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Preview for the next safari post.

This sign greeted us as we entered our campsite. 

It should have warned - BEWARE OF ELEPHANT!

Subscribe now so you don't miss my tips on what to do when you encounter an elephant and her calf while sleeping in a tent (or tented cabin).  I now speak from experience.



The Game Drive

The game drive was definitely my favorite part of the safari.  We were out watching wildlife for about 3 hours: 4pm - 7pm. We were on unpaved trails and cutting through the bush.  I loved every minute of it.  I was worried I was going to feel like it was Saturday at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, but it was so serene with wildlife everywhere.  While Liwonde did not have a big variety of large game animals (no big cats, giraffes, ostriches, etc.) it had a lot of wildlife.  I was worried I wouldn't see an elephant at all but I saw at least a hundred. Most of the groups we saw even had babies.  In about six hundred square kilometers there were 800-900 elephants, so many that they were being shipped to other parks at about 100 at a time.  It was so nice to see wildlife thriving, but the biologist in me will stop raving and kick start today with my favorite moment.

They really look like they are moving in slow motion, but they can cover a lot of ground, fast.

My game drive ride.  It still makes me drool and miss my 2000 Jeep Cherokee.

more drooling ... anyway

  

Consistently saw all sorts of animals feeding in the same area.  Yes, the wart hogs actually get down on their knees to feed.  They'll walk on their knees, too.  Entertaining. 

Another shot of the elephants walking.

Elephant chowing down on a tree.

sunset feeding

impala

water buck

Zooming through the African plains -- highly recommended.

While our game drive continued, the sunlight did not. This is my last picture.  The guide sitting on the front of the vehicle had a red flashlight (so as to not spook the animals) looking for more wildlife.

The story doesn't end here. 

Check back again, tomorrow.

The Boat Safari

Breakfast with the baboons.

Believe it or not seeing the baboons and warthogs around the camp and listening to the singing of the hippos all night long wasn't even officially part of our safari adventures.  Needless to say I was awake at 5 am (in true form from my 10 year old going to Disney World self) as I was too excited to keep sleeping.  Had a little breakfast and enjoyed a nice leisurely cup of coffee and then it was finally time for the boat safari at 7:45 a.m. 

Swallow buidling its nest in our boat. -- Okay, I'll stop teasing.   Onto unique African wildlife. 

Our first elephant sighting of the day.

Fish eagle.

Look carefully at the log - sunbathing crocodile.

more crocodiles

hippos

More hippos.  Easily saw over 100 hippos in small family groups like these.

Hippos enjoy laying in shallow water and rest their heads on the rumps family members.

water buck - has an oily taste, so crocs aren't a fan

baboon

more wart hogs

impala

I might just be a bit giddy at this point.

Upper left - local village fishing poachers using their free mosquito nets as fishing nets.  Currently, fishing from a boat is illegal in this part of the Shire, so the poachers were attempting to hide somewhat near the reeds.  Local villagers can fish from the banks legally.

Boats formerly used by poachers.  Not exactly sure what happened to these boats, but crocodiles do hunt humans.  Large crocodiles will knock over small boats.  Poaching is dangerous on a variety of levels.

Lots of elephants.

From the boat, most of the pictures I have look similar to this.

Tomorrow I'll post about the evening game drive.  Lots of amazing pictures and a couple videos of the wildlife, especially the elephants.

But I'll leave you with one last preview.

My First Safari

Yes - I took this picture!

I had last week off and embraced the opportunity to go on my first African safari.  The day before I left I felt like I was ten again heading to Disney World for the first time. Last Wednesday my roommate and I headed to Camp Mvuu (hippo) in Liwonde National Park south of Lilongwe.  After five hours of dirt roads and dodging potholes, goats, and villagers, we arrived at the banks of the Shire River for our ferry to Camp Mvuu for some one of a kind and once in a lifetime fun for the next two days.

The boat dock.



Angel, our gracious and knowledgeable guide, shuttling us to our luxury accommodation.

 

Our "everything you could imagine an African safari luxury accommodation could be" - chalet (a.k.a  tented cabin)





  

Our chalet really added to the ambiance of being on an African safari in the middle of a national park but with the perks of hot water and electricity.

Unfortunately, the skeleton key hole you see above is not a novelty but still common to Malawi.

It still amazes me that these are used every time I see one.

 

My first wildlife sighting - a warthog.

After we got settled we watched the sun set and hundreds of bats flying around. 

Serene!  African sunsets are so amazing with all the pink hues.

Clear sky's!  We were lucky gals.

Dinner was a traditional African braai (BBQ).  Basically, a meat fest that included my indulgence in wild boar, not so much because of my highly adventurous spirit but because I haven't eaten much meat lately.   I didn't think twice about downing it, either.   Once again, making my outdoor sportsman dad proud.

A little live music.

A little dancing.

A little more dancing.

A little preview of tomorrow's boat safari post...stay tuned. 

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