Mvuu and other animals

After leaving the lodge near Mangochi, we drove on down to Liwonde, with the aim of dropping Amanda off to catch a minibus back to Ntcheu before going into the national park to catch the free boat to Mvuu Lodge, where Lin, Mari and I were booked in for our safari.  It was at this point that we realized that we didn’t, after all, have enough diesel to get us back to Blantyre without filling up.  This was a big worry, as we had not seen any filling stations with diesel in the entire journey – all of them had fire extinguishers by the diesel pumps, signifying no diesel, and no queues!  I was impressed by the cool way in which my sister contemplated the prospect of trying to find some black market diesel from Mozambique – not the sort of thing I could easily imagine her talking about doing 12 months ago!  But for the meantime we decided to forget about it and enjoy our safari experience.

In areas like this, where there are lots of rich tourists, the street vendors and children were a lot more persistent, to the extent that stopping the car to swap drivers, or buy some water, was actually quite an unpleasant experience.  But we managed to negotiate it all unscathed, and found yet another bumpy 16 kilometres of dirt road, leading us down through the villages to the national park entrance.

Here we had to sign in and pay our park fees ($5) before driving another kilometre or so to the river.  We left the car, and sat on the jetty waiting for the boat with an assortment of other people, including two men with enormous guns.  When we got on the boat, the driver explained that they were park rangers, who were going over to patrol the park, and asked us if we felt comfortable with them being on the boat!  We didn’t raise any objections – not a good move to argue with firearms, I feel!

On the way over, we saw our first elephant, happily chomping its way through a tree on the bank.

On arrival, we were greeted by McCloud, who explained, at some length, the rules of the park, and got us to sign waiver forms – I didn’t read it, I have to admit, but imagine it was to absolve them of responsibility if we got trampled by an elephant or eaten by a crocodile.  We were told we should wait to be escorted about the camp at night, as the area is open, and animals come and go quite freely.  McCloud then took us to our chalet, which was close to the (crocodile infested) river.  We just had time for a quick dip – in the swimming pool - and a cup of tea, before it was time to board our safari jeep, together with a Dutch woman who appeared to be visiting the park alone.

Well, we certainly had a good trip, guided by Duncan and Danger – yes, that was his name!  We saw a hippo sleeping on land, a lot of elephants and impala, warthogs and water bucks.  As the sun went down we stopped and got out of the jeep for sundowners by the river – but not too close as there were plenty of crocodiles and hippos around. We managed to drop our diesel dilemma into the conversation and Mari asked the guides if they could help, or suggest anything.  They said they would ask their boss if we could buy some diesel from the park.

As night fell, Danger climbed up on the seat at the front of the jeep with an infra-red light, which he shined into the ever darker bush, highlighting all the creatures hiding in the darkness – hares, elephant shrews, mongooses and different types of antelope.  It was incredibly dark, and the stars were amazing.

We were all a bit exhausted when we got back to the lodge, to face a slightly incongruous dinner of roast beef, followed by apple crumble and custard!  We were duly escorted to our chalet, according to the rules, and left with an oil lamp burning on the khonde, to keep wild animals at bay.

I was in the bathroom, just about ready to get into bed, when I was startled to hear Lin shriek and exclaim “What the **** was that?”  Mari’s voice then joined in, and they both called me to come quickly.  There were elephants eating the trees outside our hut – one adult and two babies.  We turned out all the lights and peered out into the gloom at them – almost near enough to touch if we had not had the wall and windows of the chalet to divide us from them.  They wandered off, but the crunching and tearing noises continued not far away – elephants are not quiet eaters, and Lin was kept awake for a while, wondering if they would be crashing in through her window.

In the morning we discovered not only had the tree outside our chalet been largely demolished, but so had the fence around the swimming pool.

We thought the jeep safari was great, but the boat safari that followed was even more amazing.  Almost immediately we left the jetty we saw a group of hippos, their eyes and ears just poking out above the water, and heard them uttering their distinctive call, somewhere between a groan and a roar.  We had seen some the night before, emerging from the water like shadows in the twilight to graze in the dark, now they were resting in the cool water to avoid the heat of the sun. 

