Here are some real adventures from our Malawian Style tours.
South Luangwa
To head to South Luangwa for a safari in December is quite a risk. The rains make the bush denser so sightings are harder, the roads slippery and many tracks close due to them now basically being rivers. After one night of heavy rain and thunder, the Luangwa River could rise by several metres to form a lake that was not there the day before. Of course the place is absolutely beautiful but we did not go to South Luangwa just for the amazing scenery, we were on the hunt for wildlife, so we had all our fingers and toes crossed that we would be lucky enough to see lots of animals despite the conditions (particularly lions).
On arrival at our lodge we were greeted by the great lodge staff and shown to our luxury Safari tents. After the long and seven hour, lets just say bumpy drive through the Luangwa road we spent the afternoon chillaxing by the pool and having a few G + T’s in the sunshine looking over the valley and watching a few hippos plod around in the river. There is estimated to be at least 50 hippos per kilometre of the Luangwa River.
After a big dinner we headed off to bed early, knowing we had to be awake at 4.30am for our morning game drive. On the walk back to my tent, a huge figure began to appear directly in front of me. I stopped to make out what it was and surely enough a hippo was grazing right in middle of the path. It is common occurrence in camps and lodges for animals to take a wander through them, which is a reason you should always be on the look out. He didn’t seem to notice me or at least he didn’t seem bothered by me and carried on enjoying his evening meal, but as the biggest killers in Africa, these are creatures not be messed with, so I quickly found a staff guide who lead me to my camp (still very close by the hippo).
After a great nights sleep, despite the many sounds of the wild, we woke up bright and early to set off on our morning game drive. Going out early gives you the chance to see animals moving around as the sun comes up before the heat of the day drives them to shade. South Luangwa is one of Africa’s most unspoiled places with enormous spaces, a wide diversity of habitats, and a high game density and rarity of wildlife rarely seen in other game reserves. The drive was very successful for the time of the year; we spotted wildebeest, zebra, impala, puku, giraffes and elephants. One of the bonuses of rainy season is the fabulous bird life to be seen. To name a few, we saw a tawny eagle, red billed kites, lilac breasted rollers, a saddle bill stalk, an african fish eagle and egyptian geese.There are 400 bird species in South Luangwa, so it is a bird watchers paradise, particularly in the rainy season.
The other treat was that we saw lots of the cutest baby animals, including a teeny tiny elephant (just five weeks old). Sadly we also saw the remnants of a baby hippo being eaten by a croc. One of the other highlights of the drive was watching a couple of male Zebras play fighting. The difference between Zambia’s zebras and those in the south and east of Africa are in the stripes. In Zambia they are evenly spaced as opposed to broad light stripes with a faint shadow stripe in-between, making them incredibly beautiful.
After the drive we returned to the lodge and spent the afternoon at camp chilling in the hammocks overlooking the river resting before our afternoon/night drive. Night drives are renowned for sightings of leopard and lion on the hunt, but we were not hedging our bets due to the time of the year. We had resided to the fact that the big cats had moved to other areas of the park and perhaps this weekend we were not going to see them.
However nearing the end of the drive as we headed back to camp, a stray Impala ran into the road in front of our vehicle. Following it around a corner we were surprised to see a huge lion standing in the middle of the path. We stopped the car immediately and turned off the engine. The lion instantly took notice of the impala, which unfortunately for itself chose to stop to. The lion began creeping towards it. We were still in anticipation. The impala stood ears pricked sensing something was not right. However it was too late and the lion pounced. The Impala made a run for it but unluckily it fell down a trench, followed by the lion. The whole group gasped… did he get it? He sure did. The lion emerged from the dip with the Impala in its mouth taking it further into the bushes. He stopped to eat his meal only 10 metres from us. Watching him seemingly caress and then devour the Impala was an amazing sight (accompanied by some pretty grisly noises).
Seeing a lion hunt so close was a truly incredible experience and ended our fantastic South Luangwa trip perfectly.
