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After a safari in Lilongwe National Park I was headed to Blantyre, the commercial center of Malawi. I was glad to find my rental car untouched in its original position at the lodge parking.

The roads were surprisingly well maintained for most of the drive. About 40 miles north of Blantyre, I passed through the small town of Zomba.

World War I Memorial

Visible from the main road was this clock tower located next to the Cobbe Barracks, the King’s African Rifles base. This structure is a memorial to those that died during WWI.

I pulled over out of curiosity and found a group of children playing. When they saw my camera, they were adamant that I took their pictures. Strangely, they didn’t seem too interested to see how the pictures actually came out.

I continued my drive and soon enough I was in Blantyre. The second largest city and financial capital of the country seemed to have a higher population density than Lilongwe. Driving through the center I actually felt like I was in a city whereas Lilongwe mostly felt like suburb.

Following some rough directions I made my way to Protea Hotel Ryalls. With an early flight the next morning, I only had the remaining afternoon to see the city.

National Museum of Malawi

My first stop was the National Museum, also known as the Chichiri Museum. The building was set in the hills outside of the city center and next to the university. When I arrived, I thought the place was closed because it was so deserted. A security guard let me in and collected my entry fee directly.

The museum was quite basic, but had a few interesting displays such as a meteorite and displays of Malawi’s natural and colonial history. There was an odd piece of “atomic” sidewalk stone from Hiroshima given to the country as a gift of peace. My favorite exhibits was the antique train engine, bus, and fire truck set up outside.

Old Manager’s House

Built in 1882 for the manager of Mandala Ltd, the original building was made in matope (mud and brick) and operated as a general store and residence. The oldest bank was also located here.

Today there is a culture center, library, cafe, and art gallery housed in the heritage property. Everything was closed, but there was a playground outside where a proud mother was taking glamour pictures of her young daughter.

Carlsberg Brewery

The first Carlsberg brewery outside of Denmark and the only one in Africa opened in 1968. Capable of producing 380,000 hL of beer per year, this massive plant supplies a lot of beer in the south of Africa.

Unfortunately as it was the weekend, the office was closed and I was unable to tour the facilities. I did get to drive around several times to appreciate the size of the operation.

St. Michael and All Angels Church

Finally I went to visit the historic Christian church. I parked and walked inside where people were singing church songs. Built in 1888 – 1891, the brick church is located at a Scottish mission site.

After I finished exploring and taking pictures, I left right as mass was ending so I waited in line behind pick up trucks full of church goers and private cars.

Back at the hotel I relaxed a bit before heading for a well deserved dinner. Conveniently one of the best restaurants in the city was located in my hotel. 21 Grill on Hannover is well known for its tasty steaks which is exactly what I ordered.

As I sat alone at the restaurant bar with my massive steak and Carlsberg “Green”, a live jazz band played an African version of the Lion King theme. I looked around the room and at the tables of locals enjoying the atmosphere and smiled.

I can’t think of a better way to end the South of Africa Tour.