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The very first diary entry...

So far, so good

Robinbye
2006-01-05 21:04:28

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it afterwards though, as it started running away, with the poor injured baby limping after it, trying to follow. We also saw a crocodile on land, but it
quickly run into a nearly dried out creek and hid from us. All in all, it was a great safari.

Next morning we got up at 5am and did a walking safari. It was perhaps even more impressive than driving around the previous night. With childish pleasure we had to sneak around like indians, or perhaps malawian warriors is a better analogy, taking care not to make too much noise and also worry about the direction the wind blew. We pretty much saw everything from last night, but it was even more exciting as we could now enjoy all the sounds without the noise pollution of the car. Also, we had with us a guard with a big Mauser rifle to underline the seriousness. Sneaking up on the elephants, the potentially most dangerous animal, was thrilling.

After the boat trip, we enjoyed a relaxed lunch before going on a boat safari. This time we saw a lot of the same animals coming down to the river to drink. Again, the amount of animals was outstanding. Perhaps there was an animal for every two or three metres along the river edge. In the river, we usually only saw the heads of the
hippos, although we also had some luck and saw them standing in shallow water, plunging into a swim and then a dive upon our approach. Heaps of crocodiles floated around, and some were enjoying the sun on the river shores. Usually they quickly ran into the water when we came too close. The elephants were harder to approach. Wind direction was important, as the animals could smell us coming, similary it was important to keep noise to a minimum. The elephants typically moved away from the shore if they got scared, and we weren't very lucky in getting close to them. However, after enjoying a quiet cool drink in the boat where the river meets a big lake, we returned upon a great view. The elephants were drinking and relaxing only metres away from our boat on some white sand, with a third elephant on the other side of the water. The two elephants slowly left the sand and walked across the water towards the third one, waving air onto themselves with their huge ears. It was an amazing view, with everybody being very quiet so as not to scare the animals. I am sure I took some great photos!

Our excellent guides earn 6000 kwacha a month, which corresponds to about AUD60 or NOK300. Accordingly, we tipped off our friends generously before returing to Blantyre Sunday afternoon, tired but happy.