[@Thebluelandy]

They are absolutely made for each other. The paths here are just the ones that the Landy can tackle with ease. And we see a lot of old series working on the field like the first day. 😍👌

[@mzee5533]

You mean Landcruiser yeah not landrover endless money pit

[@Thebluelandy]

@@mzee5533 hahaha ours its not! Check our Q&A to find out what we spent in a year. 😉

[@klalemi17]

"Ich hatte eine Farm in Afrika, am Fuße der Ngong Berge" .Wie im Film "Jenseits von Afrika". Wunderschöne Bilder. LG Klaus

[@Thebluelandy]

Vielen Dank Klaus. es war wirklich atemberaubend auf diesen Bergen 🥺

[@ldosucowboy3279]

Nice production, very professional. Thanks to both of you for sharing.❤

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank you! Glad you like it!

[@Power-of-three]

I hopefully will be there in 4 months. To live for 2 years. So excited. Great video.

[@Thebluelandy]

Wishing you the best!! Thank you for the comment!

[@deriusnorris4463]

Well done on keeping a cool head. Exciting times. Thanks for the video

[@Thebluelandy]

Thanks 🙏

[@davegreenwood1663]

I know it must be hard work ,mentally and physically .driving those dirt roads.

[@Thebluelandy]

You actually get used to it eventually. But for sure it’s not the same to drive 300km here in Africa compared to Europe

[@jamescollie7061]

Very jealous 😊 great video.. mud mud glorious mud .....😅

[@Thebluelandy]

Jealous about the muddy roads? We had some fun but also a lot of stress in some areas haha. For sure it was really interesting to be in the wet season before we move to drier landscapes. Where we are now , we are missing a bit seeing green everywhere!

[@johnwanjala4311]

Sharing the chores one does the driving and the other one the talking beautiful good video, keep them coming whereever you are thanks

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank you! We try to share as most as possible the work, with driving, filming, cooking, editing. We will work on keeping the videos coming

[@ericsantosphotography1]

I wish you had fitted a winch to you vehicle esp knowing that you preferred using back roads

[@Thebluelandy]

Haha i didn’t miss a winch, this was actually the first time in 10 years that we got stuck and that there was a tree where we could have attached the winch cable to.

[@henrygreen19]

That was definitely an adventure ! Worked there for over a year, conditions can get quite hectic .. .. .. .. .. ha ha ha ha

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank you Henry! Did you experience also some sketchy situations? Would love to hear some stories 😉

[@henrygreen19]

@@Thebluelandy Hi. Quite a few stories about looking for bribes. A good one was once I drove from Blantyre to Llilongwe in an oldies Toyota Hilux4x4. There were 7 roadblocks and I got 6 fines - however all 6 were for different "wrongs" on the vehicle. Amazing ! You look like a foreigner, they make up rules for a fine and the, as usual, suggests that "a gift" will make the fine go away. Sure the government support it as a way to an extra income as they get paid absolute sweet shit. Luckily for me the MD of the company I was doing work for was very influential. so he made all 6 "fines" go away. Can only guess how he did that. ha ha ha ha One rule - never pay road stalls the asking price - must negotiate very hard then you eventually pay about 25% of original asking price. Worse than the Egyptians !! Enjoy.

[@Thebluelandy]

What a hell of a story! That roadblock that didn't give you a fine.. that bloke had a reaaally good day 🤣🤣🤣 so far we always left the country before any fine was due.🤷‍♀️

[@wilsonk]

Beautiful sharing my friend.. watching from Malaysia 👍😎 19:34

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank you for watching!! We really appreciate 🤩

[@baomundao6650]

what an amazing road. I liked.