Zomba
After our mammoth climb up Mount Mulanje, some serious R + R was needed, and what better place to go than the beautiful old colonial town Zomba. Zomba was the first capital of Malawi and remained so until 1974, when Lilongwe became the capital. The city is best known for its British colonial architecture and its fantastic location at the base of the dramatic Zomba Plateau.
We stayed at the idyllic Malawian Style cottage which sits high on up on the plateau. The cottage has all the necessary creature comforts for resting our post Mulanje legs. Hidden away from civilization, it was the ideal hideaway and the perfect retreat to enjoy beautiful Zomba and help us to slip back into a time that once was. The gardens are picturesque and it really does have a ‘home from home’ feel. More hotel than home (well my home anyway) was having the exceptional cook there, Brian who was continuously churning out various treats for us. Watching a movie whilst eating home baked Pizza on our first night was a far cry from the Mulanje camp the night before and we definitely weren’t complaining.
Waking up early to the chorus of the bird life and the wonderful views, we set off on a short walk further up the plateau to the Zomba equestrian centre ‘Plateau Stables’. Ran by the very friendly Maggie, we were looked after extremely well from start to finish. Weighing up or sizes and experiences the three of us were each given our horse. Juno, (the biggest horse in Mulanje), Orchid (who we nicknamed awkward- only due to Maggie telling us that she can be a bit of a missy sometimes) and Zara, a beautiful dark mare who I rode.
Exploring the gorgeous Zomba countryside on such lovely animals was one of the highlights of our trip. Zomba is covered in forest and is one of Malawi’s Forest Reserves. There are many beautiful Cypress trees, Mexican pines and splendid Mulanje cedars. Lining the steep slopes are pretty wild flowers, ferns and orchids. We also past some of the many streams, waterfalls and rapids that scatter the plateau. Maggie showed us how riding is handy for picking tasty yellow berries from the trees.
After our ride we headed back to the cottage, where Brian was preparing us a delicious Potjie. A potjie is a stew cooked outside on open flames in a round, cast iron, three legged cooking pot. Traditionally, the recipe includes meat, vegetables, starches like rice or potatoes, all slow-cooked with Dutch-Malay spices, the distinctive spicing of South Africa’s early culinary melting pot. It was wonderful, and now extremely well fed we spent the afternoon relaxing in the garden.
That evening we headed up to Sunbird Ku Chawe Inn at the top of the plateau hoping to source a Gin and Tonic. Unfortunately as was a common occurrence during our trip, there was no tonic (soft drinks shortage). However with a glass of wine each as a sundowner, we enjoyed the magical view of the sunset.
On our last day we went shopping for some Curios at the small market on the top of the plateau and after stocking up on some great hand made Mbawa wood jewelry and gifts we set off on our next adventure to Luande.
Mumbo Island
After the 45 minute early morning boat transfer from Cape Maclear, we arrived at the idyllic, Mumbo Island which is just 1km in diameter. If you have ever imagined paradise, I could easily say this place would not be far off. Crystal clear waters, a soft white private beach and a tranquil atmosphere that can only come from being on a remote island.
We were greeted by the wonderful host Kay who showed us around the camp. The six lodges are located on a separate and even smaller island ‘Thumbo’ which is connected to Mumbo via a bridge over the turquoise water. The whole camp is built of timber, thatch and canvas, and is perched on high rocks overlooking the lake. The huts are beautifully designed and each has an amazing view over Lake Malawi’s horizon. After settling in and having a yummy healthy lunch we spent a couple of hours lazing on the little beach, reading and enjoying the views.
The island has plenty of wildlife. There is an abundance of birds, including African Fish Eagles, White breasted Cormorants, Cape Cormorants, Black Kites, Sand Pipers, Pied Kingfishers, Water Dikkops, Grey Herons, and African Paradise Flycatchers. Aside from the birds, there is also a healthy reptile life, as the island has many of the beautiful rainbow skinks that shine a spectacular iridescent colour when the sun hits them. The island also is home to some very large monitor Lizards. The only mammals on the island are fruit bats and otters, which unfortunately we did not see. (There is rumour that a wandering hippo may be on the island).
