Amazing African Animals Abound

It is now Sunday afternoon, and time to chronicle the story of my (and Deliwe's) first trip to a national park in Malawi. Our journey was a very good one, with only one major incident, this time involving finding accommodation. Like a good traveler, I tried to book accommodation in advance, only to realize that my lack of orientations skills (i.e. lousy sense of direction) would cause me to fail to find that accommodation. The place I'd booked was called 'Shire Camp,' located in the town of Liwonde, next to the Shire river. I had a simple map of the area in my trusty Malawi guidebook, though when we got into the town of Liwonde, it somehow wasn't as straightforward as I'd hoped. Luckily, Deliwe was kind enough to help me after I took a wrong turn (or 2, or 3) by asking random passersby for directions.

This is where it got interesting. Since this was my first real "road trip" in the car to a new place without any real directions, it was also my first experience with asking directions. Luckily, I was with someone who speaks the local language (Chichewa, for those who aren't aware), so she was able to help a lot with this communication, which was good. The bad part was that we got several different directions from several different people. One young man told us to turn right at a certain intersection, so we did. After driving down the road a bit after the turn, however, we realized we were really in the middle of nowhere, so we had to turn around. This led to asking another person, who told us to turn a different way. Once we did that, we were closer to going the correct way, but came to a fork in the road, and didn't know which side of the fork to follow. Luckily, some young girls were walking there with their mother, and all seemed certain that we needed to take the left fork. Since we'd already started down the right fork, this meant turning around, and hoping for the best.

Since it was nearing dusk, I was beginning to feel a bit desperate as I gripped the wheel and headed down another dirt road in search for our lovely camping accommodation next to the Shire River. The road gently inclined to a railroad track mounted on a sketchy-looking cement platform. I hesitated a bit before trying to scale this jagged precipice with my low-lying small Toyota sedan. As I slowed down, a group of men sitting on the railroad tracks took a look at me, pointed up the road in the direction I was heading, and said, "Shire Camp is that way..." I still don't know how they knew where we were going, only that somehow the word must've spread amongst the 20 or so people we'd stopped to ask along the way. I have a feeling Deliwe wanted to hide under a rock at that point.

After saying thanks ('Zikomo' in Chichewa), I headed over the cement platform with the tracks on it, and was welcomed on the other side with a simultaneous forward dive and loud scraping sound as the car hit the other side of the cement platform, immediately followed by a large pothole (as I later realized upon scaling the same railroad tracks on the way back the following day). Amazingly, the car survived unscathed, and would continue to survive similar road obstacles during the rest of the weekend. I will never again buy anything other than a Toyota. I'm a true believer.

So, after surviving the railroad track incident, we head straight down the road, and see a sign for the 'Shire Lodge.' Hmmm... we'd planned to stay at the 'Shire Camp,' but maybe they changed their name, so what the heck? We drove in. Now, when I saw it, I thought it might be a bit pricey, as the set-up was a bit fancier than the place I'd originally booked, complete with rows of high-end adobe-style thatched roof self-contained cabin-like rooms. Of course, after walking into the reception area, I did discover the price was a bit more than twice what I'd planned to pay, but at this point, it was getting dark, and we didn't want to chance it, so I just paid for the first night, and we stayed put. As a sidenote, almost everyone we talked to (the hotel staff, and the guide at the park) told us that the 'Shire Camp' was really not a good place to stay, and that most people just go there to socialize rather than stay the night. Since my telephone conversations were a bit stilted and unclear with the staff there, I took their word for it. However, I'd like to take a look at some point, as I didn't have a chance during this trip.

So, we went to our room, and found the facilities acceptable... it even had an air conditioner! Wow, I haven't seen one of those in a long time. Ironically, though, I think I've grown so accustomed to life without one, that I didn't really feel the need to use it. I turned it on for a couple of minutes, and then realized that the fan positioned on the wall between the two beds was good enough. I know my friends back home would be shocked, but yes, it is possible to survive without air conditioning in hot climates. Remember life back in the 70's? We did it all the time! And we're all still alive! Food for thought, especially in the age of overuse of fossil fuels and the global warming crisis... but yes, I digress...

The most interesting features of this hotel where we stayed were the fact that it was practically empty (I counted a total of maybe 6 other guests the entire time we were there), and it was right on the river, with outside seating, so a nice place to enjoy some drinks and dinner while watching for hippos and crocodiles. And yes, we saw a few hippos on Saturday night, and our waitress told us that sometimes the hippos come up onto the grounds to eat the grass and fancy plants. Unfortunately, that didn't happen during our stay, but I suppose that's just as well, as hippos are known to also bite people in half. Ya, that's not a joke. They can literally bite a person in half, and usually will do so out of anger and fear rather than hunger. The waitress also told us this. If a hippo bites a person in half, it will just leave the 2 halves of the person there for the scavengers. How this waitress actually knew this, I do not know. It sounded like she might've witnessed such an occurence, but I was too chicken to ask.