[@Thebluelandy]

Malawi was so green and challenging! 💚

[@marxbilinkulu6933]

I really like you guys You got passion. I watched you while your in south west Namibia. I like you guys

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank you, that means a lot to us! Thank you for watching

[@XaLoiVlog]

Có vẻ bạn rất thích ăn củ hành tím✌

[@Thebluelandy]

Haha, those were the only ones we could get for a long time 😅

[@yousefnas9014]

Good luck. When it is necessary you can use the Hi-Lift Jack instead of the winch

[@Thebluelandy]

I know, but I never did it. But in the end that was one of the points why I didn’t get a winch 😅

[@hezekiahcharles6754]

a landy without a tough winch is a handycap in the offroads of africa. also get some quality towing ropes. Great video...👍

[@Thebluelandy]

Hey, thanks for watching! We get this a lot, but we decided to drive without winch. This was the fist place we got stuck where we had something to attach the winch cable to. In all case’s we got stuck we made it out without a winch. Therefore I’m happy we saved some weight and money. 😉

[@damianorizzi1621]

Non ci sono dubbi, questa è vera Africa e voi siete grandi viaggiatori. Buona strada a voi e al Defender!

[@Thebluelandy]

Questo è stato davvero impegnativo, ma siamo rimasti sorpresi dal modo in cui si è comportato il Landy. Assolutamente il modo di godersi l'Africa al massimo. Grazie per aver dedicato del tempo a commentare!!!

[@damianorizzi1621]

@@Thebluelandy Grazie a voi! Seguo da tempo il canale e sono possessore di un Defender allestito overland come il vostro, un mezzo decisamente fuori dai canoni attuali ma che in Africa trova la sua vera anima, quella di un mezzo semplice e robusto per viaggiatori puri che interpretano lo spirito più romantico dell'esplorazione.

[@Thebluelandy]

@@damianorizzi1621 🥰🤗

[@extrememobilegamer1450]

Your narration and soft voice makes it relaxing to watch

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank you so much for the compliment and taking the time to comment 🤗🤗

[@roryfreeman9433]

The story of africa - chopping all the trees down

[@Thebluelandy]

Sad truth

[@kevinrichards8119]

Miss my landy so much! Great video guys,Best wishes from Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank you Kevin! Where is your landy btw??? Best wishes from Namibia 🤟

[@laurentnicolas1550]

Super challenging ! Bravo and keep strong !!

[@Thebluelandy]

It was really challenging and scary at some points. Thank you Laurent 😉

[@alidmr6366]

Muazzam 💯

[@Thebluelandy]

Çok teşekkür ederim!

[@12kerryman]

Very enjoyable as always. You guys are professional at dealing with the police now.......

[@Thebluelandy]

Ouh yeah, it got to a point that it started to be fun. In the next country we got to experience even more 😅

[@4x4adventurecz]

super 👍👍👍

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank you so much for liking our video ! See you around 🤗

[@kayingyang6252]

I really enjoy you videos

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank you so much for sticking around!! 🤩

[@bertplank8011]

The amount of deforestation is astounding!.

[@Thebluelandy]

Sadly the story of Africa 😢 one reason why we don't do fires/braai.

[@katarinagroup9281]

Thanks for visiting our country...I hope you had fun.

[@Thebluelandy]

We enjoyed a lot!! The people are really nice and the country is stunning.😍

[@tebbokem]

Look at how the nature is beautiful and this is what I'm dreaming of. Go back to Africa and have a pleasant and simple life. Oh my sacred continent I hope my people will someday become aware they are blessed and use their riches and potentials to build a paradisiacal place on earth. Thanks a lot for sharing Bluelandy.

[@Thebluelandy]

Africa is stunning! And there places where you can find that simple life and contact to nature. But we are afraid that many countries in Africa are changing really fast and deforestation is a very real thread! Hopefully it will not be too late before people realize the treasure they have. 🥺

[@bertplank8011]

Wishful thinking....the people do not have the makeup for it..... Blacks are built for survival and are incredibly resilient the environment dictates which genes are advantageous.....it does not favour the type of person who would advocate basic equality of opportunity.....thats basically why African countries have dictatorships.....intelligence is not generally advantageous.etc etc etc.

[@user-qh2ch1mo4v]

"My feet are sliding from the pedal..." that really cracked me up. Totally enjoyed this episode.Thank you guys for sharing these moments. :)

[@Thebluelandy]

Just how it was 😅🤣 thank you so much for watching and leaving a comment 🤗see you around!!!

