Weekend with the 'Big Five' (well, at least one of them)

This posting should be relatively short and simple, as I'm getting ready for a trip to my first national park since I came to Malawi. I'm very excited about it, as I'll be taking Deliwe (my housekeeper) with me. She confessed to me the other day that she has never had a chance to visit any national parks here, and has never seen any of the "Big 5" animals in the flesh. For those who are unaware, the "Big Five" are the 5 large mammals traditionally most sought after by hunters in Africa(though most are protected today in most areas of the continent, except for population management purposes): Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino, and Buffalo.

Ironically, many of the local people here do not have the means to travel to the big game parks, and in Malawi, these are the only places you can see these animals. So, I thought it would really be fun to take Deliwe to the nearest national park (Liwonde National Park), which is only about 40 mins. drive from here. I was very lucky to visit South Africa 3 years ago, and had the rare opportunity to see four of the "Big Five." The leopard was the only one we never saw, as they are very elusive, stay out of sight, and tend to be more active at night. Maybe we'll get lucky this time, though I'm told at Liwonde, the most common sightings are elephants, hippos, and crocodiles, partially due to the fact that the largest river (the Shire) runs through the park, and these animals spend lots of time in the river. This will be just fine for Deliwe and me, as my favorite animal is the elephant, and hers is the crocodile (though she also likes snakes-- I can't say that I share her enthusiasm). She was telling me a story last night about an encounter with a snake, and I'm now convinced she may have snake-charming abilities. Hopefully if we run into any, she'll be able to use her powers on them.

So, it looks like I'll be offline at least until Sunday. I'll make sure to take lotsa pictures to upload and share with my loyal readers (now in the thousands, as my Malawian sources tell me). As this is a nation of very gracious people, I've also received an acceptance of my apology, as well as assurance from a couple of Malawian readers that my comments have not caused any offense to them. I suppose all "great writers" have their critics. I also know I'm fallible. I'll certainly be more careful from now on, and keep in mind my huge Malawian audience. The pressure's on. I'll do my best to share my insights without causing too much offense. Wish me luck!

Oh, and by the way, I checked my National Bank of Malawi acct. yesterday. The money now is there. Those gnomes and leprachauns at Citibank were working hard on Wednesday night! Enjoy your weekend, and Tiwonana Sunday!