So, after enjoying a couple of beers and some chicken and rice for dinner, we headed for bed, and both of us were snoring by 9 p.m. or so. Like I've said before, things happen much earlier here in Malawi than in most other places. Both of us were exhausted and knew we had to get up early, so 9 p.m. was it. If I'd told myself a couple of months ago that I'd ever go to bed before 11 p.m., I'd never have believed myself. I still can't quite believe it.

So, the following morning after a nice big breakfast (English style-- eggs and 'chips'-- i.e. french fries-- always a strange combination to me, but I'm starting to get used to it here...), we headed out for our big safari adventure. I'd had big plans to take a "boat safari," since that's the best way to see animals at Liwonde, as the Shire (pronounced "SHI-reh", not the English 'shire') River runs through the entire park. Well, this was my plan, until I ended up paying twice the originally planned amount for accommodation. When I found out (after a small hike to the boat dock) that taking a 2-hour boat safari (in a rather rickety-looking boat) costs $20/head, I decided the car would be a better option. Deliwe enthusiastically agreed, as her fear of crocodiles (ya, her favorite animal) surfaced while looking at the boat as well. I didn't realize that crocodiles can attack boats, but the waitress confirmed that for us as well. However, she also said that the motors scare them off, and though this boat looked in need of renovation, it did have a motor on it. But, so does my car, and crocodiles can't get us in there, so we opted for the good ol' trusty, tough Toyota.

Of course, after our adventure of finding our way the night before, we felt more confident that we could make it to the park (since my first mistake that night was accidentally taking the road to the park, before remembering that we were staying in town, rather than in the park... duh...). We easily found our way there, and were greeted by a very friendly park ranger named Benson. He greeted me at the car, and then asked me to meet him at the window, where he explained the fees and the option of hiring an armed guide. Ya, they're armed, mainly as protection from out of control large animals, mainly elephants. Luckily, they don't need to use the guns often, and I think they mostly shoot them off to scare the elephants if they start to charge. I must say I'm very petrified of guns, so when we took our guide (yes, I did decide to hire one, as the price was right, and around here, it's just a good idea to have one around) to go pick up his gun from the military barracks (the park has a military training facility), I almost died when he got into the car holding the rifle. If you don't understand what I mean, try driving with someone in the back seat holding a rifle. You'll see. It takes a special kind of trust, especially on a bumpy dirt road.

So, off we went, Deliwe and I in front, guide and rifle in back, in our trusty little Toyota on our adventure to see amazing African animals. By the way, I should mention that our guide spoke very little English, so Deliwe was given the task of interpreting. After a while, she was also helping to spot animals and serving as my 'camera assistant' while I was driving. She seemed to handle all of these tasks quite well, and became the best animal spotter of all of us by the end of the day. At first, the road was relatively smooth and the animals elusive, but we did see some cool trees, as the pictures to the left can attest. My favorite is the 'Boabob' (pronounced BO-uh-bob). This is literally an upside-down tree. It looks like the roots are at the top, and it has a really, really wide trunk. I love this tree because it reminds me of something out of a storybook. It's truly other-worldly. I stopped to take pictures of several of my favorite boabobs, featured here on this site.

One of the sad sights we saw as we drove up the road was the charred remains of several fires started by animal poachers. According to our guide, the poachers start the fires to drive the animals into certain areas where they can hunt them more easily. Unfortunately, these people have done a lot of damage to several acres of the park, and have also killed a lot of animals, especially various antelope species. The good thing is at least there is not a big problem with elephant ivory poaching like in other regions of Africa. However, poachers have caused quite a negative impact on the plant and animal life here, and of course the rangers are always on the lookout for these guys, and sometimes do catch them and make arrests.

Eventually, as we continued, we saw a few guinea fowl (very pretty bird that looks like a big quail with a light-blue head and dark blue body). They ran too fast for me to get a picture, though. We also saw bushbuck, waterbuck, and some sable antelope. Then, finally, our guide asked us to stop at a certain point, walk a bit into the 'bush,' and there they were. The elephants. Wow. Amazing. The pictures tell all. We watched a nice, big group of females and their young (I think about 10 or so) walking in the lush area near the river. Eventually, they turned and walked toward us, and the guide warned me that the elephants might think I was food, as I was wearing a white shirt, and they're attracted to that color because they see it as a possible food source. Hmmm... Should I stay or should I go? Of course, the guide didn't want to use his rifle (on me, or the elephants-- well, maybe a little on me), so we headed back to the car. Of course, not before I shot off a few pictures, though.

After that excitment, we headed on down the road and had a few more sightings-- babboons, warthogs, a few more birds, until finally we reached the fancy lodge at the north end of the park-- Mvuu camp. Luckily, it was just after 12:00 noon, so a good time to stop for a bite to eat. What we didn't realize upon entering, however, was that this was a high-end lodge for rich Muzungus, mostly from South Africa, from the looks of it. As a result, the price for a buffet lunch was about 3 times the usual price of a meal here (1700 kwacha, which is about 12 bucks). That's a really expensive meal in Malawi. And I needed to feed 3 people, and I'm on a budget. After a bit of haggling, we did convince the manager to serve us some cheese and tomato sandwiches for 500 kwacha, which is the usual price of lunch in Malawi. We also had some drinks (but not cheap), but at least they refilled our water bottles for free. I love this country!

