Liwonde Lions

 It's been so lovely this week having mum here. 

Once packed and in the car we set off for our adventure. The radio in the car we were in doesn't work but we chatted all the way, mum and Lynne asking various questions of what they could see of Malawi. Before we knew it we were at Liwonde gate. I guess if you've recently traveled from UK to Malawi then a 4 hour drive would seem speedy. We took the short drive from the gate to the Shire river and hopped in a boat to get to our lodge. None of us have been to this lodge, quickly moving past the more familiar Mvu lodge. The 20 minute ride didn't disappoint, before we even set off the hippos made themselves known with the familiar grunting huffs and odd bark like laugh. Not far along a small family if elephants caught our attention. It was so lovely to see mum and Lynne's reaction. It makes seeing the animals feel like the first time again. 

The location was very special, beautiful tent rooms looking out over the river with clusters of a range of animals and birds. They were spacious and tastefully decorated with outdoor shower and an air bed system which is a focused aircon unit. After unpacking and having tea and cake we set off for the first drive. All was good fun, spotting the baboons, warthog and various antelope, our guide was great, explaining things his passengers did and didn't know. Not easy given this is probably our 12th safari and mum and Lynne's first. For sundowners mum and Lynne didn't realise we would stop, get out and have a snack and drink. We stopped by the lake edge watching a small elephant family in the distance and then they headed closer, and closer. Our guide moving swiftly to wave at the mother of the group who didn't seem too happy with us in that location. He knew what to do, but we certainly had our hearts in our mouths when she did a little mock charge. We all holding our breath as she had proved her point and then she continued on. Exhilarating and exciting we got back in the vehicle and as the sun set we continued for the night drive. We saw a jennet and we were just watching a hippo who was out of the water when the atmosphere shifted with the loud and close roar of a lion. He was briefly spotted as we drove on, I held my mum's shoulders as the car turned back and mum whispered, 'where are we going now? '

'To try and find him. '

'You're joking aren't you? '

BigA chipped in 'this is what we're here for' and then we found him, he roared again, it was extraordinarily loud and watching him do it in the light of the torch was thrilling. Mum got her phone out to record the sound, and gently A whispered, 'press the red button granny.' 

As the lion was on the hunt the guide said we needed to give him some space and we went off but found his pride a little further along. We watched this for a bit and then headed back for dinner. A lovely 3 course meal meal which involved a braai (BBQ) and a full range of salads and other treats. 

An early start and morning drive, with a small continental breakfast first and onto the safari truck, again having wonderful elephant sightings and a lot of crocodile and birds. I smiled that my mum was feeling that being in an open sided vehicle was being brave, it's easy to forget that this is an expected way to travel around, bumps and all. Once back we had our second breakfast and then we got into our swimming costumes and decided to spend the middle of the day relaxing in and by the pool. We quickly cooled off and then as we sat reading a few more elephants roamed up. One of the staff coming to remind us to stay still! They munched around us for a bit and behind the bushes and trees that surrounded that part of the camp. They didn't get too close but again we were so excited to be that close, if not a little nervous. 

After lunch and more tea and cake we went for a boat safari. After we quickly rescued a boat whose engine had stopped working we set off along the edge of the river, looking out for the nature along that side. A slower pace and up close to some hippo, elephant and some massive crocodile. A couple of monitor lizards were about and we drank our sundowners while looking at the beauty around us. Mum, not a great boat lover, relaxed a bit and I could see that despite herself she was enjoying it. I think the beer for sundowner helped. It was lovely to see her and A chatting away, making memories that they will keep forever. 

Another lovely meal of veggi spring roll, beef shin stew (A and BigA had something else) and a lovely chocolate cake we had another early night ready for the morning drive, a 5am wake up call is easier to take when you've been in bed for more than 8 hours. By now mum and Lynne were used to the spots and we saw a range of the usual and some rarer sights, a noe jackal sight at the river side, plenty more hippo, baboon and warthog and the bushbuck and impala all around, we saw two hearterbeast a type of antelope we almost never see. There was also a big group of Sable, again we haven't spotted so many together before. We were given a tip by one of the research people for a cheetah sighting and headed off, rather than stop for tea. Before we got to the spot we came across our first ever guide in that park 'David' who recognized us and gave great directions. We also had him up in Nika when BigA and then the rest of us saw a lion, the first one there in over 6 years. No wonder he recognised us! 

Mum was the first to spot the male cheetah, who was lounging in the trunk of a fallen tree. And after him, we traveled a little further to find our male lion under a tree, watching us as carefully as we watched him. A safe distance and he wasn't at all bothered about eating us. 

That was the last official drive but once we'd packed up and had breakfast we got back on the boat to get to our car so had another lovely boat ride past the usual animals on our way. It felt like just the right amount of time there and we were all feeling very relaxed. Back in the car we set off towards the lake. A relatively short journey and we happily filled up with fuel. The issue now being with petrol. More interesting observations and a difficult moment when a very disabled man began crawling to our car. It has been shocking for our guests to see the sheer level of poverty here. I don't think I'll ever get used to it but I suppose I have become less impacted by it in some ways. 

Arriving at the lake we rescued another stuck traveler who had run out of petrol and then headed to the lodge. For this part of the lake it's a very nice place, clean and mostly quiet. Not anywhere near as luxurious as the safari and in many ways very basic. But had air-conditioning and waiter service as we spent 3 days mainly reading, chatting, swimming, eating, drinking and sunbathing. The food was average at best but the not having to think too much about it and not washing up is always nice. We had beautiful sunsets and BigA and Lynne did a morning kayak while we sat and did more reading and more chatting. For lunch we stopped at one of favourite spots in a place called the Art Depot in Balak, a lovely Italian place that does very high quality pasta. We were joined by some of the fellow teachers that were also at Eagles nest (the lake sided lodge) with us. We sat in the shade of a huge mango tree, almost ready to begin dropping its fruit. It was here that A announced that Liz Truss had resigned, having been told by Gabe - her best mate in the UK. Which led to an interesting discussion about tofu and lettuce. From there we headed home and spent a very quiet evening reading, none of us really able to eat anything having been so stuffed at lunch. Except of course for BigA who, having had a successful business call, solving as best he could a small mess that he'd been trying to sort the whole time we were at the lake, headed off to a pub quiz where he tells me they did dreadfully and he had a veggie burger. 

Friday morning was as relaxing as all others ones so far, with tea on the khonde, discussing weekend plans, various memories of awful schools good times and more, including stories about my dad. Then lunch out at one of the cafes in town. 

We headed home and then to the school pool for a quick dip. 

A quiet evening watching a film together ended our Friday night and eating leftover. 

All in all a truly wonderful week full of memories and cuddles.