Thursday, November 26th - Liwonde, Malawi

Today was our day to see Liwonde National Park so we were up early to be ready for a 6 a.m. game drive.  Well, TIA or "this is Africa" because we were up and ready but had to wait around until 7:30 before the vehicle and driver and tour guide were ready and we could actually leave.

But first, let's talk about last night.  It was hot all night long and never did cool down in the tent.  There were noises outside that sounded like they were almost inside and they were of all varieties - deep grunts, booming huffs, shrill calls and so on.  Despite the fact we were well zippered in (and with blankets piled where the zippers met to keep any snakes or other small animals out) it was still a bit nerve wracking to listen to some of the sounds.  Eventually we did go to sleep though.  Lynn was actually out quickly.  According to her two glasses of wine works well.  I was awake for quite a while and then several times in the night.  I did avoid the urge to get up in the middle of the night though as I didn't really want to undo the zipper and head back to the bathroom even if it was less than a foot outside the tent.  When I woke up just before 5 a.m. I knew it was just time to get up, go to the bathroom and get ready for the day.  The day was certainly ready for us as it was very bright outside and in our tent.

We had coffee and hot chocolate just before 6 a.m. as we were preparing for our game drive.  We were to have breakfast at 9 or 9:30 when we got back.  Of course since we didn't leave until 7:30 it was more like 10:30 before breakfast could be served.  It was good though and we only had to chase away the monkeys once.  Lynn had left the table for a moment to talk to someone and the monkeys took that opportunity to hep themselves to her fruit salad.  Those little guys are cute but they are also very sneaky.  Because our breakfast was so late we managed to get them to postpone lunch until 1:30 to give us some time between meals and yet still allow us enough time to be ready for our 2:30 boat ride on the Shire River.  Of course that didn't happen at 2:30 though.  TIA (this is Africa).  They were still working on the land rover at that time so we went to the lounge and waited in the shade.  Eventually about 3:15 we were ready to go.  We had said we wanted to be back in time for the sunset but TIA.  We caught some of that on our drive back to the lodge after the boat ride and it was a spectacular sunset.  It would have been beautiful to watch from the viewing platform.

So, just what did we see on our game drive?  Well, the simple answer is lots.  Because the game drive was later than originally scheduled we probably didn't see as many animals as we might have earlier.  The temperature was really hot again so by 10 a.m. all the animals are down by the river.  The drive through the park is in the forest and along the edge of the area known as an eco-something that is flat land between the river and the forest.  Right now it looks very dry and barren but in the rainy season the whole area is often covered with water or is very green.

Our guide, Spy, was very good at spotting the animals.  We assume Spy is a nickname because he could spy such things.  We saw impalas and some of the little ones were so small and skinny and had such spindly legs we weren't sure how they kept standing.  There were bigger bush bucks with their curved horns and the white circles around their rear ends, which makes they very easy to identify as they are walking away from you.  The kudos were a great sight with their faint stripes and curly horns.  Spy said they could grow up to 3 feet in length and I think the last one we saw must have had horns that long and they were incredible.  We also got a lot of laughs about their big ears which made them even more identifiable than their huge horns.  

From time to time we saw monkeys and baboons running along the ground and through the trees.  They were as cute as ever.  And speaking of cute, baby warthogs are incredibly cute too.  I have never found warthogs to be especially appealing but there were several families in the park and the little ones were adorable running as fast as their little legs would carry them following behind their parents.  And of course we saw lots of elephants.  It's always easier to spot them because of their size and because of their big flapping ears.  We saw one or two that were on their own but most of the time they were in family units and all huddled together in the shade of a tree.  And they varied in size from small to large with the little ones easily able to pass under the big ones' bellies.  And of course they were of every size in between as well.  In the distance we could see them down by the river, which was probably where they all ended up at some point during the day.

There were also lots of birds in the park but I don't remember many of them.  We saw even more along the shore of the river on our boat ride in the afternoon.  To start that we had to drive from the lodge out to the actual town of Liwonde, which was a bustling town with people hurrying up and down the streets and a lot of them resting under whatever shade they could find or in the busy market area.  I'm not sure whose house we went to but the lodge keeps their boat at someone's house and we walked down to the river bank to get in.  The boat was just a wooden one with a roof which was good for shade.  It would seat about ten people max but this afternoon there were just five us: Lynn, me, Spy our guide, our driver, and one of the managers from the camp who just came along for the ride as they were not busy.  