As  we meandered along the river, we stopped every so often to look at birds – kingfishers, various herons and storks, and even ospreys and fish eagles.  We saw several groups of hippos, and approached one quite close.  Duncan turned off the engine, but he and Danger were talking quietly in Chichewa, and looking at the hippos quite closely.  Suddenly Duncan fired up the engine again, just as a female hippo broke away from the group and swam towards the boat, really fast.  Duncan speeded up to get away from her, and there was a moment of panic as she disappeared, apart from a trail of bubbles, and some of us wondered whether she might come up under the boat and tip us out, to be eaten by the crocodiles, which were also very much in evidence, basking on the bank, or lying just under the water’s surface, in classic sunken log pose.

We escaped, and then Duncan spotted elephants on the opposite bank – lots of elephants!  We headed over towards them, and spent the next half hour or so watching them on the bank and in the water.  Mari stopped counting at 40, and Danger said he had counted 63.  There were several babies, learning how to spray mud over themselves to keep cool.  Some of the young males confronted us from the bank, spreading their ears wide and trumpeting, but not very seriously, and Danger assured us that, unlike the hippo, elephants do not move fast in the water.  Then a couple of elephants moved into the water, and stood face to face, entwining their trunks and moving around each other as they went in deeper and deeper.  Duncan told us that elephants often mate in water, and this seemed to be what was going on, although they were very discreet about it, and disappeared completely under water for quite long periods of time, apart from the occasional periscope trunk.

When we eventually went back to the camp, we passed another boat which had headed upstream, rather than downstream like us, and Duncan told us, slightly smugly, that they hadn’t seen any elephants at all, so it seems we were very lucky.  It was certainly an amazing experience.

We had coffee and sat around, reviewing our pictures and watching the warthogs and vervet monkeys which are the most frequently seen animals around the camp itself.  The monkeys are very bold; in fact when we were having lunch one of them jumped right up on our table and stole a piece of bread, and had to be chased away by a waiter with a catapult!

Then good news!  Duncan’s boss had agreed to sell us 20 litres of diesel at not much above the pump price – so we were able to continue on our journey as originally planned, without looking for shortcuts.

Dedza and Lake Malawi

It’s Saturday, and we’re back in Blantyre now.  I am sitting on the khonde, it’s cloudy, and I think I’ve even felt a couple of drops of rain!  A perfect time to think back over the last week, and all the amazing experiences I’ve had on the real holiday part of my trip.

We packed a lot into a week – a visit to Dedza pottery and the ancient rock art just up the road from Dedza; a couple of days at Cape Maclear by the lake, a brief visit to Mangochi, also on the lake, a safari at Mvuu Lodge, in Liwonde National Park, and finally an adventure on the Zomba Plateau.  There were 4 of us till Wednesday, as Mari’s friend Amanda joined us for a few days – we dropped her off at Liwonde town before going into the national park.  There were so many highlights, it’s quite hard to know what to write about! 

When  I think of the rock paintings, what I remember most are not the paintings themselves; to be honest I agree with my nephew who commented, after seeing them, something along the lines of “Well they’re impressive if you’re impressed by something being over 2000 years old, but otherwise….”  But the scramble up the hill, with Lin lagging behind to take photos, and our guides, Jones, Dennis, who were primary teachers, and Francis (aged about 8) leading the way, was full of interesting plants and birds and breathtaking views.  It wasn’t only the views that were breathtaking – Lin didn’t quite make it to the top, as the climb was so steep, and Jones went bounding down the slope we had struggled up, like a mountain goat, bare feet and all, to rescue her and take her back by an easier route.  He even offered to carry her on his back! 

Arriving at Cape Maclear was also memorable.  We turned off the tarmac road and drove for about 20 kilometres down a dirt road which, for some reason, seemed to have an almost rippled surface, like when the wind and rain make ridges in wet sand on the beach.  I was driving, so had the steering wheel to hang on to, but everyone else was rattled about rather.  As we finally drove into Chembe village the sun was setting.  We drove along the village street, which is basically part of the beach, with trees growing out of the middle of the road, and houses and shops everywhere.  The lodge where we were staying, Tuckaways, is behind a bamboo fence, and it is like going from one world into another-a feeling I have had a lot here, especially this week doing touristy things. 

Even the beach has a fence going almost down to the water’s edge – this was particularly striking the next morning at about 6 a.m. when Lin and I were sitting on the clear bit of beach outside the lodge watching the lake, and on both sides, the other side of the fence, we could see the village women washing themselves, their pots and pans, and their children, in the lake water.  A few men crossed the divide, and walked along to greet us, and tell us about their boat, or jewellery, or pictures.  “My name is X, remember me” became a familiar cry.  Mostly they went away when we said we were not looking to buy anything just then, but even though they were polite – “Good morning, how are you?  My name is X.  What is your name?” it did become a bit wearing.