The real fun starts in the water as the island has excellent water activity facilities. Lake Malawi contains the largest number of fish species of any lake in the world, well over five hundred with perhaps half occurring in the National Park area. The National Park offers what many consider the best freshwater snorkeling and SCUBA diving in the world. We spent the afternoon enjoying snorkeling around the Island. The aquatic life is certainly impressive, which many of Malawi’s famous cichlids to be seen. Later that evening we took out the Kayaks provided by Mumbo to enjoy the sunset on the lake with a couple of sundowners.
Mumbo is renowned for being eco friendly. Toilets are dry composter loos, there is no electricity or generator and the kitchen works with propane gas. After dark you are given wind up lanterns or flashlights, but it makes sense to go to bed early. Despite Mumbo’s eco credentials it certainly does not lack the wow factor as the place boasts very attractive design features throughout. With the stunning surroundings, you do not find yourself missing technology at all and going to bed early is certainly not a problem as Mumbo is one of those places to be enjoyed in daylight.
The next day we Kayaked around the island and did a bit more snorkeling. In the afternoon we went for a walk around the 1km island, taking with us a very cute map of various walking paths designed by Mumbo. As the island is so small we pretty much covered the whole thing in a couple of hours, but it was a fun way to spend the afternoon.
On the day we left we made the bold move of rather than getting the boat back we would kayak the 10km to the mainland. It was a slog but we made it in an impressive two hours and felt very pleased with ourselves. I think spending such a wonderful two days on Mumbo Island paradise must have contributed to our endurance levels and as our reward we spent the evening enjoying the buzzing nightlife in Cape Maclear.
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South Luangwa
As usual we headed down to the valley in South Luangwa hoping for a couple of interesting sightings, it was in early November so the beginning of the rainy season but the rains were late and animals still around. Now as you know to see a Lion and a Leopard on the same day is not that common, to see lions mating is extremely uncommon and to see a Leopard with a kill is also very rare. Elephants are common, and we see them all the time in South Luangwa but to have two close calls with these beasts in the same day is also pretty out of the norm. Again baboons are all over the show, in fact I like to call them African Chavs because that is exactly what they are… but for baboons to ransack your car, throw your cds out the window and generally make a nuisance of themselves also isn’t everyday behavior….
We had just arrived in the valley and unfortunately one of the electric windows on our vehicle kind of fell apart on that fantastic Luangwa road. Anyway we took most things out and expected the monkeys and baboons to have a field day but hoped for the best. After settling in to the camp we headed on our first game drive, which to be fair started off very quietly, not a lot on the go until the first of these 5 events occurred…. Lions mating, what a site. This Lion showed his dominance and really put on quite a show it really was fantastic to watch. We appreciated this for a while and moved on, but not long after the sun had gone down we came across a Leopard in a tree with a kill – this again was a truly stunning experience… after appreciating this for a while we carried on with the evening game drive and spotted the usual antelope, Hyenas, Elephants, hippos, crocodiles, buffalo and the rest thinking that this day could not get much better.
Lions mating
We headed back to the camp for an evening meal before we would go for a couple of nightcaps at the camp across the road. Anyway as we were heading for dinner we were formed of the bad news that some clowns had left Mangoes in the back of their car… I am not sure if the rest was good news or bad news but for us it was a real experience but we could only feel sorry for the owners of the poor car. “Wonky” a well known female Elephant, known for her utter disrespect for anything had smelt the mangoes and was in the process or ripping this car to pieces and throwing it around like it was a bale of hay. The immense strength of these creatures is unbelievable, as previously mentioned really unfortunate for the car owners but quite a sight for us to watch… let’s hope they had insurance.
However this would not be our last encounter with these beasts that day, luckily ours was less damaging. After a couple of night jars we were walking back to the car minding our own business until we heard rustle in the bushes, no more than a meter from us. We looked up and you guessed is this young bull elephant was no more than a meter away and looked at us with eyes that in no uncertain terms said “I dare you to come any closer”. We quietly backed off very quickly, called a game ranger with a rifle and he kindly escorted us to our vehicle.