[@user-qh2ch1mo4v]

It is so sad that I have discovered your travels a bit late (or rather after you left Kenya). Your campsite in the South Coast in Tiwi, just by the ocean is so close to where I live. I would have loved to show you guys around and introduce you to my fellow Land Rover maniacs.

[@Thebluelandy]

@@user-qh2ch1mo4v wow, that would have been amazing. Sad we didn't find each other sooner! You live in a beautiful place 🤩

[@next-horizon-overland]

Beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

[@Thebluelandy]

It is a pleasure! Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to write a comment. See around 🤗

[@amilachathuranga6916]

Wow🌿🌳🌴💚💚

[@Thebluelandy]

Super green everywhere! 🌱🍃💚

[@jamieearley1443]

g Great video guys. Love the simple way you show your journey and what fun!!

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank you so much Jamie! What does it make it "simple way"? We do our videos in our own way, but don't know how other people view them haha 🤔 really curious about how you see it 🤗

[@jamieearley1443]

The videos you make are honest and natural. And that really comes across. They're a pleasure to watch.

[@Thebluelandy]

@@jamieearley1443 thank you so much for the feedback. We really appreciate this 🤗🤩

[@anonymoustim]

Great video, beautiful country

[@Thebluelandy]

Hey Tim, thanks for watching! Yeah Malawi definitely has it’s beauty

[@andrewthacker114]

Thanks for sharing

[@Thebluelandy]

Our pleasure to put this video together and share it. Happy that you enjoyed it. 😄

[@andrewthacker114]

@@Thebluelandy my Dad had a business in Malawi, I’d like to see it again.

[@justinmathew1]

It’s beautiful!

[@Thebluelandy]

Hey Justin, thanks for watching!

[@indonesiaincamera6196]

nice video. beautiful scenery and complete information

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank you so much. We are really happy that you enjoyed it! Feedback like this keeps us going 🤗🤗

[@snowball6175]

This woman!!!

[@Thebluelandy]

Which woman?🤔

[@user-vt8is1tn8t]

Beautiful Malawi 🇲🇼

[@Thebluelandy]

It is stunning! ❤️

[@heribertsagreramoreno201]

recorts desde l'emporda

[@Thebluelandy]

Records des de Sud-àfrica Heribert!

[@simon6570]

I've enjoyed watching your adventures. One thing I noted is how less both of y'all engage the locals.... it's a learning curve to socialize, but don't hurt and they don't necessarily need anything; in the long run you'll save yourself a lot of trouble, inconveniences and make your life's more enjoyable.

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank so much for your comment and you pointing out this topic! There are two reasons to this. First, we don't want to stick a camera in front of every person we interact with, it would change the way of the interaction and spoil it in some ways. And second we had a hard time in Africa to have a conversation on the same level. In most cases, people that approached us wanted money (East Africa) and were not interested in sharing their story our knowing about our story. This was different until East Africa, where we had daily interactions with locals. This was one of the reasons why we got burnout in Uganda. You can check the video "We are Burned Out" . Thank you so much for bringing up this topic, it is really important and not a lot of people talk about it.

[@simon6570]

@@Thebluelandy your video presentation and narration is awesome. Keep it up! It's common for locals to ask for goodies; just tell them you don't have. If they offer to help you push your vehicle just let them push it. Expect the same in most of central America and Asia...

[@AwesomeAnto]

Good video. What's the name of the stove you are using?

[@Thebluelandy]

Thanks, we have a Coleman two burner stove, and a Primus multifuel

[@ziqianchen-ng3ky]

I hope you guys can improve the clarity of your videos, really like your video stories, but I'd like to see clearer videos too, it puts me right in the middle of the action!🤩🤩

[@Thebluelandy]

Hi!! Thank you for you comment. Do you mean the sharpness of the image? taking the action from other angles? Or the audio clarity? Let us know!

[@ziqianchen-ng3ky]

@@Thebluelandy The clarity of the video, 2K or 4K, I like to watch such video on a large screen, 1080p resolution does not meet my TV😂

[@ziqianchen-ng3ky]

@@Thebluelandy Your videos are so beautifully shot in terms of perspective and storytelling that the first time I saw your videos I chose to subscribe to you! I hope you can shoot more videos like this to show us!