Later, after breakfast, we did commission a few things from one of the wood carvers, to be carved and delivered later in the day, but this was done under the watchful eye of one of the Gecko Lounge waiters, who wanted to make sure his customers were not being ripped off TOO much.  Mari and I spent most of the day in the Gecko Lounge, which sticks out over the beach, reading our books and ordering the occasional snack or drink, while Lin and Amanda went kayaking and snorkeling.

The next day Mari, Lin and I went on a boat trip for a couple of hours.  This included a visit to Otter Point, where we didn’t see any otters, but did see lots of baboons on the beach.  We also fed the fish eagles, both there and at Thumbi island, which was our next stop.  The men in the boat, Oliver and Boyson, had brought fish along which they threw into the water, and the eagles swooped down from their perches on the top of the trees to snatch the fish from the water.  Lin and Mari now have a whole series of photos of eagles’ feet, artistic water splashes, and one or two of the eagles themselves!

Oliver and Boyson pulled the boat up on a rock at the island, and Oliver dropped bread in the water to feed the fishes.  There were hundreds of them, little brown, blue and yellow fishes about 4 inches long.  The water was clear enough to see them quite clearly.  Lin and I swam off the rocks, and Lin did a bit of snorkeling while Oliver caught several fish with his hands, and dropped them into my hands. 

On the way back to land we had a rendezvous with a fishing boat, for Oliver to buy more fish, presumably for later trips, and, inevitably, they got out some jewellery and paintings for us to look at!  We did buy a couple of things, probably more or less making up for the reduced rate Mari had negotiated for us for the boat trip as we only went for 2 hours, not half a day.

After lunch we set off again, down the lake to Mangochi, looking for a lodge to stay in.  We went into one, but for some reason none of us liked it – it felt rather creepy for some reason, like the Bates Motel with palm trees.

So we found another one in the book which sounded really nice – Nanchengwa Lodge, and Mari rang up and booked us into it.  We drove into Mangochi town for a brief look around, and then back up the way we had come, until we found the lodge.  It was really lovely, with A frame huts on the beach.

The dinner we had was the best food I have had in Malawi – fried chambo (fish) with salad and veg.  In the morning, Mari and I got up at 5.30 and sat on the khonde watching the sun rise above the mountains of Mozambique on the other side of the lake.  Further down the beach the villagers were towing out their fishing nets – already the beach was a hive of activity.

Later Lin and I swam, and we sat for a while, watching the fishing, and absorbing the peace and quiet, until it was time for breakfast.

Mwende bwino

 I haven’t written for a few days as we’ve been, and still are, on the move and on holiday! It’s now Wednesday, and I’m sitting beside Lake Malawi, looking across at the mountains of Mozambique on the other side.  I’m on the khonde of a hut on the beach that the four of us slept in last night (me, Mari, Lin and Mari’s friend Amanda).  There’s a palm tree right outside the door, which is shading me from the sun, and the lake is only about 50 yards away.  There are cormorants fishing from a boat in the bay, and kingfishers on the wooden quay sticking out into the lake.  Down the shore in one direction is a village of Yao fishermen, who are Muslims, and a roughly equal distance in the other direction is a village of Chewa farmers (Christians).  This is probably one of the most beautiful places, if not THE most beautiful place, I have ever been.

It was a long couple of days of driving and watching the country go by, as we drove up to Ntcheu to pick up Amanda, and then across to Dedza, where we stayed the first night, before driving on to Cape McClear.  The country gradually changes as we went through different areas, leaving a series of vivid images in my head:

Villages of little houses made of local brick and thatched with straws, with straw-shaded pit latrines, and round cook-houses.  People all along the roads, with bicycles laden with charcoal, wood, other people… or carrying massive buckets of water, or bundles, or once even an amplifier on their heads.  Children, even quite tiny ones, apparently alone on the side of the road, often marching along purposefully.

People selling things – vegetables piled high in interesting shapes, peaches, mice on sticks (about 12 per stick – cooked or dried, I’m not sure, and still with their tails and fur!).  Some smile and wave, others just stare, or once or twice react aggressively if Lin takes photos out of the window.