The place we ate was quite fancy; a typical African safari lodge, complete with fancy thatched roofs with open sides for viewing the river and passing wildlife. There were many well-to-do tourists there, and from the accents, they appeared to be about 90 percent white South African, and 10 percent (white and black) American. Most likely they were travelling on package deals which included the meals, room, and boat/road safaries, so maybe the lunch for them didn't appear so pricey. Or maybe it's because they were from developed countries where $12 is average for lunch. Ya, that could be it. We were confined to the lounge area, separate from the upper-class dining area. It was a bit like 'Titanic', but without all the drama of the sinking ship, freezing people in the ocean, etc. Lucky for us.

The view of the river from this place was amazing, and we could even see some hippos soaking in the river as we sipped our cokes and ate our fancy tomato and cheese sandwiches (which, actually, were two sandwiches each, so we couldn't complain). While waiting for the food, Deliwe struck up conversation with another young man from Zomba, and they played a traditional Malawian game (sorry, I forgot the name), using stones and a wooden tray. They tried to show me how to play it, and I think I got the basic idea, but I'm still not confident in my understanding of the strategy. In some ways, it's similar to 'checkers' in that one player 'steals' stones from the other player and then puts them on his side. But then, in checkers you don't use your friend's pieces on your side of the board, so no, it's really not like checkers at all. In any case, I'd like to learn how to play again sometime. I always see the drivers at Domasi College playing this game. I wonder if they'd let me join them sometime. I'll let you know how that goes when I get the courage to try it.

So, after our lunch, we took a little walk around Mvuu camp. I wanted to try to see more animals, but for some reason, our guide showed us around the camp first. He showed us the pool we couldn't swim in, the nice cabins we couldn't sleep in, and then went to visit some of his friends in the workers' quarters. It was a bit strange. He also showed us a little 'party area' for barbeques, where I ran into one of my Chancellor College students, Rafael, who actually seemed very happy to see me. He was with a the college Anglican Students' group, helping to prepare for a barbecue/party they were having that afternoon. Wow. I never imagined I'd run into someone I knew in the middle of the national park. I guess I'm becoming a 'local' more quickly than I thought!

After seeing the lovely Mvuu facilities, and feeling even more deprived that we weren't staying there, we then started off for our journey back to the front gate. It was then that we were told that our guide (sorry, I can't remember his name... Deliwe wrote it down, so I'll fill it in when I see her again) would be staying at Mvuu camp, and another guide named Jana would be coming back with us. Though we were were a bit sad to lose our old guide, Jana turned out to be a good replacement, as he not only could speak English, but he was a good animal spotter, and had a much more serious weapon (though this last point made me even more nervous. I made sure to be VERY nice to Jana during our drive back).

At the beginning of our journey back, we took a short, but somewhat treacherous road through the grass to the river to check out the water-lovin wildlife. Almost immediately, we saw a couple of crocodiles, one which was sitting on the shore with its mouth open, right next to a water bird (see picture at left), who amazingly just sat there as if to dare him to attack. We also spotted a big group of hippos, and even saw a few of them jump into the river while running away from something, but we never figured out exactly what it was. We also saw another herd of elephants across the river, which convinced me that a boat safari is a much better idea for animal viewing, as that's the only way to access the other side of the river. So, I guess I'll have to save my money for the next time.

Another interesting site on the river was this amazing breed of kingfisher. I know we have them in the states, but I don't know if they fish in the same way as these little guys. They actually hover in the air above the water, and then dive in for the fish, and quickly fly back up again. It's an amazing sight to see. I tried to get a picture of them, but they were way too fast. I'll have to try again next time. Stay tuned!

Almost immediately after getting back into the car and on the main dirt road, Jana informed us that there was a herd of elephants not too far off, so we parked the car and took another little walk. This time, they were a bit closer than the morning group, so I got some really good pictures of them. Of course, Jana had to rein me in a bit as I wanted to move closer than the recommended distance, partially to get better pictures, but also because I have an irrational lack of fear of elephants. Because they appear so gentle, I just never think they'd possibly attack. I know, it's stupid. Good thing Jana and Deliwe were there to control this crazy muzungu.

So, after our little visit with the last group of elephants, we were on our way, down the bumpy road and back to the entrance gate, where Benson greeted us with a big smile. It was then that I noticed the painted warning sign at the entrance: "Do not get out of your car. Elephants of this park are unpredictable. Wild animals have the right of way." Good thing our guides were with us, or I'd likely be a trampled mess of flesh and bones right now (or a 2-piece corpse chomped in half by a hippo, better yet). I'll leave you with that pleasant thought. Tiwonana mawa!