[@Thebluelandy]

Hey, that’s understandable, 1080 on a 4K TV is not great. Unfortunately is it really difficult for us to make the jump to 2.7k or 4K cause only some parts of our equipment support this standards. Every video is already costing us 15-20$ (editing software, and internet) not counting what we spent in equipment in the past and the +10h editing work per video. We rather stay 2-3 months longer on the road then dropping 4k$ to buy a new DSLR that supports 4k. I’m sorry we can not fulfill your request 😅🤷‍♂️ at the given time

[@Thebluelandy]

We’re glad you still enjoy and chose to watch our videos! Thank you 😊

[@fireandforge]

Have you considered snow chains with mud like that? They work a treat. How safe is Malawi? Compared to South Africa?

[@Thebluelandy]

Yeah I considered to bring chains but in the end we didn’t bring them cause they weigh 30kg and we didn’t have space. We felt save in Malawi, we know we need to be more careful in SA but so far it doesn’t feel too dangerous.

[@bilki100]

Noch nie so viel Matsch gesehen 😳

[@Thebluelandy]

Ja, es war unglaublich. Wir hatten eine harte Zeit, das Auto nach Malawi zu waschen 🙈

[@tomlepski8306]

Man, this is incredible footage, but don't you think you needed a front Bumper Winch fitted on the Defender as part of the vehicle preparation. African dirt roads are unfogiving when it rains.

[@Thebluelandy]

Hey Tom, thanks you! A winch is a difficult topic. Yes, I would like to have a winch! Do I believe I need a winch, I would say probably, No. The thing is we drove during this trip over 50k km with a lot of rough bits. Most of the time when we got stuck we didn’t had something in reach where I could have attached my winch cable. And we always made it out without winch. Therefore I think it’s better to save some weight and money and drive without. But this is a personal choice, and I can ensure you I will even after a trip around the world be thinking about a winch 😂

[@tomlepski8306]

@@Thebluelandy Thank you. As a native of Africa, I can assure you that some areas are so attrocious when it rains that a Winch is imperative. Granted it adds a lot of weight up front which impacts the front suspension somewhat but it would be a good accessory to have if you plan to do a global overland trip. A Pull-PAL Winch Anchor would be a great accessory to have with you for the barren bogs where you would not get a tree to tie the rope. The Defender,though is the best vehicle for overland trips especially in Africa as aftersales support is available all over. I must complement you on the vehicle preparation, very well done and functional in every aspect. All the best and godspeed in your trips. I will accompany you through your regular posts.

[@grahames9228]

Atrocious dirt roads and not very good policing. Probably good to be out of Malawi. Must say, those sausages looked pretty good.

[@Thebluelandy]

Hey Grahame, yeap the roads were interesting in Malawi. Our days looked like this: get up, drive the Landy on mud, wait for the next storm to clean it, go to bed, repeat. 🙈 In the end we had fun with the police situation, as everytime was something different. We had a good time in Malawi, but we were looking forward the next country!

[@tikit033]

god life don't forget to turn the handle by pulling backwards

[@Thebluelandy]

We don't understand what you mean, can you explain it further? Thanks!

[@jeetts59]

How come you Land Rover is left hand drive

[@Thebluelandy]

Hey Harold, that’s an easy one. It was sold in Germany. All Land Rover in Central Europe are left hand drive

[@hailesonstarborn3214]

You're feets are sliding 😅😅

[@Thebluelandy]

Yeap, my feet were sliding 😉

[@roryfreeman9433]

Something wrong with your transfer/diffs to be sliding around like that

[@Thebluelandy]

Hey Rory, no the drive train is fine, the issue was that the path was slippery like ice, you literally couldn’t walk. That combined with deep tracks from other cars makes the ride a roller coaster

[@rrdayalan]

Like you people from Europe, who are visiting other continents in hours thru immigration, we humbly request Europe and americas to replicate to the world.

[@rrdayalan]

I would like to request a comment

[@Thebluelandy]

It is embarrassing yes, how Europe treats some foreigners and how complicated it is to just visit. We wish it was different, specially because we have made friends over the years that will never be able to visit us and it's bullshit!😔