Liwonde National Park

Once in every trip we try to get away for a few days to enjoy the beauty of Malawi. This is a lovely country! This time we decided to go to Liwonde National Park. It is considered one of the best national parks in Malawi. I was first there in 1994, when Mandy and I saw lions in the park! Now the park has only one lion who is seldom seen. However, they have a rhino sanctuary and we want to see rhino! With that in mind, we packed up and drove to the river crossing (Shire river) to arrive at Mvuu camp. There are two places to stay in the park -Mvuu lodge and the cheaper Mvuu camp. We arrived in time for a late lunch, then went on the rhino sanctuary drive. It costs $5 extra per person, but it would be worth it to see rhino! There are 13

or 14 rhinos here, along with other species endangered in Malawi - roan antelope, cape buffalo, sable antelope, Liechtenstein's wildebeest, zebra and black rhino. The sanctuary is fenced. However, turns out the fence is routinely knocked down by elephants who have gotten into the sanctuary. Zebra and at least 2 rhinos have escaped to the main part of the park. We saw warthogs and bush buck get through the fences while we were there. We also saw a wildebeest which had run afoul of a wire snare - so it seems that the poachers have breached the fences, too. With all that said, we saw all the endangered species except rhino!! Oh well, that will just be a goal for another visit! We did the sanctuary evening drive both nights, and for the morning drive we did the boat trip. We saw lots and lots of hippos, plus elephant, crocodiles and many beautiful birds. The food was good and the service was excellent. The national workers were charming. We spent some time talking to 'our' waiter, James. They work for 7 days straight, then get seven days off. When they are off, they are free to go to school or work other jobs. He is going to school, trying to get a degree in business. The group that runs the camp, Wilderness Safari, also has an outreach in the nearby villages, to improve their lives as well. The camp itself tries to be as 'green' as possible. Our chalet was a tent with toilet / shower attached, and the entire bottom area surrounded in stone. The first evening we had a boma brai (BBQ outside in the boma or enclosure). It was a full moon celebration. A large group of young people from Y MALAWI was there, too, making it fun for everyone as they joined in the traditional dancing. That night I was awakened by what I thought was Joseph getting into the luggage - all this rumbling around... then I realized he was asleep in his bed.. and it sounded like something coming through the top of the tent. As I laid there, thinking 'hippo', I heard loud crunching footsteps... I got up, out from the mosquito net and peeked out the 'window' in time to see two elephants (one big, one little) walking away from the back of our tent. Apparently they were eating one of the trees that lean over on the tent. How funny! The next morning we took the boat safari down the Shire river. Very nice and I recommend it! We brought books to read and Scrabble to play in our 'down time' between safaris and meals - I must say that Joseph was good and completely finished the book he brought. I just slept and slept. (I was bitten by several tsetse flies, so I am going to blame my sleepiness on that - what do you think??). We had a very relaxing time.

On the way home we did not find fuel, even though we passed through several towns with filling stations. We arrived at the outskirts of Lilongwe on empty. We saw a station pumping, so as we pulled in to get into line our 'fuel light' came on.... while we were waiting a young Malawian chewing on sugar cane approached the car, stating he wanted to assist us - that he would go fill our jerry can. He said he was parked on the side of the road waiting for diesel, and they only had petrol. We have sat in lots of lines and never had this happen. We have also sat in lots of lines BEFORE our 'empty' light came on.... he and Joseph went to the pumps and had the jerry can filled (10 liters). Joseph said it was a mad house there. After putting the petrol in our car, the Malawian suggested going back again (good idea)... but they totally ran out of fuel (we have never had that happen before, either). However, the jerry can of petrol gave us enough to get home - and the station by our house was pumping! So, after dropping me off to unpack and start dinner, Joseph went back and got a 'full tankie' as they say here. Yeah!! I think the helpful Malawian was an angel in disguise. Joseph thinks I am being melodramatic, but I doubt we would have made it home with the light on, and I suspect we would have been pushing the car in that last petrol line even if we had made it that far. We are happy, we think this tank will get us through to the end of our trip!

Thanksgiving /praise: for fuel; for safe travels; for a God that has made our earth a beautiful place, with creatures great and small to reflect His glory!; for our health.

Prayer: for continued travel safety; for continued health; for me as I start working for Dr. Young on Monday; for Malawi as the possibility of renewed demonstrations on the 17th loom large for us; for our families at home - that they continue to hold up with added burdens while we are gone.

Pictures:

James, our waiter, and Joseph

Malachite kingfisher

Sable Antelope

Liechtenstein's wildebeest (there are two photos of him, sorry!!)

Joseph on the bridge in front of the Mvuu camp meeting place

Water buck

Goliath heron

Yellow billed stork

Fish eagle

Hippo running

Pied kingfisher

Egret in flight