Malawi has odd visa requirements - you can stay in the country continuously for up to 3 months without any problems, but if you stay longer than 3 months than you must enter a nightmarish world of bureaucracy, fines, and paperwork to obtain a 6-month permit. However, if you leave the country after three months and re-enter, you can stay for another 3 with no problems. One of my housemates found himself in this situation, so we decided to resolve the problem in the only reasonable manner: by going on safari. Malawi has a few game parks and national preserves, but none compare to South Luangwa National Park in Zambia. Getting there was a bit of a challenge - 4 hours by bus to Lilongwe, then a 6-hour car transfer from Lilongwe (Malawi) to Mfuwe (Zambia), the last 3-hours of which are on an insanely bumpy and dusty road, and finally on to the park (after a two-hour stop at the border, the particulars of which still confuse me).
We arrived in camp around dusk, greeted by Moses (our guide) with the words "Do you want to see a crocodile?" (the answer is always yes). Disoriented from the ride, we walked about 25 feet and came to the riverbank, where we could see crocs and hippos about 10 yards away from us. After this introduction we had a brief speech about safety (don't walk alone at night; too many hippos and elephants - I thought they were joking but when I was woken up at 3AM by an elephant not three feet from my tent it became clear that that might actually be a Good Idea) and then it was off to dinner. Safaris start early (animals don't wait for people) and we hit the road at 6AM (wake-up call at 5AM) for our first trip into the bush. Honestly, I wasn't expecting much and told myself that I would be happy with seeing a few elephants, some grazers, and maybe a hippo, zebra, or giraffe. I was wrong. Within an hour we had found two lions and a herd of zebra, and before the drive was over we'd also seen 12 elephants and ambushed a herd of giraffes. The night drive (4PM to 8PM) was even better - it started off by watching a pride of lions stalk an impala (they failed), and then driving to within 2 feet of the pride, where the male proceeded to mate with the females (which they told is quite rare). Video (which is funnier than it should be) will be on YouTube soon.
As night fell, we focused on the one animal that we hadn't seen - a leopard. Although South Luangwa is one of the best places to see them, our guides warned us that we probably wouldn't get so lucky this time around. They were wrong - not only did we find a leopard with 15 minutes, we saw and helped it stalk an impala by using our car to provide cover. Stalking takes a long time, so we switched off the lights and sat in the dark for 15 minutes, listening to the impala bark at each other. We suddenly heard an impala bark much louder and then hooves running away, but when we switched the light back on we saw that the leopard had missed.
As night fell, we focused on the one animal that we hadn't seen - a leopard. Although South Luangwa is one of the best places to see them, our guides warned us that we probably wouldn't get so lucky this time around. They were wrong - not only did we find a leopard with 15 minutes, we saw and helped it stalk an impala by using our car to provide cover. Stalking takes a long time, so we switched off the lights and sat in the dark for 15 minutes, listening to the impala bark at each other. We suddenly heard an impala bark much louder and then hooves running away, but when we switched the light back on we saw that the leopard had missed.
The camp at which we stayed was an adventure in itself - although we slept in tents, they had permanent beds and there were so few people that we each had a tent to ourselves so I'd hesitate to call it camping. Monkeys and baboons ran around the grounds at will, and woe be unto him who left food unattended for more than a few minutes (the monkeys are tricky devils). At night, hippos and elephants began their invasion, and you could count on waking up at least once a night thanks to nearby hippos, who are surprisingly fast out of the water.
The second day was just as exciting as the first - we saw more elephant herds, giraffes fighting, hippos eating, and a fantastic sunset over the river. We even managed to spot yet another leopard, although we only followed this one for a few minutes. After two days of safari, it was back to Blantyre, but South Luangwa is certainly a place I'd love to visit again.
The second day was just as exciting as the first - we saw more elephant herds, giraffes fighting, hippos eating, and a fantastic sunset over the river. We even managed to spot yet another leopard, although we only followed this one for a few minutes. After two days of safari, it was back to Blantyre, but South Luangwa is certainly a place I'd love to visit again.
RSS Feed