Safari!

Posted by: annroberts on: July 10, 2009

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Wednesday July 8^th, 2009

 It is actually Friday Morning and I am back at Annies Lodge catching up on my journal. I was hoping to post my blogs since this is the first clear day we have had in three days but as of now the power is  out which means no internet. Hopefully it will come on before we leave and I can at least get Tuesdays blog up..

So back to Wednesday… We were all so excited to see animals we have only seen in pictures.  The trip to Muvuu camp took over two hours with the last 16 kilometers being the slowest and most interesting. We had to weave along this tiny rutted dirt road that literally went through the center of a dozen or so villages. At each little settlement dozens of children would poor out of houses laughing and yelling and waving…. As some reached up to wave one realized how scantily clothed they were. Many things were chanted as we rocked by… white people said in Chichewa, kwacha, money, Obama… where the most often said.

We got to Muvuu camp which is in one of the largest national parks in Malawi at about 11am. There we parked the bus and were shuttled by boat over to the lodge. Instead of heading right over our guides Matthew and ???… took us down the Shire river(pronounced Sheera) a bit where we got our first look at Hippos in their natural state. They are amazing! We saw water lizards, water buck, impalas, wart hogs, 7-12 foot long crocodiles and an African fish eagle. But more than the birds and animals I was drawn in by the magnificient baobab trees which had massive trunks indicating centuries of living. In the background were the Mongoje mountains.

We got to the camp and were ushered to the dining area where we were given tea and coffee. The agenda was to get to our rooms, have lunch, go on an afternoon safari, go to the river to have drinks and watch the sun set on the river, go on an night safari and then have dinner at about 8pm.

Our “tent” was right on the river. We had two rooms separated by a stone bathroom. The sides were screened half way up which I guess is why they call them tents but they were luxurious to me  Each set of beds had a billowing white  mosquito net. My bed was the extra so I had a single blue net. I roomed with Kelsey Beth, DeAnna, and Carolyn.

When we went to the river edge was could see elephant on the other side eating the tall grass and drinking at the river edge… We heard the hippos calling out to each other sounding like big bull frogs in a way.. Beth went exploring and came back telling of her adventure of being chased by a band of monkeys… She said about 6 of them raced after her as she turned and tan… Later the guides assured her the monkeys would not bite and were only playing follow the leader… She is now hunting for another band of monkeys!

Lunch was lovely but we were all excited about the trip. We were placed in two open jeeps with stadium seat configuration. Our guide was Jimmy. We were off in the bush! How did the first explorers ever find their way through the thick thorny under cover? We saw every type of antelope and bush/wart hog… and we got to see an Elephant! Through out the drive I kept thinking about my sister Robin and how did she ever take the incredible pictures she did of the wildlife… the best we could do was get rear ends!

The sunset over the River Shire was spectacular and I loved the night safari… it felt mystical and primal… We saw bush babies, white tailed mongoose and birds which I don’t recall their names… With the sun down the air turned but we were given lap blankets and we were cuddled together. We were out for two hours driving about and saw illuminated eyes everywhere telling how many antelope and river buck were bedding down for the night. It was magical.

Dinner was set outside around this big stone pit fire… As we were waiting for the buffet to be set up there was traditional music and dancing to entertain us… The meal was incredible and we were stuffed as we headed back to our rooms… Some stayed for the music and dance but I wanted to curl up and hear the sounds of the river… The night skies were clouding over so no Milky Way citing tonight.  I drifted off to sleep with hippos calling to each other and peepers singing their songs and in the distance  the haunting drumming and voices of the traditional singers….

 As i am writing this I am surrounded by the monkeys at Annies Lodge… Like a bullet on absconded with Pat’s banana sitting on the table.. They are crowding around…. I hope I don’t get mugged by a bunch of monkeys!

Peace and cheers,

annie