Trading centres (speed limit 50 kph) with brightly painted buildings set back from the road, usually a coffin maker next to a bar, perhaps some kind of supermarket, or a furniture store.  In front of them people lay out their veg, or make chips in little straw kiosks with a fire built on a tower of bricks.  Some beautiful trees – wide-spreading mangos with dense foliage giving good shade – often used as schools – the smaller ones covered with brownish flowers.  The occasional jacaranda, some of them now coming into amazing purple flowers.  Big fat baobab trees, like a cartoon tree, or an Ent out of a Tolkien story – bare of leaves and with shiny smooth grey bark.  If you can fall in love with a tree, I think I’ve fallen for the baobab!

Up on the mountain behind Dedza, a tree with bright red flowers or berries, and then, as we came down from the mountains towards the lake, more and more fever trees, with their weird pale yellow bark, and some others almost white or orange.

Azungu Azungu!

Friday – and Lin and I decided to have a lie-in, and walk in to the site later in the morning.  Mari gave us instructions the night before, and it sounded relatively simple.

I got up not long after Mari left, and sat in the front room writing in my notebook.  After a while Lin got up and we had a leisurely breakfast and sat around gassing for a while, and watching the different birds in the garden – Lin, of course, trying to catch them all with her long lens. We pottered around till about 11 and then set off for our walk.

We walked out of the gate, up the hill and across the track at the top, up a road which I had never previously noticed, as the ride down to Mitsidi is so bumpy that I am usually just hanging on for dear life and not noticing too much of what is going on around me!  We took the track up to the phone mast, as instructed, and sure enough, just as Mari had said, there was a  house in the middle of it!  We walked round the house, and into a square of other houses, to cries of “azungu, azungu” (which basically means “white skin”) from the children over the other side of the square.

At the top of the square we reached a road and turned right, following the road round almost in a square.  Lin and her enormous camera had, by this time, attracted a crowd of under 5s who were screaming with excitement as she took their photo and showed them on the screen.  But it was becoming clear to me that something had gone wrong, as the road turned back on itself again, so that we were about to head back towards Mitsidi.

In the end I phoned Mari and confessed I had managed to get lost.  It turned out we should have turned left not right, but it was easy enough to get back on track, and we soon found ourselves walking along a busy little road, with people selling vegetables, a water tap, a mosque and various schools and nurseries.  We were viewed with curiosity, and some amusement (possibly the hats?) and not only by the children, but it was all quite friendly.  What amazed me was that I had assumed that Mitsidi was in the middle of nowhere, because the road down from Chilomoni high street goes through fields and over a stream, but in fact there are people living right behind where we are; in fact quite a lot of people.

We got to the site in time for lunch, and met up with Mari and the others.

After lunch Mari took us down to visit Maureen and her nursery.  There were no children there, apart from Maureen’s own, as the nursery finishes at 12 on a Friday, which Mari had forgotten, but Maureen showed us round anyway, and then we stopped for a Fanta and a chat.  It was interesting to see the impact that Mari’s course has had on Maureen, who is one of her students.  She has put more pictures on the walls, created a story bag, with things in it to bring a story to life for children, and there were splatter paintings on the wall.

We walked back up to the site and Mari and Sarah did some work while we waited for David and Marc to come back with the car.  Once they picked us up, it was off to the Liquor Garden, for a well-deserved Friday afternoon drink!  David drove, and Mari, Lin and I were in the back of the pick-up, standing up and holding onto the roll bar.  It was exhilarating, if a little scary, and again caused some amusement to passers-by.  The scariest moment was when a man jumped out in front of the pick-up and started waving and shouting.  David screeched to a halt in order not to run him over, and it turned out it was (sort of) a friend of David and Marc’s – a man they know from the Liquor Garden who is harmless, but generally out of his head on something or other.

We spent a couple of hours drinking beer, and trying not to watch the television, which had a particularly gory and unpleasant programme on called something like “1000 ways to die”!  Lin made friends with the man sitting next to her, who was the pastor of  a mission, called Happy.

At about 5.40 everyone over 30 (of the  Mitsidi volunteers) left in order to get back for dinner, leaving “the children” to spend the evening in the bar.  Mari agreed to go and pick up Marc and Sarah at 9, as she worries about them either walking home in the dark, or driving or being driven by someone who is over the limit.

The rest of us had a pleasant dinner together, and then Lin, Mari and I went back to the house to pack for our trip to Dedza and Lake Malawi.