That was surely enough for one day, only to wake up the next morning to the sound of laughing baboons who had not only ransacked the car, used the windscreen wipers to pull themselves up and throw anything they could find out the windows(including all the cds). The best part for me was the baboon sitting in the driver’s seat pretending to drive the vehicle… unfortunately this creature was far too quick to run away from me, and there was no time to get this on camera. That ladies and gentleman was one of my best days in the wild.
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Mount Mulanje
We left the charming old colonial Lujury Lodge at 7am to take the short drive to the base of Mulanje. For the start of our journey the weather was on our side with the overcast sky protecting us from the blazing Malawian sun. On arrival at the mountain base, we were met by our very friendly and as we were soon to discover, exceptionally fit local guide and porters who would be our company for the duration of the two-day ascent up the mountain.
Walking through the rolling tea plantations at the base of Mulanje we passed by a group of excited tea pickers who were keen to have their photo taken. Their reaction to viewing the pictures was highly amusing; as I scanned across their faces, each was met with a roar of laughter. We also passed through some of their villages and about 20 beautiful yet disheveled children ran beside us, greeting us with a heart-warming chorus of ‘hellos’ and ‘high fives.’
We started the long and arduous trek to the plateau at a slow and steady pace, chatting as we went. As the climb got steeper we got quieter and our puffing and panting soon replaced the chat. However the scenic views through the clouds over the stunning Malawian countryside helped to distract us from any aches caused by the uphill battle, and the mist created a kind of mysterious beauty about the place. Seeing the porters RUNNING past us (one even in flip flops) with massive loads also helped us to suck it in, and we fought on.
The upward stretch of Mulanje is certainly challenging, filled with obstacles such as rock pools, wooden bridges, ladders and very steep up hills. Also climbing Mulanje in the rainy season meant the inevitable happened and about half way through the hike as the grey sky had warned us, the heavens opened and the rain came. If you have been to Malawi before, you will know that when it rains here, it pours! This gave the already challenging terrain an extra kick at testing us and we each had our own comedy fall, some more entertaining than others as one of our group managed to straddle a bridge, fortunately nobody was hurt and it was just our egos that day which were bruised. The raincoats and waterproofs went on and using various rocks and branches to steady us, we managed to keep going at a good speed.
The stunning Mulanje
Thankfully as our stamina picked up so did the time and before we knew it we had arrived at our first camp, Madzeka Chalet making it in 3 ½ hours. Our first job was to get out of our soaking wet clothes as the helpful porters lit us a fire. In an effort to remove some of the Mulanje dirt that we had picked up during the day, we took a dip in one of the many beautiful Mulanje rock pools, that was just a stones throw from our chalet. Although freezing, it felt fantastic and now (semi) clean and dry we were ready for dinner. After a calorific, tasty stew prepared by the Malawian Style staff, banana cake and a bottle of red, we were told a great fireside story by our guide and were soon curled up in our sleeping bags and sound asleep.
The next day we awoke early to beautiful sunshine and thanks to the clear skies we were able to really take in our fantastic location and the beauty of Mulanje. We had a big breakfast, and full of beans (no pun intended) we set off for our next hike. In great spirits, when our guide asked if we wanted to climb the Manene peak (albeit a small one) we decided to go for it. Although it added an extra three hours on to our days walk, it was worth it as the views from Manane over the impressive Malawi landscape were next level, and the climb itself was a lot of fun. The only low point of the day was that spending so long in the Malawian sun meant that we got sunburnt, so the evening was spent gathering Aloe Vera plants. Our guides found our ‘Mzungu’ dilemma highly amusing.
The next day we began our descent which took four hours. The descent down Mulanje was quite tricky, and required plenty of concentration and a few James Bond moves, such as scaling hydro pipes over some pretty high drops. When we got back down to base we took some time to celebrate and finish off our last banana cake before setting off to the beautiful old capital city and colonial town Zomba, where we spent the next three nights chillaxing in the beautiful Malawian Style cottage. Zomba was the perfect antithesis to our Mulanje trip and we slowly but surely recovered. Mulanje is still in my heart and also probably a little is under my fingernails. I would climb it again in a second.
