Safari

It all started with an African massage. Which we soon learned was the code name for the bumpiest ride of our lives. It’s hard to complain about a bumpy ride when there are hundreds of children sprinting out of their houses genuinely excited to see you at every turn. Who knew an empty water bottle could bring such a huge smile to a child’s face? We arrived at the launch dock where we had to dip and dodge white bird droppings to reach a rickety green “motorboat” with the sweetest of all guides, Henry.  We got settled and helped pitch a few tents as a sun went down. After a long day of traveling we were ready to hit the sack.  In true African style, we were awoken to the Lion King theme song “AAAHHHSEVENAAAA” by our camping neighbors, a groups of Australian students. We immediately went on our walking tour of the game park. It probably should be remained the “dung dash.” We saw more animal excrement than we knew what to do with. Shortly after we headed on our Jeep tour of the game park. We opted for the additional rhino conservatory tour, in hopes to see the endangered black rhinos. It was surprisingly chilly and a little rainy but it didn’t stop us from seeing buffalo, impala, army ants, monkeys, and zebras. Then we headed back to spend the afternoon catching up on rest and relaxation. We soon learned how mischievous those little monkeys were. They jumped on top of the tents and tried to unzip the zippers to get any remaining food. Alix was at the campsite when surrounded by a group of monkeys. All of a sudden one was sitting next to her ankles and hissed at her and grabbed her ankle. Luckily, the faithful driver, Aaron, was there to shoo them away. Our final safari adventure was a happy hour boat ride on the Shire river. We saw tons of hippos, wild birds, and our personal favorite, “El Presidente” a fifteen foot crocodile! We enjoyed a round of drinks and delicious popcorn on the way back to the lodge. We were lucky and got to crash a wonderful presentation on traditional Malawian dancing and singing. After the entertainment, a majority of us headed up to the lodge to unwind from the exciting day. Little did we know were we about to have the most exciting part of the trip! Anna Marie and Charlotte headed to the tents when they were greeted by a huge pair of ivory tusks. A giant elephant was only a few feet away! At the same time our jolly safari guide, Henry, came to recap the day. Lucky he was there! He heard the elephant and asked if we wanted to go on an impromptu elephant night tour. Of course we accepted! We jumped in the Jeep and almost immediately saw three enormous elephants just feet from our camp! We went back to our tent almost too excited to sleep! There was a giant elephant chomping down on a nearby tree. We headed to bed and woke up the next morning and headed back to our new and sorely missed home, Kumbali village.