Hello! I hope that you have had a fabulous weekend. Here in the Luangwa the bush is now starting to look a bit dry and whilst the mornings are still quite cool there is a noticeable shift as the August winds start to blow which certainly doesn’t help any of the ground’s men in the camps. On the plus side the sun is starting to wake up a little earlier, so we are able to get out and about sooner to explore the joys of the bush. That being said we are stepping back a few weeks as we have the most wonderful account from regular guests Simon and Claire Marinker who recently took a trip lead by Kiki around Malawi. So, Simon and Claire over to you:
“Oh, where to start on what can only be described as a truly incredible adventure/safari. Kiki took 6 people to explore the wonders of Malawi, two regular RPS guests and some first-time safari & visitors to Africa.
Visiting Mkulumadzi Lodge and Kuthengo Camp, Huntingdon House & Pumulani Lodge for rest and relaxation.
No matter how many times you have been on safari the bush always shows you something incredible. The lions showed us how impressive they were, not only with the sheer beauty of the male lions we saw but listening to his roar whilst you are sat in complete darkness and you know the lion is just strolling by you, it goes deep within your soul.
The ladies, not to be out done showed off their impressive hunting skills on a herd of impala.
Majestic bull antelopes of nyala, sable & kudu are impressive to view. Serval and porcupines also put in an appearance on night drives. The birds gave amazing displays, golden oriole, palm nut vultures, racket-tailed roller, Livingstone flycatcher and kingfishers, malachite, striped, grey-hooded, brown-hooded, pied & giant, Bohm’s bee-eater and always the beautiful carmine bee-eater to name only few of the so so many we saw.
Side stripped jackals seemed to be taking it easy, whilst bush pigs put in good appearances with some good-sized families which is something we haven’t seen in the South Luangwa.
I find elephant behaviour fascinating; we were not disappointed here. We came across a breeding and a bachelor herd; the matriarch and main bull greeted and hugged each other with their trunks that was quite special. Two young males really enjoyed the coolness of the Shire River, playing around that kept us all enthralled during lunch one day, bush TV!
We watched in awe as 2 male giraffes had a fight, to hear the thud of their necks against each other makes you realise their strength, incredible to watch how they placed their bodies & legs against each other, trying to push one another.
One of the unexpected highlights was in fact travelling between destinations by road as you certainly got to see the true Malawi and everyday life and the queues for diesel, how patient people were. Huntingdon House at the heart of the Satema Tea Estate is in a stunning location, so beautiful and we were spoiled with the birdlife here. Walking around this beautiful estate was breathtaking. Seeing how the tea is picked and produced gave me new appreciation for what goes into a cup of tea! Very interesting doing tea tasting, never knew there were so many flavours either!
When we arrived at Mount Mulanje and I saw the sheer height and majesty of it, I was a little unsure, I was not alone, but with good humour we all hiked up, (not to the top though), challenging but incredibly rewarding, the views were amazing. On our descent the brave swam in the ice-cold waters of Dziwe la Nkhalamba falls and as if by magic, Kiki pulls out of his backpack, a delicious lunch! How do they do that? Just as we were due to climb aboard our car we heard a gospel choir, we went to listen, how amazing were the voices and energy of these ladies & how pleased they were that we had stopped to listen.
Our final stop was Pumulani on Lake Malawi. Wow, being from the UK the sheer size of this place is hard to contemplate, life is happening all along the lake and what a stunning location the lodge is in, perched up on the hill, with the fish eagles constantly stealing the show. The night sky simply took your breath away, sat around the campfire, drink in hand and gazing up at the magical display what could be better.
As we enjoyed our sunset cruise here every evening we contemplated what had been our best moments, this was hard as there was so many, but somebody said “ as soon as I stepped off the plane into Malawi”, I think that sums it up so well, magical Malawi, shared with an amazing group of people, so much laughter and the giving to each other a lifelong memories.”
Wow, wonderful thank you so very much for sharing such a wonderful trip with us! Kiki has also been sharing with the team here how much he enjoyed the trip with you and the others.
On that note, I have nothing in my arsenal to follow up from that with so I shall gracefully bid you all a very fond farewell for this week and hope that you have a fabulous week ahead with plenty of smiles and laughter and don’t forget to look after one another.