For a while we went along the river or channel within the town area and didn't see any animals.  Very shortly we came to a wider part of the river and then suddenly we got to see some animals.  There were birds such as cranes and herons and a fish eagle but don't ask me for any more details on the birds because I could barely see them at times let alone remember them.  There were several crocodiles along the edge of the river and some of them were very big.  Somer were also smaller but in either case I certainly wouldn't want to be walking along the river bank as many of the locals seemed to be doing.  Many of the fishermen have their dug-out canoes on the side of the river so they have to walk along the river shore at least twice a day and often carrying fish which just might get a crocs attention.  The crocs here seem to be more yellow in colour than what I normally think a croc or alligator to be.  They definitely have big appetites though.  Spy pointed out a dead hippo floating in the water at one point.  It wasn't long before a lot of crocs were swimming toward the hippo and then an all out war occurred.  The last we saw of it some of the crocs were towing it away while others kept grabbing and biting at the caucus floating by - not a pretty sight.

There were hippos everywhere and Lynn and I thought our driver was getting a bit too close to them for comfort.  There were a couple that seemed to be on their own or in pairs but most were in larger groups.  All we could see of them was the top of their heads so eyes, ears and nose.  Then if they yawned, which they did frequently, we got to see their really big mouths.  A couple of times we came across the hippos on the land.  They are definitely big round critters and you'd wonder how they can even move but move they do and often quite quickly.  The sound of our boat motor scared the one group on land and they ran quikcly into the water.   On the opposite bank some locals were walking along the river bank and came across some hippos on land so they were chasing them back into the water.  From our perspective it looked as if both groups were heading right for us as they came from the shore into the river.  We didn't stick around long to see what happened next.  We just made our escape between the two converging groups and moved on.

The elephants were down at the river's edge too and when we were in a low boat and they were on the ground above us they looked even bigger than seeing them from land.  There were a lot of rushes and reeds along the side of the river so it was also harder to see them at times, especially the little ones.  At one point there was a group of elephants in the water and that would have been really nice to watch.  However, our boat driver went right toward them so of course they got out of the water quickly and moved away.  I like to think that the driver was reasonably new at his job because it made no sense to be getting so close to either the elephants or the hippos.  It ruined our viewing pleasure and we certainly made that comment to Spy afterward.  

There were lots of fishermen out in their dug-out canoes.  Several of them were standing in the canoe and poling their way along the edge of the river but most were sitting and paddling.  I didn't see any great hauls of fish though.  

The landscape was beautiful with flat land next to the river and then trees and then hillsides further back and then mountains in the background.  The water was perfectly calm so the reflections of the scenery and the animals in the water were quite beautiful.  We were on the river for over two hours and the sun started setting while we were out there.  I tried a couple of pictures but the angle wasn't quite right.  Then we missed much of it as we were driving through the town.  But on the road back to the lodge the sunset was just spectacular.  We had to ask the driver to stop several times so we could take pictures.

Back at the lodge we realized we were now the only ones in camp.  The other couple that were there the night before had left on their journey to Mozanbique.  They were two doctors from the UK who had worked in Africa before.  They got married a few months ago, quit their jobs, sold everything they had and were now travelling around Africa in a truck with a camper on top.  They expected to be gone about six months but it sounded like a great adventure.  Their budget with all costs included is under $50 per day for the two of them so it's not an expensive holiday.  And given their professions (paediatrician and anesthesiologist) they should have no trouble getting jobs whenever and wherever they want when they finish touring around.

We went down for dinner and once again it was delicious.  The meals here are the best we've had even though the chef is cooking for just two people.  Tonight we had a cottage pie, some cooked peas and carrots and some cabbage.  The peas and carrots were not actually all that exciting but when mixed with the cottage pie they tasted great.  Personally we would have called the dish a shepherd's pie but I guess for that you really should have mutton in the mix.  This was just beef and mashed potatoes so a cottage pie.  When we added the vegetables it was more like what we are used to back in Canada and it was delicious.

After dinner we sat in the open-air lounge for a bit and had a drink while we read.  Then, very early, we decided it was bed time and we went to our tent.  It wasn't quite as hot as the previous night but still not cool.  I read for a while but was probably asleep well before 10 p.m.  and slept quite well throughout the night.